First off, i apologize for another speaker wire thread, but here goes...

I have some Polk RTi10's as my fronts, some Polk RTi A3's for my rears, and a Polk CSi A6 for my center, and i'm running them with a Pioneer Elite 92. I've had this setup since before summer, and i've definetly been enjoying it. But i'm constantly wondering if i should of spent a little more on my speaker wire.

I bought some 16 gauge RC (royal cable) car and home stereo cable from walmart back when i set this all up. It was cheap, if i remember correctly $10 or $12 for 50ft. I was tapped out from buying everything else though so i said to hell with it and bought it.

Lately for some reason i just keep wondering if maybe i might be missing something, maybe i should of bought some better speaker wire. Not that my setup sounds bad at all because it doesn't, and i really don't know why i've been thinking about speaker wire lately, but it is what it is lol.

Anyways, do you think i'm all set with the wire i got from walmart, and that i should just forget about it and leave it be, or should i invest in some better wire?

Any and all opinions are appreciated, thanks.:cool:

if your running cable though the wall (please correct me if i'm wrong) you need shielded CL3 cable monoprice has some I just bought some.

Wow that was one heck of a quick response..:)

But no, i'm not running any cable through the wall, i've just got both cables for my rear speakers running side by side up some trim that goes up my wall and across to the others side of the room. And my front wires are just run along the bottom of the wall behind the speakers and tv stand.


I didn't realize there was a thread on this same page titled "do wires matter", i'll have to go read through that one.:o

the best on-line source of "no BS" advice on speaker wire is Mr. Russell's site

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#wiretable

if you want to read a little bit more about Mr. Russell, just move up-link to his home page
http://www.roger-russell.com/

my personal choice for speaker wire of typical length (i.e. a normal room) is 14 gauge. It is easy to handle, relatively inexpensive, and fits all receiver and speaker connectors without a problem. 12 gauge can be a problem in the tightly spaced connectors at the back of a receiver - that's where banana plugs come in handy.

First off, i apologize for another speaker wire thread, but here goes...

I have some Polk RTi10's as my fronts, some Polk RTi A3's for my rears, and a Polk CSi A6 for my center, and i'm running them with a Pioneer Elite 92. I've had this setup since before summer, and i've definetly been enjoying it. But i'm constantly wondering if i should of spent a little more on my speaker wire.

I bought some 16 gauge RC (royal cable) car and home stereo cable from walmart back when i set this all up. It was cheap, if i remember correctly $10 or $12 for 50ft. I was tapped out from buying everything else though so i said to hell with it and bought it.

Lately for some reason i just keep wondering if maybe i might be missing something, maybe i should of bought some better speaker wire. Not that my setup sounds bad at all because it doesn't, and i really don't know why i've been thinking about speaker wire lately, but it is what it is lol.

Anyways, do you think i'm all set with the wire i got from walmart, and that i should just forget about it and leave it be, or should i invest in some better wire?

Any and all opinions are appreciated, thanks.:cool:

There is really only one opinion that matters and that is yours. You could have 200 people respond to this thread and the breakdown of opinions would be all over the map. If you want to, do it. If you don't, don't. There is no one here that can tell you definitively what you will or will not hear in your system with different speaker cables.

16 gauge wiring should be more than enough for short runs with in a room, unless you are trying to run megawatts of power out to your full size 10" woofered floorstanders, then you might want to look at 10-12 gauge wiring.

If it will help you sleep better, buy some 12-14 gauge wire from monoprice, I just bought 100' of 12 gauge for $25. Their Banana plugs are very inexpensive as well.

16 gauge wiring should be more than enough for short runs with in a room, unless you are trying to run megawatts of power out to your full size 10" woofered floorstanders, then you might want to look at 10-12 gauge wiring.

If it will help you sleep better, buy some 12-14 gauge wire from monoprice, I just bought 100' of 12 gauge for $25. Their Banana plugs are very inexpensive as well.

+1.

just got a roll of 100 ft of 14 AWG for under $20 from monoprice and a whole lotta their banana plugs that dont require solder or crimpers.

I've read enough about this topic last night and today to realize there is no real definitive answer, only way to know is to try things out for myself. One thing i know for sure is i'm not spending $100's on speaker wire regardless. Sure i might get something slightly better then what i have now, but i'm not breaking the bank that's for sure. I might switch to the 14 gauge wire eventually though, even if it's just for piece of mind, but probably not anytime soon. All though when i do i will check out monoprice for the wire and banana plugs.

Thanks for the responses.
I'm done with this thread and i'd close it myself if i could...:)

Oh no no, you must spend at least $300 to get the best out of your system on speaker cables. Anything less won't do your system justice. Don't forget the $100 interconnects.

Here comes another 100+ responses...

I personally use belden 10 awg gray wires, my rears have about 10 feet runs from the parasound hca-1200 I have in the rear, and the front ones about 6 feet each from the hca-1200 in the front. I seriously doubt any esoteric cables would give me an improvement.

Oh no no, you must spend at least $300 to get the best out of your system on speaker cables. Anything less won't do your system justice. Don't forget the $100 interconnects.

Here comes another 100+ responses...

Psssh, you only spent $400 total on your wires? You musta gotten the cheap-o brand. Whatever your speaker budget is, you need to spend twice that on wires! $500 speakers? $1000 wire. Its that simple. Everyone knows that the wire is the most important part!

Everyone knows that the wire is the most important part!

Of course! And I also recommend tri-wiring your speakers including your surround satellites. Any wire costing less than $400 a pair must sound like crap to our trained and tuned golden ears.