Speaker cable 101

^^^

"what you've read" is correct...

unless you have some pretty long runs, 14 gauge is probably fine...

go visit your local big box store... they'll have what you need....

Do not spend money on expensive cabling.

15 meters are actually quite long, the previous poster is correct in that 14 awg will likely be ok, and that's correct. However, I'd suggest buying 12awg to eliminate any concern if the load dipped down low at some frequencies.

Here is a solid read on cabling.

Don't fret about cabling, even if the claims are correct about differences with high end cabling, the effect is minuscule related the other aspects of system optimization. Focus more on the speaker/room interface, that's where huge gains can be had.

Good luck

x 3

If the dealer truly believes this they will let you try their cable and A/B it versus some quality Belden 5000ue and return if you can't hear the difference.

If the dealer doesn't have faith in the performance of their product, neither should you.

My main music system includes stereo speakers which retail for $14,750 a pair in current form.

The only reason I spent $2 a foot on speaker cable was that they run off an active cross-over with four stereo amplifiers and one run of 8 conductor speaker wire looks a lot nicer than 4 runs of $.40/foot 2-conductor cable.


That will be indistinguishable from more expensive cable provided that the pricier cable has not been built to act as a tone control and people don't know what cables you're running which allows the placebo effect to occur.

I'm quite sure many of these dealers/salespeople do indeed have faith in their products, and would further insist that they can hear the difference.

You know, if "audiophiles" could actually comprehend the "placebo effect" in humans, experiencing excruciating pain, being given sugar pills under the guise of it being morphine, and actually feeling immediate relief..........one might be able to stretch their little minds and consider the epic and quite comical manipulation that plays out daily in the world of audio .

14 awg is fine for speakers .12 awg will just give you some internal comfort factor but is not really necessary. By no means should you ever buy the cables hawked by the sales staff as there will be no discernible difference between the 14 awg TP from Home Depot and the "WalletDrainer" styles sold to those unfamiliar with the physics of audio signals as they pass through a piece of wire.
Studios that record what you listen to do not use the mega buck cables either.

For your consideration:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

You're still spending too much!

Have you not been reading these responses? The link I sent you is from a phenomenal engineer at McIntosh, that breaks down the voodoo aspects with regard to cabling. These other posts are from very strong contributers here at AVS.

Once again, Do not spend money on expensive cabling.

Even if the outlandish claims are correct about differences with high end cabling, the effect is so phenomenally minuscule related the other overwhelmingly more important aspects of system optimization. Focus more on the speaker/room interface, that's where huge gains can be had.

The Monoprice link provided will serve you well,...focus your attention on aspects that matter.

Since you have a separate power amp, you may have the option of relocating it to a location that is far closer to the speakers and using regular shielded interconnects for most of the 15 meter run. This may reduce your speaker cable lengths to just a few meters each, and make their exact nature far less important.

As a rule 12 Gauge finely stranded low voltage wire such as sold by large home improvement centers is the "one size fits all" solution for speaker cables. I buy a 250' roll about every 5 years and just whack off a chunk whenever I need a speaker cable.

Suggest looking into a speaker cable that is twisted rather than flat or parallel. Twisted pairs tend to be lower in inductance and couple less with nearby cabling in the wall, so may help reduce problems down the road- particularly important if you are placing longer lengths in a wall that's going to be sealed up permanently.

And as Arny had mentioned, if you can centralize and better position the amp and run longer interconnects, great. However, don't look at this as a cost savings method, it usually isn't, rather one of many ways to optimize system performance.

Also, you did not mention if the system's priority will be music or movies; and it's quite helpful to know a bit more about your "custom made speakers" (specs), their placement in the room, the nature of the room, and any other system components or construction needs you may be dealing with-- prior to offering advice. This is why you are working with a dealer; he knows you, your tastes, your system, your home. He knows your needs.

It sounds as if you've spent some money on nice speakers, nicer than most of the guys replying to your post own, so you need to be aware that what they consider good enough for them may not be good enough for your needs (or future needs).

Dealers of mega high dollar systems ALSO know the ridiculous markup (obscene profit) to be had by convincing those who buy the gear that without these marvelous cables the system just won't do justice to your musical listening. This is what the pros in the AV biz call BS.

This extends to every form of electrical connection between the load center in your home all the way to the cables for interconnects and speakers.

We use 4 conductor 12 awg cables by the thousands of feet for tri amped, line arrays, theaters, concert halls convention centers etc where we run high volume, (high power) and exceedingly accurate reproduction of live and studio recorded music. They are off the shelf and the only really special thing is the jacketing. We use tough industrial grade jacketing due to the extreme abuse it gets.

For a home system with exposed speaker cables, as suggested the LV lighting cable is just fine. If you are installing the cable inside a wall you must use the approved jacketing (usually CL2-3). The reason is one of flame retardency and minimal off gassing if exposed to flame.

Then if the customer is looking for something that goes beyond the sound he's heard in "theaters, concert halls convention centers etc", he needs to pay attention to detail.

BTW, are the conductors in the 12/4 cable you use by the thousands of feet twisted, or parallel?

If off the shelf cables are good enough for "exceedingly accurate reproduction of live and studio recorded music", they are good enough for the customers with home stereo or theater set up. There is no need to pay more attention or spend more money on speaker cables than what OP would at monoprice or local hardware store because they make no audible improvement.

"BTW, are the conductors in the 12/4 cable you use by the thousands of feet twisted, or parallel?"

They are twisted slightly without being physically paired and there 4 polyester packing fillers to keep the jacket round and smooth.

Many professional sound companies around the world with relatively unlimited budgets use 12/4 SJO which is available from any electrical wholesaler.

Many companies also use 8 conductor cable when feeding line array systems. cuts down on the individual harnessing while providing excellent current transfer.

How do you run a 4 cond cable and get a triamped loudspeaker system?

It should be 6 cond or biamped (for a 4 cond cable).

Just being picky.

Twisting reduces inductive effects but increases capacitance. You, and your amp and speakers, can decide which is best in your system.

Note that it is theoretically possible to run multiple cables in parallel to feed multi-driver systems. Giz and others may have reduced this to practice. I hope there's a patent pending.

you would be mistaken in that assumption...

LOL...
There ya go! Just poke the cable manufacturer in the eye.

^^^

lol... i don't have a lot of patience for the old "their speakers aren't good enough" canard...

good thing he can't see the lampcord that mine are hooked up with presently...

Mine are hooked up with SoundKing which gives them a majestic and royal sound.

The 4c cables are used (depending on the venue and ease of cabling) to power 2 way cabinets or cabinets with 2 mids or highs. Some arrays have have looping breakouts so more than one cabinet can be fed with a 4c cable. The 8c cables will power twin drivers for both High and Mid or the whole stack section. Sometimes if we do not fly anything, the whole signal (HMLS) is fed through a single 8c cable.

Each speaker system and company has its own installation and cabling preference.

In any event, the actual wires in the cables are not exotic in any way (no OFC claims for instance) and are fine stranded for flexibility and durability in that these cables are bundled into large harnesses and stored in large crates on casters so they can be rolled on site, opened and attached to the fly rigging to be raised into position with the speaker array using chain hoists. On concert grade cabling, the only basic construction improvement over off the shelf rubber jacketed SJO is the neoprene jacketing which can withstand abuse much longer under harsh conditions.

That reminds me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRf_A07Elyw

Gotcha beat...
I have 25' runs of 14 AWG that are 25 years old with........ that green corrosion!
(Most antiquers prefer that you don't mess with the patina. )

^^^

I bow to the master...

+infinity for the link to Roger Russell's page on speaker wire. Read it and heed it.

He was the head of speaker design at McIntosh for well over 20 years as well as an accredited Electrical Engineer. So I think he knows a thing or two about speaker wires.

Also look at his other pages. They are a well documented history of McIntosh and he updates them every few months.