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Can i use any wire as speaker cable?

post #1 of 6
Thread Starter 
I'm aware it's better to use larger cabling when possible and that was my original plan until i found out my receiver plugs aren't cut to receive much better than 18 guage. I have some red primary wire and some sort of blue wire lying around, my dad uses it mostly for wiring in cars.
Is it safe to use one kind of wire for both the main and ground wires? Does it matter if it's copper or otherwise?
post #2 of 6
You want to use 100% copper speaker wire.
post #3 of 6
Thread Starter 
I want to or i have to?
post #4 of 6
post #5 of 6
Thread Starter 
Thanks For the info, I had a feeling wire is wire. Anyways I dug up some 18 gauge Grote
Brand primary wire in both black and red (convenient), the cable run is only 3' right now for testing at low volume. The jacks on the amp are just spring jacks and seem to be pretty well limited to a max of 16 gauge wire.
post #6 of 6
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mik James View Post

I want to or i have to?

You don't have to. But if you choose to use CCA (copper-clad aluminum) wire, keep in mind that it's less efficient at carrying a signal than same-gauge copper wire. e.g. 16-gauge CCA wire is equivalent to 18-gauge copper wire, 14-guage CCA is equivalent to 16-gauge copper wire, etc. Radio Shack may still carry real copper wire, but other local stores (Home Depot, Walmart, Target, etc) may have only CCA wire. If the packaging does not state "pure copper", or "XX% OGC", etc, then assume that it is CCA.
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