Speaker cable

[Twitch9]

Speaker wire has no difference on the make or brand. Tests have proven that 16 gauge lamp cord will perform the same as your $500 16 gauge speaker wire, it just won't look as nice. Wire is Wire it makes no difference in speakers they do not draw enough power to notice any audible difference. Now the gauge in wire will make a difference in longer runs and will have less friction and therefore allow the full signal to reach the speakers.

i will try to find the article i am referring to and post it.

[Twitch9]

Straight From Wikipedia

Speaker wires are selected based on quality of construction, price, aesthetic purpose, and convenience. Stranded wire is more flexible than solid wire, and is suitable for movable equipment. For a wire that will be exposed rather than run within walls, under floor coverings, or behind moldings (such as in a home), appearance may be a subjective benefit, but it is irrelevant to electrical characteristics. Better purification of oxidizing materials such as copper is said to result in more consistent conductive properties throughout the length of the wire, but this is a non-issue in terms of its effects on sound quality. Better jacketing may be thicker or tougher, less chemically reactive with the conductor, less likely to tangle and easier to pull through a group of other wires, or may incorporate a number of shielding techniques for non-domestic uses.
Even with poor-quality wire, an audible degradation of sound may not exist. Many supposedly audible differences in speaker wire can be attributed to listener bias or the placebo effect. Listener bias is enhanced in no small part by the popular manufacturers' practice of making claims about their products either with no valid engineering or scientific basis, or of no real-world significance. Many manufacturers catering to audiophiles (as well as those supplying less expensive retail markets) also make unmeasurable, if poetic, claims about their wire sounding open, dynamic, or smooth. To justify these claims, many cite electrical properties such as skin effect, characteristic impedance of the cable, or resonance, which are generally little understood by consumers. None of these has any measurable effect at audio frequencies, though each matters at radio frequencies[2].

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Twitch9

Speaker wire has no difference on the make or brand. Tests have proven that 16 gauge lamp cord will perform the same as your $500 16 gauge speaker wire, it just won't look as nice. Wire is Wire it makes no difference in speakers they do not draw enough power to notice any audible difference. Now the gauge in wire will make a difference in longer runs and will have less friction and therefore allow the full signal to reach the speakers.

i will try to find the article i am referring to and post it.

All I know is this.....there is only ONE test that needs to convince me of anything in the world of audio and that is how it sounds to my ears. You can quote me test after test, show me spec after spec, graph after graph, but the utimate judge will be how it sounds to my EARS!

John

[Twitch9]

I use to think speaker cable made a difference, but i have run a lot of cable and almost every brand out there, all i can say the only difference i have ever heard is the gear i am installing not the cable. I have changed my speaker wire many times, mainly for age of the cable and esthetics not for better brands or claims they make for the cables. I honestly think it's a placebo effect, marketing, and the pushy sales guy trying to get the big commission on over priced cables. This is my opinion and i know many people will disagree with me on this one.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Twitch9

I use to think speaker cable made a difference, but i have run a lot of cable and almost every brand out there, all i can say the only difference i have ever heard is the gear i am installing not the cable. I have changed my speaker wire many times, mainly for age of the cable and esthetics not for better brands or claims they make for the cables. I honestly think it's a placebo effect, marketing, and the pushy sales guy trying to get the big commission on over priced cables. This is my opinion and i know many people will disagree with me on this one.

Yes indeed, including myself, but that's ok. If you can't hear the differences then that is all that matters.

However (not directed at you Twich9), I get real tired of hearing that whenever someone feels strongly about an upgrade or tweak or whatever, it is invariebly attributed to a placebo effect. The article you quoted is no different.

John

[Big Daddy]

Facts:

• For speaker wires, size does matter, particularly for long lengths.
• Silver and copper are the two best conductors. Gold does not tarnish like silver or oxidize like copper, but it is not as good a conductor as silver or copper. That is why manufacturers use gold for the connectors and not the actual wire.
• Silver has a small advantage over copper. However, it is significantly more expensive and it can tarnish.
• Any advantage that silver has can be overcome with slightly thicker copper wire.
• Many manufacturers boast about using oxygen free copper.
• Although oxidized copper is not very attractive, it continues to do its job as a conductor of current.
• Teflon has a very slight advantage over PVC, Polyethylene, and Polypropylene as an insulator. It is more difficult to manufacture and is more expensive.

Fiction:

Mine is bigger or better than yours.

[zicmubleu]

I haven't done my homework here so this question maybe addressed elsewhere in the stickies. If you are using a powered subwoofer this would imply there is a separate amplifier located near or in the sub's cabinet, right? So in this case the audio signal being delivered to that amplifier is fairly low power and more susceptible to inductive interference, etc. What is the recommendation for that type of speaker wire? I am thinking some sort of shielded wire might be needed on longer runs or at least twisted pair. If it is shielded are both ends grounded, or is that automatically handled with the receiver's sub-woofer out-jack and remote amplifier in-jack by some industry standard?

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by zicmubleu

I haven't done my homework here so this question maybe addressed elsewhere in the stickies. If you are using a powered subwoofer this would imply there is a separate amplifier located near or in the sub's cabinet, right? So in this case the audio signal being delivered to that amplifier is fairly low power and more susceptible to inductive interference, etc. What is the recommendation for that type of speaker wire? I am thinking some sort of shielded wire might be needed on longer runs or at least twisted pair. If it is shielded are both ends grounded, or is that automatically handled with the receiver's sub-woofer out-jack and remote amplifier in-jack by some industry standard?

You would frequently use a single RCA type Interconnect which is designed as a Sub woofer cable.

Rich

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by zicmubleu

I haven't done my homework here so this question maybe addressed elsewhere in the stickies. If you are using a powered subwoofer this would imply there is a separate amplifier located near or in the sub's cabinet, right? So in this case the audio signal being delivered to that amplifier is fairly low power and more susceptible to inductive interference, etc. What is the recommendation for that type of speaker wire? I am thinking some sort of shielded wire might be needed on longer runs or at least twisted pair. If it is shielded are both ends grounded, or is that automatically handled with the receiver's sub-woofer out-jack and remote amplifier in-jack by some industry standard?

If you have a powered subwoofer, it means the amplifier is attached to the subwoofer's cabinet. You normally do not need speaker wires. You connect a Digital Coaxial RG6 cable (they are shielded well) with RCA connectors from the receiver's LFE (sub) output to the the RCA input on the subwoofer's amplifier.

If you are using a passive subwoofer (unpowered) or if you are using the speaker terminals of the powered subwoofer, any good quality speaker wire (preferably 14 or 12 gauge) should work.

[Samsang]

Shielded cables with RCA connectors is the norm. Many prefer to use coaxial cable for improved shielding. The size, impedance, and dielectric type are not important as the signal is audio rather than RF.

I use standard audio cable for my subs and have had no problems. But you can buy (or assemble) coaxial cables at very little cost, so there's no financial hit in going that upgrade route.

[zicmubleu]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

If you have a powered subwoofer, it means the amplifier is attached to the subwoofer's cabinet. You normally do not need speaker wires. You connect a Digital Coaxial RG6 cable (they are shielded well) with RCA connectors from the receiver's LFE (sub) output to the the RCA input on the subwoofer's amplifier.

If you are using a passive subwoofer (unpowered) or if you are using the speaker terminals of the powered subwoofer, any good quality speaker wire(preferably 14 or 12 gauge) should work.

Thanks to both you and Naturephoto, those were some quick responses. I want to find that thread where you mentioned a company to buy raw speakers from to build my own, and I think you mentioned some amplifiers in that same thread; you also end up sleeping on the couch So my plan was to house the amplifier separately, my receiver only has pre-outs for the sub. This is still called a passive sub from what you are saying. The itch to start this project is getting real bad.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by zicmubleu

Thanks to both you and Naturephoto, those were some quick responses. I want to find that thread where you mentioned a company to buy raw speakers from to build my own, and I think you mentioned some amplifiers in that same thread; you also end up sleeping on the couch So my plan was to house the amplifier separately, my receiver only has pre-outs for the sub. This is still called a passive sub from what you are saying. The itch to start this project is getting real bad.

Repairing, Upgrading, & Building Subwoofers. It has a sticky under Subwoofers section. All the links are in Post #2.

You use a separate external amplifier for a passive subwoofer.

[zicmubleu]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Repairing, Upgrading, & Building Subwoofers. It has a sticky under Subwoofers section. All the links are in Post #2.

You use a separate external amplifier for a passive subwoofer.

Thanks, I am going to need a few more paychecks to make this plunge. There must be some sort of stimulus loan to cover this stuff!

[Gremal]

Originally Posted by zicmubleu

Thanks, I am going to need a few more paychecks to make this plunge. There must be some sort of stimulus loan to cover this stuff!

I don't think the stimulus bill covered home theater upgrades. We'll have to lobby congress better in the future.

[saprano]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

If you have a powered subwoofer, it means the amplifier is attached to the subwoofer's cabinet. You normally do not need speaker wires. You connect a Digital Coaxial RG6 cable (they are shielded well) with RCA connectors from the receiver's LFE (sub) output to the the RCA input on the subwoofer's amplifier.
If you are using a passive subwoofer (unpowered) or if you are using the speaker terminals of the powered subwoofer, any good quality speaker wire (preferably 14 or 12 gauge) should work.

Isn't this the best way to go when using a powerd sub? thats how mine in hooked up.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by saprano

Isn't this the best way to go when using a powerd sub? thats how mine in hooked up.

Yes, digital coaxial cable has better shielding and is better than regular analog RCA cables. If you use a regular RCA cable to connect your receiver to the subwoofer, you may hear a huming sound from the sub every time you touch the cable or move it.