What is the best speaker wire with banana plugs?

[PooPantMan]

I'm looking for some nice speaker wires with the banana plugs already installed. Does anybody have experience with Monster, Dayton, or any other brands that are good but affordable? I have your typical binding post on my speakers. I need a good sub cable as well. And, who has the best prices on these?

[BACsader]

Hello. Your best bet is buying it all at monoprice. To buy speaker cables with the banana plugs already on them is very expensive. Monoprice banana plugs are cheap and easy to install. You can also get your speaker wire there.

[plowmanjoe]

get everything you need at monoprice. you can do it yourself pretty easily.

[PooPantMan]

Originally Posted by BACsader

Hello. Your best bet is buying it all at monoprice. To buy speaker cables with the banana plugs already on them is very expensive. Monoprice banana plugs are cheap and easy to install. You can also get your speaker wire there.

Not really wanting to do it myself. Dayton arent that expensive.

[SDBlu]

I have Dayton for my front three and so far they have worked out phenomenal. I am very happy with them. They are a quality product and not too expensive.

[JJ]

Blue jeans cable, I can personally highly recommend. Top notch build for a great price.

www.bluejeanscable.com

[saprano]

Try ultralink.
they look nice also http://www.amazon.com/Ultralink-Matr...3407058&sr=1-1

[MattFromCT]

This place has a love fest with monoprice but I find only some of their stuff acceptable. For example, the wrapping around the HDMI cables was really poor quality and stiff. But as a contrast I did like their optical audio cable.

I think Monster makes fine mid-level speaker cable. And you can easily attached their separate banana plugs by themselves.

[gearyt]

any electrical store ( Home Depot, etc..) SPT-2 in 14 gauge

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by MattFromCT

This place has a love fest with monoprice but I find only some of their stuff acceptable. For example, the wrapping around the HDMI cables was really poor quality and stiff. But as a contrast I did like their optical audio cable.

I think Monster makes fine mid-level speaker cable. And you can easily attached their separate banana plugs by themselves.

Anything but Monster. Monoprice speaker wire and banana plugs are top-notch and will cost you 1/4-1/3 of Monster. Stay away from the Kool-Aid...

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by gearyt

any electrical store ( Home Depot, etc..) SPT-2 in 14 gauge

I got my last batch of speaker wire from Home Depot, 14 AWG. Good stuff!

[Colglizity]

I've got 14 AWG Dayton Audio wire I ordered from amazon.com and connected some NXG banana plugs and it sounds and looks great.

[SkullPhyre]

Metal coat hangers

[PooPantMan]

Originally Posted by SkullPhyre

Metal coat hangers

Let me rephrase what I'm looking for: I'm looking for some kick ass professional speaker wires where I dont have to attach the banana plugs myself - Home Depots is not what I'm looking for. I want somebody to look at the back of my speakers and the plugs are going to look so sick that its going to create a jungle gym in their pants! Get my point?

[PooPantMan]

Originally Posted by saprano

Try ultralink.
they look nice also http://www.amazon.com/Ultralink-Matr...3407058&sr=1-1

mmmmmm yeah Ultralink...Madonna with meatballs!!!

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by PooPantMan

mmmmmm yeah Ultralink...Madonna with meatballs!!!

What's that sign say!!!! "no bare feet???"

Ultralink has a good reputation, and it's affordable..... whether it's any better than Home-Depot wire.... that's debatable.... but it certainly looks sexy.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by PooPantMan

Let me rephrase what I'm looking for: I'm looking for some kick ass professional speaker wires where I dont have to attach the banana plugs myself - Home Depots is not what I'm looking for. I want somebody to look at the back of my speakers and the plugs are going to look so sick that its going to create a jungle gym in their pants! Get my point?

If your budget permits, try Nordost Blue Heaven or Red Dawn. For something a bit cheaper, Kimber Cable might do the trick. Not sure if it's available preterminated, though.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

The main factor that affects the performance of a speaker wire is resistance (lower resistance is better). Resistance is affected by three factors: conductivity, length, and thickness.

CONDUCTIVITY
Copper is the most commonly used material in speaker wires. Silver is a slightly better conductor and has a slighly lower resistance compared to the same gauge of copper wire. However, it costs a lot more and any advantage gained by using a better conductor can easily be compensated for with slightly thicker copper wire.

Electrical conductance is a measure of how easily electricity flows along an element. Its units are Siemens, which is the inverse of Ohms. Electrical conductance is related to the materials' conductivity according to the following formula:

G = σ . (A/L)

where:

G = the electrical conductance (Siemens)
σ = the materials conductivity (Siemens/Meter), it is the inverse of the material's resistivity
A = the object's cross-sectional area (Meter ^2)
L = the length of the object (Meter)

Resistivity in Ohm per Meter
Silver: 1.6 x 10^-8
Copper: 1.7 x 10^-8
Gold: 2.4 x 10^-8
Aluminum or Aluminium: 2.7 x 10^-8

Electrical Conductivity (σ, Siemens/Meter) at 20 degrees (C)
Silver: 6.2 × 10^7, Highest electrical conductivity of any known metal
Copper: 6.0 × 10^7
Gold: 4.5 × 10^7, Gold is commonly used in electrical contacts
Aluminum: 3.8 × 10^7

LENGTH
If you double the length of a wire, you will double its resistance. This means that you will have to get a wire with better resistance or you will have to increase the power in order to get the same level of sound as the shorter wire.

THICKNESS (CROSS-SECTIONAL-AREA)
The resistance of a wire decreases as you increase its thickness (AWG, gauge number).

Golden Rule: When you increase the gauge number of a wire by a factor of 3, its resistance will be doubled. For example, the resistance of an 18 gauge speaker wire is 4 times higher per foot in comparison to a 12 gauge wire (18 is 6 points away from 12).

Conclusion: Always use thicker wires (even lamp wire) and buy some blu-ray movies with the extra money that you will be saving.

Stereo Review Dares to Tell the Truth (1983)
A 6-page article by Laurence Greenhill titled "Speaker Cables: Can You Hear the Difference?" was published in Stereo Review magazine on August 1983. It compared Monster cable, 16-gauge wire and 24-gauge wire. The price at that time for a pair of 30-foot lengths of monster cables was $55.00. The cost for 16 gauge heavy lamp cord was $.30/foot or $18.00 and the 24 gauge "speaker wire" was $.03/foot or $1.80.

"...So what do our fifty hours of testing, scoring and listening to speaker cables amount to? Only that 16-gauge lamp cord and Monster cable are indistinguishable from each other with music and seem to be superior to the 24 gauge wire commonly sold or given away as 'speaker cable.' Remember, however, that it was a measurable characteristic--higher resistance per foot--that made 24 gauge sound different from the other cables. If the cable runs were only 6 instead of 30 feet, the overall cable resistances would have been lower and our tests would probably have found no audible differences between the three cables. This project was unable to validate the sonic benefits claimed for exotic speaker cables over common 16-gauge zip cord. We can only conclude, therefore, that there is little advantage besides pride of ownership in using these thick, expensive wires."
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#reviewdares

"In the early 1980's, special speaker wires were beginning to appear on the market. Some of the claims were totally unbelievable and had prices to match. Realizing that wire resistance was the critical factor in speaker wire, Gordon Gow, President of McIntosh Laboratory, used a speaker cable demonstration to show there was no listening difference between these wires and plain line cord."
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#gordongow

John Dunlavy, who manufactures audiophile loudspeakers and wire to go with it, does think questioning is valid. A musician and engineer, Mr. Dunlavy said as an academic exercise he used principles of physics relating to transmission line and network theory to produce a high-end cable. "People ask if they will hear a difference, and I tell them no," he said.

Mr. Dunlavy has often gathered audio critics in his Colorado Springs lab for a demonstration.

"What we do is kind of dirty and stinky," he said. "We say we are starting with a 12 AWG zip cord, and we position a technician behind each speaker to change the cables out." The technicians hold up fancy-looking cables before they disappear behind the speakers. The critics debate the sound characteristics of each wire. "They describe huge changes and they say, 'Oh my God, John, tell me you can hear that difference,'" Mr. Dunlavy said. The trick is the technicians never actually change the cables, he said, adding, "It's the placebo effect."
http://www.sound.westhost.com/cables-p2.htm

A famous feud erupted between audio critic Tom Nousaine and Transparent Audio president Jack Summer. Eventually Summer declined to have his cables tested in the classic double blind ABX testing against other cheap cables.
http://www.vxm.com/21R.64.html

Attachment 4131

Two sets of 25ft wires for left and right speakers would cost you over $58,000+Tax & Shipping or you can buy a well-equipped Corvette.

You can always buy a used high-end cable at substantial savings of several thousand dollars.
http://www.usedcable.com/cgi-bin/The...ny.storefront/

Additional References:
http://www.sherwoodusa.com/cc_qanda.html
http://pkant.htmlplanet.com/wiresfaq.htm
http://www.aperionaudio.com/AperionU...er-wiring.aspx
http://www.hometheaterfocus.com/acce...io-cables.aspx

[JJ]

Well, he's been banned. Wonder who's secondary account that was.

[Clark Kent]

The cheapest pre-terminated speaker wires I know of can be found here to order:

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

I can understand why someone would want someone else to do it. I remember the feeling when I first started getting into this hobby. It can get a little scary stripping the wire and threading it the first time.