use 1/4 plug cable for speakers?

[liquidice]

I have some monster cable that's been sitting around forever, and I'm wondering if I could cut the plugs and use them for speaker cable? They are Monster Pro 500 series and are 1/4 inch plugs male to male. When I unscrew the casing, it appears to be two wires soldered to the plug. Is there something I should test before hacking these cables to make sure they would work?...or is the theory of two wires will work as two wires be just fine?

[Johnny Vinyl]

Do yourself a favour, go to Monoprice.com...buy some speaker cable and Banana Plugs or Spades and don't mess with the other cable.

John

[SmilesLots]

Agree with john72963. Additionally you need good quality large gauge wire, like 12 or 14 gauge, for good power transfer from receiver to spkrs, especially on long runs, say 10 feet or more, and if you have a high power system.

[jeff92k7]

If they are Speaker cables and not instrument/guitar cables, then they will work fine. No need to spend money on more cables if you already have some.

[liquidice]

I currently use 14 gauge for all speakers, and 10 gauge for center channel. The 1/4" plug cable is 12 gauge. It just seems like a waste sitting here doing nothing, and thought I could use it for my mains. I'm pretty sure it's an audio cable, as used in a studio to run to the mixing board. At least that's what I used to use it for. And also I don't like the idea of banana plugs, I'd rather have that direct connection from speaker to receiver, nothing else conducting through anything.

[jeff92k7]

Originally Posted by liquidice

I'm pretty sure it's an audio cable, as used in a studio to run to the mixing board.

It is an audio cable if it has 1/4" phone plugs on it but the queation was what kind of audio cable. There are three common types of "audio" cables that use 1/4" plugs in the pro audio world.

The first and most common is a line level cable that carries signals at levels somewhat similar to the "RCA" cables that you may have in your home theater. These have one or two small signal conductors with a shield surrounding them.

The second is a guitar/instrument level cable designed to carry a very low level signal from a guitar pickup to a preamplifier. These have one small signal conductor with a shield.

The third and least common is a speaker cable. These have heavy, non-sheilded conductors and more closely resemble a power cable if you cut them apart. These aren't used widely in the upper end of pro audio as most high end equipment has replaced 1/4" speaker connectors with Neutrik Speakon connectors. 1/4" speaker cables can still be found in low to mid level markets - mainly your local Guitar shops "pro" sound section.

If you cable is in fact the third type, then cutting the ends off will allow you a perfectly good speaker cable. If it is one of the first two types, then you need to find something else.

However, your comment about "running to a mixing board" would indicate that it is one of the first two types. Good studio mixers do not have amplifiers in them so any cable connected directly to a mixing console would have to be a line level or instrument cable.

[liquidice]

excellent response Jeff, thanks so much for the info!