speaker wire

[flipxneo0]

hey guys, i have a question my setup is klipsch quintet III speakers, klipsch sub 10, and a sony str dg820, now the only thing im completely clueless about is the wires. can anyone give me a crash course in speaker wire and what should i be using to connect all this equipment. Thanks i appreciate any help anyone gives

[richteer]

Originally Posted by flipxneo0

hey guys, i have a question my setup is klipsch quintet III speakers, klipsch sub 10, and a sony str dg820, now the only thing im completely clueless about is the wires. can anyone give me a crash course in speaker wire and what should i be using to connect all this equipment. Thanks i appreciate any help anyone gives

The audiophile rule of thumb is to spend ~10% of your systems cost on cables. Make sure you get something beefy enough to handle the load (zip cord and CAT 5 are NOT suitable!), and make sure you keep the polarity correct (i.e., make sure the + amp terminal is connected to the + speaker terminal).

[GeneD5]

the smaller the guage # means the cable is beefier and can handle more info (ie 16 guage is bigger than 18 guage)

[sokrman14]

All you need is 16-18 gauge wire for that setup unless you are running a really long run like 100ft, then go for 12 gauge.

[fronn]

Just go to lowes or home depot and get the 14-16 awg wire they got -- they'll cut it to length for you. It should be relatively cheap.

Any wire with 2 strands is going to work fine. You're not going to be able to hear a difference anyways.

I'd say you've got too much money if you're spending 10% of your budget on wires, audiophile or not -- if you've got a system where spending more than 40-50 on speaker wire would actually make a difference, you're not going to be posting on here for advice about audio anyways.

I would stay away from anything above 18 awg though... 16 or below is pretty safe regardless of what kind you get.

[Carlsberg19]

I loathe wires/cables, with my current set up i have the surge protector/noise elimator lead, hdmi cables and power cables for the different devices, they all make a horrible mess which i why i f**** them all in behind a sheet of plaster, same goes with my pc, longs for the day of cable free everything! ohh and my speaker cable runs through the plaster also thank god

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by richteer

The audiophile rule of thumb is to spend ~10% of your systems cost on cables. Make sure you get something beefy enough to handle the load (zip cord and CAT 5 are NOT suitable!), and make sure you keep the polarity correct (i.e., make sure the + amp terminal is connected to the + speaker terminal).

A $10,000.00 system requires $1,000.00 worth of speaker wire?

I think THOSE audiophiles have had it turned up a little too loud for a little too long.

[Gremal]

I like flat wire such as Alpha Core Goertz or Nordost. Other types just sound slower in terms of transient response and top to bottom cohesion.

Depending on your other gear, speaker cables make a huge impact on overall sound quality.

[Woody]

If you really want to be depressed, take a look at what the speaker wires the popular brands use INSIDE the cabinet.

Yikes

[fronn]

Originally Posted by Woody

If you really want to be depressed, take a look at what the speaker wires the popular brands use INSIDE the cabinet.

Yikes

That's why DIY is better

[richteer]

Originally Posted by fronn

Any wire with 2 strands is going to work fine. You're not going to be able to hear a difference anyways.

Perhaps if one has lousy ears, or a crappy system, or a poorly set up one, no difference can be heard with different cable types. But for the rest of us, cable type do matter.

I'd say you've got too much money if you're spending 10% of your budget on wires, audiophile or not -- if you've got a system where spending more than 40-50 on speaker wire would actually make a difference, you're not going to be posting on here for advice about audio anyways.

And given some of the advice I see here, thank goodness for that!

[richteer]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

A $10,000.00 system requires $1,000.00 worth of speaker wire?

I think THOSE audiophiles have had it turned up a little too loud for a little too long.

Well, "require" is too strong a word, but it would be appropriate. I think someone with $200 speakers is just as nuts to spend $1000 on cables as someone with $10,000 speakers is to spend $10 on zip cord. Neither makes sense.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by Gremal

I like flat wire such as Alpha Core Goertz or Nordost. Other types just sound slower in terms of transient response and top to bottom cohesion.

Depending on your other gear, speaker cables make a huge impact on overall sound quality.

Thank goodness for the voice of sanity!

I'm amazed at the closed-mindedness of some of the people here, when presumably we're all trying to wring every bit of performance out of our hobby.

It's an unfortunate fact (for our wallets) that the best costs lots of money, especially when the law of decreasing returns kicks in. Not everyone can--or wants to--afford things like high end cables and the like, but to just dismiss them is plain ignorant IMHO.

[Woody]

Originally Posted by fronn

That's why DIY is better

Or buy better speakers. (not you, just in genearal)

[Woody]

Originally Posted by richteer

Thank goodness for the voice of sanity!

I'm amazed at the closed-mindedness of some of the people here, when presumably we're all trying to wring every bit of performance out of our hobby.

It's an unfortunate fact (for our wallets) that the best costs lots of money, especially when the law of decreasing returns kicks in. Not everyone can--or wants to--afford things like high end cables and the like, but to just dismiss them is plain ignorant IMHO.

+1 agreed. Wire/cabling is a HUGE part of any system.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by richteer

The audiophile rule of thumb is to spend ~10% of your systems cost on cables. Make sure you get something beefy enough to handle the load (zip cord and CAT 5 are NOT suitable!), and make sure you keep the polarity correct (i.e., make sure the + amp terminal is connected to the + speaker terminal).

I care to differ about CAT 5. Braided, multi-strand custom cables have been know to outperform silver cables. Here's a link at audioholics from an actual speaker wire shoot out http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/c...and-conclusion

As you see Cat 5 (when properly impleminted) outperformed all other speaker wire.

[Leon Liew]

Originally Posted by richteer

Well, "require" is too strong a word, but it would be appropriate. I think someone with $200 speakers is just as nuts to spend $1000 on cables as someone with $10,000 speakers is to spend $10 on zip cord. Neither makes sense.

My exact sentiments here

[fronn]

Originally Posted by richteer

Perhaps if one has lousy ears, or a crappy system, or a poorly set up one, no difference can be heard with different cable types. But for the rest of us, cable type do matter.

And given some of the advice I see here, thank goodness for that!

I think it's more of a case that many folks are a bit dubious of all the snake oil in the audio industry. When every piece of documented evidence around says paying $400 for 15 ft of cabling is a waste of money, you're going to find resistance -- The high end speaker wire companies are similar to Bose (way overpriced for their performance). Most people weigh their budget when considering purchases -- possible gain in performance / dollar is a generally the biggest decider. In 99.99% of cases money is going to better spent on sound treatments for the room (basstraps, EQs, wall treatments, etc.), rather than speaker wire. I'd be willing to bet you're room isn't optimal either and spending 200-300 on speaker wire for your entire system and the other 1000 on room treatments will give more significant rewards than spending 1200 on speaker wire and nothing on room treatments (you're room may be one of the few in america that is properly treated, so correct me if I'm wrong -- I'm honestly not trying to pick on you). Treatments are so often forgotten (probably because the result can be an ugly room) and expensive speaker wire should be below that. I'm not saying you're proposing nobody improve their room, I'm just saying people have a budget and often forgotten things should be higher priority than buying some of the higher end Nordost/AlphaCore/etc. cables.

There's no doubt difference in cable quality given the right equipment (as I've heard it before), that's not what I'm debating. I still wouldn't recommend ever paying several hundred for a short run of cable though. But indeed spending 10 dollars on cable when you have a speaker and receiver/amp in the thousands range is a little silly.

In the OPs case, I don't think buying some AlphaCore's or Nordost are going to help him. There's little reason to act elitist as if everyone else is deaf and daft. The receiver and speakers (Sony 820 and Klipsch Quintets) are going to be covering up any miniscule amount of improvement there is when going from a run of 16 awg Lowe's speaker cable to 7 awg Alpha Core. You're barking up the wrong tree if you think otherwise.

@OP: No offense, as wasn't pointing out your equipment to put it down, merely to point out that you didn't spend thousands on your receiver and speakers.

[fronn]

Originally Posted by Woody

Or buy better speakers. (not you, just in genearal)

Or that. :P

It's just safer on the low end with DIY, as you can make cheap speakers that don't suffer from the same corner cutting that commercial speakers suffer from.

[Leon Liew]

Originally Posted by richteer

Thank goodness for the voice of sanity!

I'm amazed at the closed-mindedness of some of the people here, when presumably we're all trying to wring every bit of performance out of our hobby.

It's an unfortunate fact (for our wallets) that the best costs lots of money, especially when the law of decreasing returns kicks in. Not everyone can--or wants to--afford things like high end cables and the like, but to just dismiss them is plain ignorant IMHO.

You took the words right out of my mouth period