speaker cable lengths for 5.1 - Blu-ray Forum

mike4scuba · 01-04-2010, 10:14 PM

Hi, i have a speaker system 5.1 from the same manufactuer tannoy sfx5.1.

the front and rears are the same and the centre is same speaker spec but in a differnt case.

my question is this... is it better to have all the cables cut to exactly the same lenth (i know it seems a waste to cut the fronts the same lenth as the rears) for the same info to reach each speaker.

or am i better paying more for a high quility cable for the fronts rather than the rears

last question is.. i have the option to buy a matching sub would this be a better option over the one sub supplied

many thanks

solarrdadd · 01-04-2010, 10:54 PM

no, you don't need to have them cut the exact same length. you just need some good quality cable. I would highly recommend using some 14awg conductor cables for your speakers. cut it to length, throw in just a little taste more in case you need/want to move it a little and your good to go. monoprice makes really good 14awg speaker cable.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...02&cp_id=10239

i use it myself so I can tell you it's good stuff at a great price. I recommend using the CL2 rated cable as it is rated for in-wall use and a roll of 50' is under $12 & a roll of 100' is under $18 so you can't go wrong! I'm sure you won't need anything larger than that. It will take care of all of your speakers.

best of luck to ya, keep us posted!

mike4scuba · 01-05-2010, 09:03 AM

you certainly can get it cheap over the pond at $17.88 for a 100 foot roll. only thing is i would have to pay $45.77 to have it shipped over here to uk

in the uk we dont have the awg system and have found a conversion site it states that 14awg equates to:
Diameter 1.63mm
Cross Sectional Area 2.08mm

is the diameter the internal wire size and the cross section the cable including the outer plastic casing

please advise

liquidice · 01-05-2010, 02:06 PM

the dimensions you provided sound like the wire itself, and then the full cable with shielding. Overall, sounds like you found a good comparison to 14AWG. Go thicker if you want. Some of use use up to 10 gauge wires, especially for the mains and center. Depends on if your just using this for movies, or if you want to also use as 2 channel audio playback.

As far as your sub question, you don't need to brand match your sub. Looking at alot of our HT, you'll see some of us use more than one sub, and brands can vary. Cruise through the subwoofer forum to get an idea of what people are using, and what they prefer. Your budget will be the biggest question of what you can add to your system. The more woofers, the better!

solarrdadd · 01-05-2010, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by liquidice

the dimensions you provided sound like the wire itself, and then the full cable with shielding. Overall, sounds like you found a good comparison to 14AWG. Go thicker if you want. Some of use use up to 10 gauge wires, especially for the mains and center. Depends on if your just using this for movies, or if you want to also use as 2 channel audio playback.

As far as your sub question, you don't need to brand match your sub. Looking at alot of our HT, you'll see some of us use more than one sub, and brands can vary. Cruise through the subwoofer forum to get an idea of what people are using, and what they prefer. Your budget will be the biggest question of what you can add to your system. The more woofers, the better!

I don't think for the type of speakers he mentioned that they support large wire. from the type he mentioned they are very small speakers and won't handle that size wire. that's why I referenced #14awg. Perhaps it would help all of us if the OP could post a picture of the front & back of one of the speakers peferrably any of the front 3 or give the actual model number of the speakers so we can look them up. again, i'm going by the speakers he mentioned.

mike4scuba · 01-05-2010, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

I don't think for the type of speakers he mentioned that they support large wire. from the type he mentioned they are very small speakers and won't handle that size wire. that's why I referenced #14awg. Perhaps it would help all of us if the OP could post a picture of the front & back of one of the speakers peferrably any of the front 3 or give the actual model number of the speakers so we can look them up. again, i'm going by the speakers he mentioned.

this is the package i have http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/p...roduct_ID/3804

thanks for the replies so far

liquidice · 01-05-2010, 10:48 PM

I'm not going to lie, and I'm sure your not going to be surprised by this comment, but that is a very entry level system...which is totally fine!!! Honestly, I would save any money your going to put towards cables, and save up for a larger system. What you have will give you a taste of what 5.1 can do for movies, but there is so much room for expansion, and trust me, upgraditis will come to get you soon!

If you are going to still get wire, don't go expensive, and keep the cost as low as possible. The original suggestion of 14awg, or comparable in the UK should be just fine for what you have. You probably won't notice that much of a difference, so that's why I say to keep it cheap.

Hope you don't take any this the wrong way. I started out the same as you, as I'm sure many others on this site did.

mike4scuba · 01-06-2010, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by liquidice

Hope you don't take any this the wrong way. I started out the same as you, as I'm sure many others on this site did.

no didnt take it the wrong way, i understand what you are saying. i bought the speaker set up as i didnt want great big speaker boxes sitting in my living room. i didnt like the sound of the tv speakers either so i went for the tannoys. horses for courses really

solarrdadd · 01-06-2010, 01:27 PM

if this helps at all, #14awg wire is pretty close to 1.63mm size wire and that is the diameter of the bare conductor.

also you mentioned about having to pay the higher cost of getting the #14awg wire from monoprice because of where you live. to that i say that i buy things from the UK, canada and germany, high cost and incredibly high shipping but, i want them so, i don't have the luzury of gripping about the cost of things because i do want them and that is where i must buy them from. don't get me wrong for what i said. i'm just saying that sometimes you have to pay for things. when i want thinks that are in another country, good things that make my life easier, make repairs or installations of things simpler and they are worth it, i pay. just think there are probably things in your country that you pay outrages amounts for without batting an eye, just like me here in the USA. so do what i do, save up and buy the wire from monoprice and your good to go. the same way as i save up for the cost to buy things from other countrys. that will keep this issue simple for you.

of course you could always ask an electrician if he or she knows the equal wire gauge to the US #14awg and buy it there! Or, just take one of the speaker wires out of your system, go to the electrical supply house and tell them you want to see something both 1 & 2 sizes larger in wire gauge and which ever one isn't too big and fits, go with that; relative to the price! just trying to help and help make sense of it all!

best of luck, keep us posted.

01-05-2010, 09:03 AM	#3
mike4scuba Member Member since:Jan 2009	price of cable you certainly can get it cheap over the pond at $17.88 for a 100 foot roll. only thing is i would have to pay $45.77 to have it shipped over here to uk in the uk we dont have the awg system and have found a conversion site it states that 14awg equates to: Diameter 1.63mm Cross Sectional Area 2.08mm is the diameter the internal wire size and the cross section the cable including the outer plastic casing please advise

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01-04-2010, 10:14 PM	#1
mike4scuba Member Member since:Jan 2009	speaker cable lengths for 5.1 Hi, i have a speaker system 5.1 from the same manufactuer tannoy sfx5.1. the front and rears are the same and the centre is same speaker spec but in a differnt case. my question is this... is it better to have all the cables cut to exactly the same lenth (i know it seems a waste to cut the fronts the same lenth as the rears) for the same info to reach each speaker. or am i better paying more for a high quility cable for the fronts rather than the rears last question is.. i have the option to buy a matching sub would this be a better option over the one sub supplied many thanks

01-04-2010, 10:54 PM	#2
solarrdadd Blu-ray Prince Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Virginia Home Theater Gallery:255 4K collection:209 Blu-ray collection:1344 DVD collection:4 Blu-ray reviews: 42 Trading Score:316	no, you don't need to have them cut the exact same length. you just need some good quality cable. I would highly recommend using some 14awg conductor cables for your speakers. cut it to length, throw in just a little taste more in case you need/want to move it a little and your good to go. monoprice makes really good 14awg speaker cable. http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...02&cp_id=10239 i use it myself so I can tell you it's good stuff at a great price. I recommend using the CL2 rated cable as it is rated for in-wall use and a roll of 50' is under $12 & a roll of 100' is under $18 so you can't go wrong! I'm sure you won't need anything larger than that. It will take care of all of your speakers. best of luck to ya, keep us posted!

01-05-2010, 02:06 PM	#4
liquidice Mad Scientist Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jun 2008 Location:Milwaukee Home Theater Gallery:43 Blu-ray collection:384 Blu-ray reviews:6	the dimensions you provided sound like the wire itself, and then the full cable with shielding. Overall, sounds like you found a good comparison to 14AWG. Go thicker if you want. Some of use use up to 10 gauge wires, especially for the mains and center. Depends on if your just using this for movies, or if you want to also use as 2 channel audio playback. As far as your sub question, you don't need to brand match your sub. Looking at alot of our HT, you'll see some of us use more than one sub, and brands can vary. Cruise through the subwoofer forum to get an idea of what people are using, and what they prefer. Your budget will be the biggest question of what you can add to your system. The more woofers, the better!

01-05-2010, 10:48 PM	#7
liquidice Mad Scientist Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jun 2008 Location:Milwaukee Home Theater Gallery:43 Blu-ray collection:384 Blu-ray reviews:6	I'm not going to lie, and I'm sure your not going to be surprised by this comment, but that is a very entry level system...which is totally fine!!! Honestly, I would save any money your going to put towards cables, and save up for a larger system. What you have will give you a taste of what 5.1 can do for movies, but there is so much room for expansion, and trust me, upgraditis will come to get you soon! If you are going to still get wire, don't go expensive, and keep the cost as low as possible. The original suggestion of 14awg, or comparable in the UK should be just fine for what you have. You probably won't notice that much of a difference, so that's why I say to keep it cheap. Hope you don't take any this the wrong way. I started out the same as you, as I'm sure many others on this site did.

01-06-2010, 01:27 PM	#9
solarrdadd Blu-ray Prince Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Virginia Home Theater Gallery:255 4K collection:209 Blu-ray collection:1344 DVD collection:4 Blu-ray reviews: 42 Trading Score:316	if this helps at all, #14awg wire is pretty close to 1.63mm size wire and that is the diameter of the bare conductor. also you mentioned about having to pay the higher cost of getting the #14awg wire from monoprice because of where you live. to that i say that i buy things from the UK, canada and germany, high cost and incredibly high shipping but, i want them so, i don't have the luzury of gripping about the cost of things because i do want them and that is where i must buy them from. don't get me wrong for what i said. i'm just saying that sometimes you have to pay for things. when i want thinks that are in another country, good things that make my life easier, make repairs or installations of things simpler and they are worth it, i pay. just think there are probably things in your country that you pay outrages amounts for without batting an eye, just like me here in the USA. so do what i do, save up and buy the wire from monoprice and your good to go. the same way as i save up for the cost to buy things from other countrys. that will keep this issue simple for you. of course you could always ask an electrician if he or she knows the equal wire gauge to the US #14awg and buy it there! Or, just take one of the speaker wires out of your system, go to the electrical supply house and tell them you want to see something both 1 & 2 sizes larger in wire gauge and which ever one isn't too big and fits, go with that; relative to the price! just trying to help and help make sense of it all! best of luck, keep us posted.

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