speaker wire

[Scooby Blu]

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.

I second this motion richteer. If someone wants to spend 10,000 and run coat hangers as wire that is their choice. However, there are a number of high end cable companies that ARE NOT Monster that offer kick ass sound improvement. I have heard this upgrade with my own ears ! Some of us know how expensive our hobby is. The fact remains, for the most part. Not all, but the more you spend the better the sound. This has been a fact for decades in the audio market.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Scooby Blu

I second this motion richteer. If someone wants to spend 10,000 and run coat hangers as wire that is their choice. However, there are a number of high end cable companies that ARE NOT Monster that offer kick ass sound improvement. I have heard this upgrade with my own ears ! Some of us know how expensive our hobby is. The fact remains, for the most part. Not all, but the more you spend the better the sound. This has been a fact for decades in the audio market.

I would like everyone to know that I believe that good speakerwire is very important (not talking about Monster either). I've just believe that a DIY can be very impressive and inexpensive (but when you think about the time it takes to make them - then the price kinda balances out with the expensive cables - I know - ive done the 6 braided Cat 5 before - takes hours)!!!! It does make an audible difference.

[Scooby Blu]

Originally Posted by prerich

I would like everyone to know that I believe that good speakerwire is very important (not talking about Monster either). I've just believe that a DIY can be very impressive and inexpensive (but when you think about the time it takes to make them - then the price kinda balances out with the expensive cables - I know - ive done the 6 braided Cat 5 before - takes hours)!!!! It does make an audible difference.

Point taken. I would not know how to build my own wire to save my life . Now, I know I will open myself to a possible attack since this following link is FROM the company itself. That being said, take it with a grain of salt. However, I did find it worth reading and educational as well.

link http://www.audioquest.com/pdfs/aq_cable_theory.pdf

This is the wire I can afford at the present time. And it does sound good.

[Colglizity]

My 12 guage oxy-free speaker wire had some kind of clear, plastic strands in the middle of the wire... It is really soft and looks like fiber speaker wire... I noticed it when installing my banana plugs. Does anyone know what the heck this is??????

[mdabb]

A few questions regarding speaker wire.

1) Is it better to get silver vs copper/pure copper ? Silver is a better conducter and gold (connectors) oxidizes slower but it would be best not to use them?

2) Is more strands better ?

3) Since you are sending an alologue signal isn't it better to get "good speaker wire" ?

I have always used 10 gauge wire and was taught to believe that the beefier the better. Preserves the signal, Right?

You know with coaxial cable- it is better to have a solid copper core rather than copper plated. So wouldn't it be better for speaker wire to be pure copper. I'm not sure if all speaker wire is pure copper or not.

[Intamin]

So given my system, I have/will spend 2-3k when all said and done. Right now, I have el cheapo wire which serves its purpose, but I'm hooked in the upgrade mode. So based on the 10% of purchase being on wire, aka 2-300 on wire, what would be the recommendation, seeing how I can get monoprice wire for around 75 max (that's 250ft of wire). I'd like to just know what cable would be recommended (klipsch reference, hopefully the mwf15 sub, yamaha receiver) so I can get max performance.

[Woody]

Originally Posted by Intamin

So given my system, I have/will spend 2-3k when all said and done. Right now, I have el cheapo wire which serves its purpose, but I'm hooked in the upgrade mode. So based on the 10% of purchase being on wire, aka 2-300 on wire, what would be the recommendation, seeing how I can get monoprice wire for around 75 max (that's 250ft of wire). I'd like to just know what cable would be recommended (klipsch reference, hopefully the mwf15 sub, yamaha receiver) so I can get max performance.

The "10% rule" does not just apply to speaker wire. Typically it includes speaker wire and any interconnects used in the system. (rca's, HDMI's, etc.)

My recommendation is to just get quality stuff. Best case scenario, your local shop will let you audition the interconnects (and PERHAPS speaker wire for your fronts), and if you don't notice a difference, you can return them.

Monster is not the only company who charges too much for their stuff. They are just the loudest and most hated.

[Intamin]

I picked up audioquest wire tonight when I stopped in to my local av place, and I now have it installed and it's a huge upgrade. Much worth the extra money. And thanks for clarifying on the 10% idea, as throwing in the hdmi's along with the wire makes it very reasonable to get to the 10% range.

[Leon Liew]

[QUOTE=Woody;967748
Monster is not the only company who charges too much for their stuff. They are just the loudest and most hated. ]

Well it's about choices and whether one believes in what one gets. As the
saying goes 'One man's meat is another man's poison'

[richteer]

Originally Posted by fronn

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.

You're unfortunately very correct in stating that there is a lot of companies selling snake oil in the audio industry, which is why I always approach new "wacky" ideas with more than a grain of scepticism.

You're also correct when you point out that good cables won't magically transform a lousy system: room treatments are a very important part of system tuning. But I think it's important to note the opposite too: cables can and do make a difference--more generally, everything makes a difference!--and in the appropriate system they can add that final "magic" that sets apart the truely great systems from the good.

And I hear ya on the budget stuff too: I wish I could afford the best of everything now, but like the rest of us, I have to save up over several months to buy just one upgrade (though admitedly my upgrades tend to cost about as much as many peoples' systems...)! Heck, I'm still making do with a self-made preamp->poweramp interconnect and relatively cheap QED speaker cable from England (not QED 79 strand for those familiar with QED).

I think we're in agreement in principle, we're just using different words to express the same ideas. :-)

[richteer]

Originally Posted by Woody

The "10% rule" does not just apply to speaker wire. Typically it includes speaker wire and any interconnects used in the system. (rca's, HDMI's, etc.)

My recommendation is to just get quality stuff. Best case scenario, your local shop will let you audition the interconnects (and PERHAPS speaker wire for your fronts), and if you don't notice a difference, you can return them.

Good clarification about the 10% rule.

The ability to try out different cables and the like is why finding a good dealer is so important. The guys in specialist shops probably do this stuff for a hobby too, so odds ar they have a better clue than the guy who was selling washing machines last week in Futureshop/Frys/etc.

[Beta Man]

I use cheap junk

[toef]

I have a quick question about speaker wire, so I figured I'd throw it in here.

I recently moved, and re-arranged how my speakers were set up, and now my wires for the surround speakers are a tad too short. I ordered what I thought was 50' of wire on eBay, but was sent only 36 feet (and received a refund).

Since I'm somewhat impatient, and since I have this spare 36 feet of wire sitting around, do you think it's possible to cut small pieces of it, and use it to extend my current wire (from about 17' to 22')? I figure I can strip it back a bit, twist the wires together, and wrap it up with electrical tape. Or would using a crimp work better?

So my question, then, is if there is any significant loss in signal if you do either of these, rather than using one long piece.

If it will only be noticeable to people with really sensitive ears, then that's fine with me.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by toefer

I
So my question, then, is if there is any significant loss in signal if you do either of these, rather than using one long piece.

If it will only be noticeable to people with really sensitive ears, then that's fine with me.

There will be some loss either way, but pretty small. Depending on your other stuff, you may not notice it. (Personally, I wouldn't do it, but then I demand the best from my system!)

[Scooby Blu]

Originally Posted by Intamin

I picked up audioquest wire tonight when I stopped in to my local av place, and I now have it installed and it's a huge upgrade. Much worth the extra money. And thanks for clarifying on the 10% idea, as throwing in the hdmi's along with the wire makes it very reasonable to get to the 10% range.

Great to hear that is was a huge upgrade ! I heard the same thing when I upgraded my wire as well ! To me if I can hear the difference it is WORTH the money to obtain the upgrade !

[xAyoFoolx]

I plan on buying this speaker wires but I'm not sure if I need to buy 5 of them or I can just cut them depending on the length I need.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

[Intamin]

Originally Posted by xAyoFoolx

I plan on buying this speaker wires but I'm not sure if I need to buy 5 of them or I can just cut them depending on the length I need.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

You won't need 500ft of wire I'd hope. Buy 1, maybe two max and cut it to the length you need for each speaker.

[xAyoFoolx]

Thanks