Long Speaker Cable Run

hochpt21

New setup for my main system dictates that I have 25' speaker cable runs.

I thought I remember that with longer runs the gauge needs to be lower? Is that accurate?

I was thinking about some of the Belden 5T00UP 10 gauge from Blue Jeans Cable. Also open to other suggestions, but the budget is around $200 which I know is tough for 50 feet of cable.

Thanks,
Paul

scubalab

Correct Paul. Seems to be industry standard that longer runs should be lower gauge. I'd think with that length, anything lower than 14 AWG should be fine. That said, I always go overkill and usually run 12AWG or lower no matter what the length. You should be able to get some fine cable for $3-$4/LF, and apply the rest of the budget to some nice terminations. You 'building' them yourself?

Look into this:

http://www.douglasconnection.com/Furez-10-AWG-2-Conductor-Speaker-Cable-Raw-FZ102.htm

I'd imagine Doug might even be able to set you up with some very decent cables already made close to or within your budget...

pitdogg2

I like overkill, on my 20' runs I used 10ga. also. Belden is good stuff. I'd also check out Doug just to see. can't hurt

hochpt21

Perfect, thanks guys.

That link looks perfect @scubalab

DaveHo

I've used that Furez 10ga before. I like it.

dromunds

Doug just made some 25' Furez SC's for me for some surrounds on my second system. With your budget you're also going to be looking at Furez terminations if you're going new. With that length it seems unlikely Doug would have demo or used pairs. If its for your main system you're welcome to try my 25' pair and see what you think. PM me if you want, I may be going by your area on Sunday. -Don

dannylightning

yes i would try to get 10 gauge for over 20 foot. thicker wire can carry the signal farther easier

lightman1

This should do the trick....

txcoastal1

Is that some #1 D-bag

lightman1

txcoastal1 wrote: »

Is that some #1 D-bag

2/0, dingleberry.....

K_M

Try this out......25' is not much at all.

https://www.cirris.com/learning-center/calculators/133-wire-resistance-calculator-table

K_M

dannylightning wrote: »

yes i would try to get 10 gauge for over 20 foot. thicker wire can carry the signal farther easier

https://www.cirris.com/learning-center/calculators/133-wire-resistance-calculator-table

Even 14 Gauge has very low resistance.

voltz

Hey Paul

50 ft of Furez 10 awg cable from Doug's DIY is like $72 and throw in some banana plugs or spades for a little more if you do the DIY cables.

PSOVLSK

I've used the Belden 5T00UP 10 gauge from Blue Jeans Cable and have no problem recommending it, but I have no idea if it's any better than the Furez. I can tell you that the Blue Jeans stuff is a *itch if you plan to use nanners. That may be the case will all 10 ga. cable though.

EndersShadow

I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOUG @helipilotdoug . First, he's a Forum member and small business owner. Second, his pricing is very competitive and even better the FUREZ cable is a BREEZE TO WORK WITH. I purchased 90 feet to have 2 45 foot runs give or take down a wall, across the wall and opening and then to my amp for my LSi F/x's. I also have 35 feet of his 14 gauge 2 conductor for one sub, and another 15 feet of the same 14 gauge 2 conductor for my other sub.

I used 12 gauge 2 conductor wire, but if I would have been able to, I'd have used 10 gauge. I just wasn't sure how well the 10 gauge would have fit under my carpet even with the outer jacket stripped.

I did terminate myself and I'm quite sure your cable of doing so, just make sure to get decent terminations of whatever type you need at each end (spade, banana, etc).

Go as big as you can so you dont wonder what if later on. Plus again, dougs prices are hard to beat, and he can give you the exact lengths you want rather than just 10 foot increments..

Just make sure to add about 10 extra feet to whatever number you come up with to make sure it works

CoolJazz

One of the biggest and simplest upgrades you'll ever make is to shorten speaker cables!!

Never believe those "guides" that rely on DC resistance and forget to explain the high current connection between amp and speakers and the advantages that intimate coupling can bring.

It's not a small difference at all to loose long speaker cable runs if quality is you're goal. Move the amp(s) closer...

CJ

hochpt21

voltz wrote: »

Hey Paul

50 ft of Furez 10 awg cable from Doug's DIY is like $72 and throw in some banana plugs or spades for a little more if you do the DIY cables.

That's pretty much exactly what I was thinking.

K_M

25 foot of wire @14 gauge is .063 ohms

25 foot of wire @10 gauge is .025 ohms

a few hundredths of an ohm difference.

F1nut

There's a lot more to cable than the gauge.

CoolJazz

"a few hundredths of an ohm difference." ....at DC!

What's that sound like? Nice beat?

What if I don't have a DC coupled amp?

It only holds the cone out another quarter inch when I upgraded a guage....

I love the smooth detail of DC at the end of a long hard week...

Hope that cap on the tweeter is still good!



CJ

hochpt21

CoolJazz wrote: »

One of the biggest and simplest upgrades you'll ever make is to shorten speaker cables!!

Never believe those "guides" that rely on DC resistance and forget to explain the high current connection between amp and speakers and the advantages that intimate coupling can bring.

It's not a small difference at all to loose long speaker cable runs if quality is you're goal. Move the amp(s) closer...

CJ

I did some measuring today and I can probably get closer to 20'. That is my goal to keep it as close as possible.

skrol

When considering the DC resistance of a length of speaker wire, you need to consider that you have the supply side run (+) and the return (-). Therefore, if your speaker is 25' from the amp, you have 50' of wire the signal travels through. At these lengths, the speaker wire resistance plays a more significant role in the system damping factor.

I have similar runs of speaker wire (14 awg) and want to go with thicker or make up some longer interconnects so that I can move the amp closer to the speakers.

mhardy6647

well, if one does the math, the delta in DC resistance between two wire gauges of fixed length will have an effect on the "damping factor". Given that damping factor is no more, and no less, than the ratio of the load impedance to the output impedance of the amplifier. Load impedance is the impedance of the loudspeaker plus the cable that connects it to the amplifier.

The question is -- does that measurable (calculable) effect on DF have any audible consequence?

Only one way to find out!

As they say in my line of work, "It's a testable hypothesis".
... and we like testable hypotheses.

K_M

Using the OP's final distance, of 20' and figuring 2 conductors total of 40' each run.

40' of 14 gauge= .101 ohms
40' of 10 gauge= .04 ohms

Additional information.
http://www.audioholics.com/audio-video-cables/speaker-cable-length-differences-do-they-matter

mdaudioguy

hochpt21 wrote: »

CoolJazz wrote: »

One of the biggest and simplest upgrades you'll ever make is to shorten speaker cables!!

Never believe those "guides" that rely on DC resistance and forget to explain the high current connection between amp and speakers and the advantages that intimate coupling can bring.

It's not a small difference at all to loose long speaker cable runs if quality is you're goal. Move the amp(s) closer...

CJ

I did some measuring today and I can probably get closer to 20'. That is my goal to keep it as close as possible.

From experience... Give yourself a little slack. It's much easier to shorten a cable than it is to lengthen one!

25' vs 20' will not make any difference in performance.

hochpt21

mdaudioguy wrote: »

hochpt21 wrote: »

CoolJazz wrote: »

One of the biggest and simplest upgrades you'll ever make is to shorten speaker cables!!

Never believe those "guides" that rely on DC resistance and forget to explain the high current connection between amp and speakers and the advantages that intimate coupling can bring.

It's not a small difference at all to loose long speaker cable runs if quality is you're goal. Move the amp(s) closer...

CJ

I did some measuring today and I can probably get closer to 20'. That is my goal to keep it as close as possible.

From experience... Give yourself a little slack. It's much easier to shorten a cable than it is to lengthen one!

25' vs 20' will not make any difference in performance.

Yea, I think the plan is to get 50' which should give me plenty of slack.

Trust me...I've come up short more than a few times

hochpt21

Messaged Doug and he set me up with a nice value/budget package. Out in the mail today.

50 ft of the 10 gauge furez cable
4 pairs of the Furez SP8 SB40NP spade connectors
Heat shrink

I don't need any sleeving as the cables will be hidden.

Looking forward to getting these and putting them together.

EndersShadow

LOVE @helipilotdoug and his stuff! Can't be beat for DIY Value to performance.

Someday maybe I will step up into his powercables but I love his speaker wire and interconnects...

hochpt21

Thank you @helipilotdoug !!