Re-wiring RTA 11TL's - what gauge speaker wire would you use and other thoughts
EndersShadow
Posts: 17,593
So many of you have ready DarqueKnights thread about re-wiring his SDA's with some decently expensive speaker wire. I am debating looking at doing this with my RTA 11TL's at some point in the future. I dont need too much length wise and since I am looking at long term upgrading these top to bottom slowly over time I thought this might be a easy for me to do tweak, like replacing the tweeters, adding dynamat & jbweld to the drivers and making armalex gaskets.
I am curious as to what gauge speaker wire you would recommend using (14 or 16), and some thoughts on a couple different cables I am debating using. I have a local hi-fi shop near me that will cut me a somewhat decent deal on the Audioquest speaker wire they sell by the foot. With also liking Kimber as a brand (but not sure if its right for this application) I kinda have the following list of possible cables.
I am still waiting to make any speaker cable or IC purchase on a demo of cables from DouglasConnection. As such if I go with his speaker cables I may use the same or similar cable internally so the speakers are wired from amp to driver with the same cables. This would probably be the same if I went with Kimber so I would more than likely be using 4VS internally if its something people would suggest using.
I am open to ANY other suggestions or thoughts about this. Keep in mind this is all in the planning stages at this point.
Options:
AudioQuest Type 2 CL3 - 2.95 a foot
AudioQuest Type 4 CL3 - 4.95 a foot
AudioQuest G2 - price unknown
AudioQuest X2 - price unknown
Kimber Kable 4PR ~ 6 bucks per foot but not sure how easy to work with it is
Kimber Kable 4VS ~ 12.20 per foot but not sure how easy to work with it is
Kimber Kable KWIK-16 - 1.40 per foot available in 20 foot spool
Kimber Kable KWIK-12 - 2.50 per foot but only available in 50 foot spool
DouglasConnection DIY cable -
Comments/suggestions welcome.
I am curious as to what gauge speaker wire you would recommend using (14 or 16), and some thoughts on a couple different cables I am debating using. I have a local hi-fi shop near me that will cut me a somewhat decent deal on the Audioquest speaker wire they sell by the foot. With also liking Kimber as a brand (but not sure if its right for this application) I kinda have the following list of possible cables.
I am still waiting to make any speaker cable or IC purchase on a demo of cables from DouglasConnection. As such if I go with his speaker cables I may use the same or similar cable internally so the speakers are wired from amp to driver with the same cables. This would probably be the same if I went with Kimber so I would more than likely be using 4VS internally if its something people would suggest using.
I am open to ANY other suggestions or thoughts about this. Keep in mind this is all in the planning stages at this point.
Options:
AudioQuest Type 2 CL3 - 2.95 a foot
AudioQuest Type 4 CL3 - 4.95 a foot
AudioQuest G2 - price unknown
AudioQuest X2 - price unknown
Kimber Kable 4PR ~ 6 bucks per foot but not sure how easy to work with it is
Kimber Kable 4VS ~ 12.20 per foot but not sure how easy to work with it is
Kimber Kable KWIK-16 - 1.40 per foot available in 20 foot spool
Kimber Kable KWIK-12 - 2.50 per foot but only available in 50 foot spool
DouglasConnection DIY cable -
Comments/suggestions welcome.
"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
Post edited by EndersShadow on
Comments
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The kimber would work great. I would go with the 14 ga. Not much wire needed really
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The kimber would work great. I would go with the 14 ga. Not much wire needed really
Yeah, but their are 2 issues with that lol.
1. Kimber doesn't make a 14 gauge in wall, only the 16 and 12
2. The 12 is only available (from a quick search) in spools of 50 feet ie 125 bucks and thats more than I really want to pay for as little as I need
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There is a local dealer near me that sells Kimber so there is a chance he has some that he could sell me by the foot from his existing spool but I would need to check on that. If thats the case would you go with the 12 or 16 if looking at Kimber only?"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
If it helps your decision, the stock wire should be 16 gauge. If you decide to go with 12 gauge, check that it will fit the connections.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
That does help a bit. It gives me a good baseline."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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bump"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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I have decided to do my 15s with the mil-spec cable I was telling you about. I will have enough left over from the project to do 2 sets of matching SCs as well.
I will let you know how it turns out."Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."
"Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip -
I think you'll find any sonic improvements from changing the chassis wire to be very slight. There are other tweaks that will result much larger improvements.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I think you'll find any sonic improvements from changing the chassis wire to be very slight. There are other tweaks that will result much larger improvements.
I am aware. I am planning on re-wiring when I re-do the crossovers using Trey's vintage plates. Before I do that I will be dynamatting the drivers, jbweld them and install armacell gaskets. Then the tweeters will be RDO upgraded, then the crossovers, wiring and plates."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
After some talks with Mantis and some others I think I will probably go with Audioquest FLX/DB 16/2 or Audioquest FLX-SLiP 16/2.
I will keep it the same gauge as it is now both from a cost perspective and also if lower gauge wire made a difference I am guessing Polk would have used 14 or 12. Since the wire is after the crossover (so it not carrying a full range signal anymore) over such short distances I can see why they used 16 gauge.
The Kimber stuff would be too hard to terminate so its out, and the other Audioquest stuff is more expensive and probably not going to add enough benefit to justify its cost over the FLX wire."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
Dan, what I was saying is IF you are going to change the chassis wire, just pick one as I don't think it really matters. Personally, I doubt I will ever change the chassis wire in my speakers.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Dan, what I was saying is IF you are going to change the chassis wire, just pick one as I don't think it really matters. Personally, I doubt I will ever change the chassis wire in my speakers.
Yeah I figured that was what you were saying and I agree. I was more just letting you know I am aware the other mods like upgraded crossover and tweeters will have a MUCH bigger improvement, but if I am going to do the crossovers why not just because I am in there re-do the wire, especially given the low cost to do so. Also as I am probably going to be mounting the crossover on standoffs at the bottom of the speaker I will need more wire than is there now to begin with, so it would have to happen anyway.
As a FYI into why I am choosing Audioquest 16 gauge, I have a local hi-fi dealer I can go into the store and get either of those wires cut to any length I want and I get a slight discount. So it was more of a its decently cheap, I have run that wire as my regular speaker wire before and can get it cheap and quick."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
