Flat Wire

bikezappa
bikezappa Posts: 2,463
Can anyone help me with information regarding flat speaker wire?

Have you used it?

Can you paint it?

Can you see it after painting?

Where to get it?

Is it worth it?

Thanks much.

Peter
Post edited by bikezappa on

Comments

  • jdhdiggs
    jdhdiggs Posts: 4,305
    edited March 2004
    Yes
    yes
    yes
    Rat Shack
    yes

    It hides MUCH better than the round stuff under carpets and such and I find it easier to work with. Even with paint, it will still stick up so running it across and open wall will still look a bit poor.
    There is no genuine justice in any scheme of feeding and coddling the loafer whose only ponderable energies are devoted wholly to reproduction. Nine-tenths of the rights he bellows for are really privileges and he does nothing to deserve them. We not only acquired a vast population of morons, we have inculcated all morons, old or young, with the doctrine that the decent and industrious people of the country are bound to support them for all time.-Menkin
  • bikezappa
    bikezappa Posts: 2,463
    edited March 2004
    I saw the wire at the Rat Shack and it looked thick. Do they make thinner wire?

    Hell I need a beer
  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,772
    edited March 2004
    I've seen really flat stuff but I'd be concerned with how small the guage of wire is. I've thought of using it for my surrounds but they require pretty long lengths and I think I've heard that longer lengths need thicker wires. I could be wrong though.
  • jdhdiggs
    jdhdiggs Posts: 4,305
    edited March 2004
    Like Ken said, it is a tradeoff. The Rat Shack stuff is 14Ga which will do you well for almost all lengths of runs for all but the most demanding systems.

    And yes, longer runs need thicker wire otherwise the resistance of the wire can affect the sound of the speaker.
    There is no genuine justice in any scheme of feeding and coddling the loafer whose only ponderable energies are devoted wholly to reproduction. Nine-tenths of the rights he bellows for are really privileges and he does nothing to deserve them. We not only acquired a vast population of morons, we have inculcated all morons, old or young, with the doctrine that the decent and industrious people of the country are bound to support them for all time.-Menkin
  • nemos2
    nemos2 Posts: 111
    edited March 2004
    You can buy a roll of monster XP 100 i think, and that is a flat speaker wire. I am not sure what the AWG is, but you can paint it, and flex it around corners on trim molding ect.... It comes in 2 colors, one is navajo white.
    Polk LSi 15 Fronts
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  • gshisme
    gshisme Posts: 1,038
    edited March 2004
    bikezappa, I used the Monster Cable "superflat mini" speaker cable for my surrounds. LSfx's with Rotel. Seemed to work just fine. I had the cables running straight down from the ceiling to the speakers that were mounted on the wall and painted over them (the cables that is). Walking through the room you could barely notice them. Run them under a carpet and you can't even tell they are there. Pretty nice stuff although I wouldn't reccomend it for your mains or center speakers.
    suds, suds and more suds!
  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited March 2004
    Nordost is famous for flat wire design and application. The Valhalla, is fairly well represented in the AA community.

    www.nordost.com
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
  • KarlJShields
    KarlJShields Posts: 31
    edited March 2004
    I've seen some "super-flat" speaker wire that resembled a ribbon as much as anything--it was about three-quarters of an inch wide, with the conductors at each edge. I think it might have been a Nordost cable--very cool and very expensive.

    BTW, the Monster Navaho white cable is specifically designed to be painted to blend in.
  • gshisme
    gshisme Posts: 1,038
    edited March 2004
    monster "super flat" mini. cable is .625 wide and .1 thick
    suds, suds and more suds!
  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited March 2004
    The Nordost brand is crazy thin...it feels unnatural when you hold them.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.