Questions about speaker wire

Stevarian

I want to hook up the RTi70's that I just bought, and have been researching speaker wire.

I found an article at theabsolutesound.com that talks about 12 gauge outdoor extension cords at Home Depot, and how good it is. My question is, will I need to use a banana plug, or can I twist the wire and insert it into the connector on the rear of the speaker?

Any other suggestions on speaker wire? I am pretty new to this stuff!!

Steve

warviper

Try to put a link to the article so that we all may read it.

Stevarian

Here it is:

http://theabsolutesound.com/newsletter/147/cable_survey2.html

John K.

Steve, while the Home Depot cord would be as good as anything, it may be a bit of overkill sizewise for your use. You didn't mention the key factor, which is the distance your wire will run, but since the RTi70s are front speakers, it may be a relatively short 10' or so. If you haven't studied this explanation of speaker wire by a well-respected veteran audio professional, which is in accord with audio engineering principles, it would benefit you to do so. As you see from the table, 16 ga lampcord may be plenty for your use, and there's no good reason to use an unnecessarily thick and harder to handle wire.

Unless you want the convenience of banana plugs because you're going to be frequently connecting and disconnecting the speakers, simply put the twisted end of the wire through the opening in the post and make it finger-tight.

warviper

The most important factor in speaker cable type is length and I dont see why hd power cord woudnt work. Are they the greatest idea for sound? Try it and decide for your self I hope it works and i might give it a try my self.

reeltrouble1

Stevarian,

Welcome to Club Polk and congrats on your new speakers. If you do a search in this forum on wire you will see many threads about this subject. Very subjective area, guages, bi-wire, bi-amp, jumpers, dedicated outlets, etc. But it is just wire when all is said and done it moves electrons not little dancing notes.

Use whatever guage will make you feel comfortable 14 awg is a nice place to start for fronts, you very well may not need this much and can go 16, or you may be constantly bothered by the guage number and wonder about the 12 guage.

I would hook up those babies and get them playing for a while with what you have at home or some Rat Shack/HD/Lowes/ speaker wire you like and get used to how the speakers sound to you so you have a reference point to start from.

I use the Banana's for convenience but bare connection is just fine. Depending on your receiver/pre layout banana's can eliminate the aggravation of tight fits.

RT1:)

gidrah

Welcome to the forum. That was in interesting link. I think I'm gonna have to pick some up.

pjdami

Hi Steve and welcome to the forum. Speaker wire does it make a difference? That is for your ears to decide. I started off with lamp cord and gradually worked my way up to some higher end cables. Some people can hear a difference some can't. For me it makes a difference.

The home depot wire is a good place to start as is Monster XP.

Next up the chain for just a little bit more is Ixos wire that uses a braided cable to hypothetically reject noise.

http://accessories4less.com/Amazing/items.asp?CartId=5794614BTLGJ75-EVEREST-7&Cc=CAB%2DSPFT&tpc=

It can be had for pretty cheap at 69 cents/foot. You could do the 15 gauge for the highs and 13 gauge for the lows if you bi-wire. Or just get the 13 gauge and make your own jumper (remove the brass jumper plates on your 70's) using the same wire. Some folks here have gone from biwiring to using just one run with the same speaker wire as a jumper. This tends to smooth out the highs if your system is too bright. I've been experimenting with that myself lately.

Another relatively inexpensive speaker wire that you can use is made by Cardas. If you like the DIY thing, terminations can also be found on this website. The speaker wire here is called Cardas Crosslink and is a well respected wire.

http://www.diycable.com/main/product_info.php?products_id=473

Hope this helps and have fun.

PhantomOG

Thank you for the interesting article link. I'm sure some people here wont' agree with all of it.

"In my opinion, selection of interconnect and speaker cable lies somewhere between a fifth- and tenth-order consideration when putting together a fine sound system, far below speakers, electronics, ergonomic and reliability considerations, speaker placement, room treatment, not to mention price."

So me with my RTi series speakers, Onkyo receiver and other "low-end" electronics, I think my upgrade dollars won't be going towards exotic (read:expensive) interconnects until I've got alot better gear.

Stevarian

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I got a great deal on the RTi70's, and need to get the center channel next.

I found the link about speaker wire over at the hometheaterforum.com website. I am glad some of you liked it.

I will be doing some shopping this weekend obviously....

Steve

ezc

Stevarian,
Welcome to the club! Speaker wire is one of the biggest debated subjects here! The key is let your ears decide! My 2 cents yes it does make a difference! I have tried lampcord, Monster XP ( I still use xp on out small system), & better more expensive cables,bi wired & single. Im currently using bi wire cables but will be going back & trying multipul cables with Z1 jumpers. Im going to try Z3 single & run 2 each to each speaker with jumpers. Try & try in search of better Pic & sound!

kingkip

I found that I really don't hear a difference in the wires, unless I really strain to. I have also found that straining to hear the differences is not fun for me. I'm not saying use rusty bailing wire to connect, but I rarely could tell the differences, and when I could, I was trying so hard that I forgot about the music.

PolkThug

I use single runs of Home Depot 12awg speaker wire with Monster quick lock bananas. And for jumpers I use HD 12awg with Monster quick lock spades. I've tried single 16's and bi-wired 16's, but eventually settled on single 12's.

Regards,
PolkThug

F1nut

Wire makes a huge difference, but it depends on the level of gear you start with. Like all things in this hobby there is a price/performance ratio and only you can determine what you're comfortable with.

It's been my experience that interconnects make the biggest difference. We have a cable swap program going on the forum, sign up for it and hear for yourself. It's the only way to know for sure.

HBombToo

Originally posted by PolkThug
I use single runs of Home Depot 12awg speaker wire with Monster quick lock bananas. And for jumpers I use HD 12awg with Monster quick lock spades. I've tried single 16's and bi-wired 16's, but eventually settled on single 12's.

Regards,
PolkThug

I'm with that and why even bother with anything less than 12 awg if your going to HD.

HBomb

Turbota

Great wire at a reasonable price. I would consider either 12 or 14 gage:

Sound King from Parts Express: Super flex, extra soft 60° C clear PVC insulation. The extremely low capacitance and inductance of this cable transfers music signals from source to the speakers, with high definition and clarity. Oxygen free, bare copper rope lay construction. * Made in the U.S.A.

The link here shows all avail. wire gage, lengths, and price (2 pages)
http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=3&manufacturer=195

amulford

I've also found this place to be OK:

Cables to go

It's very subjective, according to YOUR tastes. I personally use Monster 14 ga XP. The best thing is for you to experiment.

ezc

Id go with 12g. Remember your speaker wire carries signal & current to power your speaker.

Frank Z

FYI, You can get the Superflex at Home Depot. I paid 44 cents/ft. for the 12 ga.