Speaker wire

wchance1133
wchance1133 Posts: 13
in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
I'm about to hook up 5 polk speakers 8 ohm. I have a polk psw10, a 10 inch kef sub & a 12 inch bostin Acoustics sub. I will only use 2 of those subs but not sure which one as of rn. The longest run on these will be maybe 15 feet. The rest will be short. Just needing to know what speaker wire & even brand to use plz? Also some suggestions on sub wires.? Thanks
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Answers

  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,412
    edited June 2023
    Canare 4s11 is a great cable and budget friendly.

    https://store.haveinc.com/p-49380-canare-4s11-starquad-speaker-cable-14-awg-cut.aspx


    https://store.haveinc.com/p-47738-proflex-digi-vid-cable-rcap-rcap-5.aspx

    Call them up they will make lengths or they used to. I bought it in bulk and made my own with the canare rca ends. You do need a specific crimper for that and it is not inexpensive.

    This is the cable I used. If they are going to make lengths for you might as well used this, it's better cable with a larger conductor.

    https://store.haveinc.com/p-62390-canare-rg6-solid-coax-18g-braid-black.aspx
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  • jbreezy5
    jbreezy5 Posts: 1,141
    Would ditch the PSW10.

    If you’re using speaker wire connections, Blue Jeans Cable 10 ga. is the baseline quality, affordable cable.

    Nothing against Canare quality-wise, however, lower gauge wire = less resistance, and BJC 12 or 10 ga. is more desirable for the application you intend to use it, imo.

    If you want an RCA cable for LFE connections. My low-cost, high quality recommendation would be Philips PXT1000 (you can use any of the stereo, coaxial, component versions of this cable; they’re all designed the same, but with different color codings). Find tons of these on eBay for dirt cheap prices.
    CD Players: Sony CDP-211; Sony DVP-S9000ES; Sony UDP-X800M2 (x2); Cambridge Audio CXC

    DACs: Jolida Glass FX Tube DAC III (x2); Denafrips Ares II (x2)

    Streamers: ROKU (x3); Bluesound Node 2i and Node N130 w/LHY LPS // Receivers: Yamaha RX-V775BT; Yamaha RX-V777

    Preamps: B&K Ref 50; B&K Ref 5 S2; Classe CP-800 MkII; Audio Research SP16L (soon)

    Amps: Niles SI-275; B&K ST125.7; B&K ST125.2; Classe CA-2300; Butler Audio TDB-5150

    Speakers: Boston Acoustics CR55; Focal Chorus 705v; Wharfedale Diamond 10.2; Monitor Audio Silver-1; Def Tech Mythos One (x4)/Mythos Three Center (x2)/Mythos Two pr.; Martin Logan Electromotion ESL; Legacy Audio Victoria/Silverscreen Center; Gallo Acoustics Reference 3.1; SVS SB-1000 Pro; REL HT-1003; B&W ASW610; HifiMan HE400i

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    Cables: Tripp-lite 14ga. PCs, Blue Jeans Cable ICs, Philips PXT1000 ICs; Kimber Kable DV30 coaxial ICs; Canare L-4E6S XLR ICs; Kimber Kable 8PR & 8TC speaker cables.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,412
    edited June 2023
    Running the canare by twisting two of the 4 pairs together creates an 11ga wire. You have 4 -14ga wires.

    Agree with the Philips coax and component cable
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,476
    I use this for home theater duty (Blue Jeans Cable Ten White):

    https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Jeans-Cable-Speaker-Assembled/dp/B01N6DL8UU/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3ANP3F7K67XNL&keywords=blue+jeans+cable+10+white&qid=1687798460&sprefix=blue+jeans+cable10+white,aps,98&sr=8-3

    It's not cheap, but most home theater consumers would never need to buy new speaker cables after the initial expense other than maybe getting longer cables. Some of my runs are 40 feet for surround speakers with no performance loss.
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  • Geoff4rfc
    Geoff4rfc Posts: 2,398
    Not sure if you've decided yet, But Douglasconnection is a great place to start and Doug works well with Polk Forum members. https://douglasconnection.com
    Source: BRP Panasonic UB9000, CDP Emotiva ERC3 - Display: LG OLED EVO 83 C3 - Pre/Pro: Marantz 8802A - Amplification: Emotiva XPA-DR3, XPA-2 x 2, XPA-6, Speakers, Mains/2ch-Focal Kanta No2's, C-LSiM706, S-702F/X, RS-RTiA9's, WS-RTiA9's, FH-RTiA3's, Subs - Epik Empire x 2

    Cables: AudioQuest McKenzie XLR's/CDP/Amp, Carbon 48/BRP, Forest 48/Display, 2 channel speaker cable: Furutech FS Alpha 36 12AWG PCOCC Single Crystal (Douglas Connection)

    EXPERIENCE: next to nothing, but I sure enjoy audio and video MY OPINION OF THIS HOBBY: I may not be a smart man, but I know what quicksand is.
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