Stinger versus StreetWires?

SportsFan

Just curious what information or experiences others could relate when comparing Stinger to StreetWires (for RCAs and amp installation wiring kits).

Truthfully, I've heard good about both, but I'd just like to ask what others personally what they think of each, and if there is really any noticeable difference. But perhaps most importantly, which (if either) people think is the more durable and that they have had the least amount of trouble or problems with......

MacLeod

Both are excellent quality and you cant go wrong with either. Peronally I prefer Streetwires. I consider them to be made just a little bit better and theyre owned by Mitek and Im a big fan of anything Mitek.

Custom Jim

Regardless of which manufacturer you deal with as far as the wiring I would rather see a person get the terminal ends that can be crimped tightly onto the wire and then solder the connections. I just got done replacing two batteries and terminals on one of Polk's old demo trucks and it had the terminal ends from Streetwires (and Stinger makes them also) that held the terminal onto the wire with a set screw. When the terminal ends were removed from the wires you could see how the corrosion had affected the wire strands in all places except where the set screw had dug into the wire and was applying the most pressure in that area and on the opposite side of the connector hole. All the other areas inside the connector and on the wire were corroded and with it being that way the connection cannot transfer electricity very well. When a terminal is crimped down tightly and then soldered it joins all of the wires and the inside of the terminal together and with the voids being filled with solder no corrosion can occur (or at least anytime soon).

As far as the RCA cables, do not get the cheapest in the line. Those I have seen seem to have the most problems. The cheap ones are cheap for a reason.

I would also think about maybe getting all of the parts seperately and making up your own amp wiring kit. Sometimes the kits might not have a long enough power or ground wire or are designed with one style of fuse holder or only have a pair of RCA's and the system may require 2 pair or more. Prepackage systems do fill a void but do not fill everyones needs. With buying the parts seperately you may spend a tad more but it can be customized to your system needs.

Jim

cam5860

I'll take streetwires over stinger anyday. Just because i like the way streetwires feel and look. But thats what i like both are great products. It's all in which one you like best.

MacLeod

True. I think that in todays market, any major brand equipment is going to be more than up to snuff so it really comes down to the tiny little differences and which ones you prefer.

neomagus00

i have stinger expert rcas, and i really found them to be a huge improvement over other midrange-level stuff, but i can't comment on streetwires...

MacLeod

Too bad Monster Cable is the devil cause I really like their Monster Standard cables. $.70/ft and work like a charm.

PoweredByDodge

Monster makes scrap. The only thing they ever made that I had any liking for is their 16 gauge speaker wire, which they call "#15" because it's got a little plastic thread in the middle of it. While this does nothing for it electrically, although Monster may tell you otherwise, it was just plain good quality speaker cable at a very inexpensive price, and it was available everywhere around here (circuit, best buy, all the little mom and pop type shops) - so if you needed any, boom, you had it. nice heavy jacket too. However, Stinger now makes 16 gauge in basic black that can be had at 12 cents per foot. Then again, I havne't bought speaker wire since I got a 1,000 foot roll of Esoteric Streetwires 16 gauge for something pitiful like 50 bucks.

Anywho - back to topic...

Stinger and Streetwires are the two names I trust in cable and interconnect manufacture.

Stinger adheres strictly to the american wire gauge tables... so when you see "4 gauge" marked on the side of their cable... it's not a hair bigger or smaller than what 4 gauge is supposed to be. Streetwires is a little more generous... I'm not sure if it's because their manufacturing tolerance is poor-er, or if they are just making it a smidge heavier on purpose. Stinger seems to be more consistent though -- not that it makes a difference or anything, but I like consistency ... makes me feel good about things.

But, from the big names... power cable is power cable... DO NOT apply that statement when you're talking about joe-blow's cable or Fat-Tony's-Cheap-And-Easy-Power-Line... but from big names, cable's cable.

As far as interconnects... I believe Streetwires makes a better interconnect RCA. The Zero Noise 3.5 are the best overall quality you're going to get from them. The 6.0's are identical, except they have a cloth inner jacket... which does nothing for you really. If you want to get into Esoteric/Streetwires home lines -- the A3, A4, and A5 interconnects are something sickly wonderful - and are beefy enough to be used in a car... and will equal or better the ZN3.5's (imo better) but the price tag is a bit hefty.

Stinger's interconnects are very good as well... but they're a little cheaper (which isn't a bad thing). Hyper series stuff is even decent (go figure). Their Dream Series cables are phenominal, but carry a price tag as well.

As far as terminal ends... Lightning Audio. Yup... CHEAP.

You can get 2 zero gauge ring terminal crimp on ends for $3 ... or 4 four gauge crimp on ends for $3 .... the same stuff would cost you $10 to $15 from streetwires or monstercable. I'm not sure of stinger's prices.

As far as avoiding corrosion inside of set-screw type terminal ends... it's very easy - get some dielectric grease -- the stuff comes in a mini toothpaste tube, and its about $2 ... a little goes a long way. you just pack your terminal end with dielectric grease, slip in your wire, and screw the sucker down. it will resist corrosion for as long as you own the car... nothing lasts forever, but it'll last a very very very long time. if you don't have dielectric grease, brake drum grease will work (ya, i said brake drum grease).

battery terminals --- do NOT go spending 30 or 40 dollars on "high end" gold plated battery post terminals. JUNK JUNK JUNK --- they all corrode and rot out within a year or two, and you end up with a rusted hunk of junk under the hood. instead, for about 3 to 5 dollar each, you can get LEAD marine terminals. they come with a post and wingnut where you put your wire ring terminals on and then tighten them down. if use those, and then slab a little dielectric grease on your ring terminals before tightenting them down... you'll see that you avoid corrosion very well... lead itself will corrode.. however, when it does, it still conducts electricity -- it's one of the only metals that does so. it will turn "blackish", then "powdery black" gunk will form on it -- it all conducts. good stuff - thats why they use them on boat batteries. cheap - and effective.

happy hunting.

exalted512

a friend of mine had expert series RCAs. Replaced them with KnuKonceptz (>$25) and couldnt notice a difference.

I have all Streetwires 5.0 interconnects, but ALL my wiring and accessories will be knukonceptz. I tried monster speaker wire once, i guess i got the **** kind because it was horrible. **** monster. i hope they die. as well as ed and thezeb.
-Cody

LittleCar_w/12s

A far as soldreing on terminals to power cable.. keep in mind that anything 8AWG and larger will need a heft of an iron and you'll go digging out the propane torch for 0AWG and up... Try the grease first.Even a bad connection is less than a thousandth of an inch long, and has little comparative resistance to a corroded length of cable. set-screw with grease should be fine. If it werent, Amps would connect differently to their power wire.

SportsFan

PoweredByDodge wrote:

Stinger and Streetwires are the two names I trust in cable and interconnect manufacture.

As far as interconnects... I believe Streetwires makes a better interconnect RCA. The Zero Noise 3.5 are the best overall quality you're going to get from them. The 6.0's are identical, except they have a cloth inner jacket... which does nothing for you really. If you want to get into Esoteric/Streetwires home lines -- the A3, A4, and A5 interconnects are something sickly wonderful - and are beefy enough to be used in a car... and will equal or better the ZN3.5's (imo better) but the price tag is a bit hefty.

Stinger's interconnects are very good as well... but they're a little cheaper (which isn't a bad thing). Hyper series stuff is even decent (go figure). Their Dream Series cables are phenominal, but carry a price tag as well.

Hey PBD.....thanks for the info, very much appreciated.

OK, here's the dilemma. Local shops carry 11.5 foot StreetWires Zero Noise 2 RCAs (ZN235) as well as the 12 foot Stinger Expert Series RCAs for around the same price. I know you recommended the ZN 3.5, but that's a little outta my price range for what I'm wanting to spend. And I don't believe that the local shops carry the "Dream Series" from Stinger (but supposedly, isn't the "Expert Series" considered to be their better RCA anyway ).

So....between the StreetWires ZN2 and the Stinger Expert for stereo patch cables, which one would you lean towards and/or prefer?

Also, for speaker wire......between StreetWires 14 ga. UltraCable (or SuperCable) and Stinger 14 ga. Expert speaker wire, do you have a preferrence here as well?

Thanks, look forward to reading your reply.....

PoweredByDodge

between the 14 awg streetwires versus stinger... get whichever is cheaper... unless one of them has a shiney colored jacket (like blue or silver or something) that you like and is worth the money to you --- both i would qualify as equally good speaker cable... cheaper is better in this case.

now hold up a second -- you're telling me a shop has stinger EXPERT series for the same price as streetwires ZN2's ??? That's apples to oranges... the expert series is a much better cable than the ZN2's... it is comparable to the ZN5 and the ZN6 with the directional design of the esoteric (Streetwires) A series home audio cables...

If you can get Expert series Stingers for ZN2 prices... jump on it. good find!

SportsFan

PoweredByDodge wrote:

now hold up a second -- you're telling me a shop has stinger EXPERT series for the same price as streetwires ZN2's ??? That's apples to oranges... the expert series is a much better cable than the ZN2's... it is comparable to the ZN5 and the ZN6 with the directional design of the esoteric (Streetwires) A series home audio cables...

Sorry, my bad. Well....not really MY bad as much as the shop rep I spoke with the other day :mad:

The rep told me that they carried Stinger Expert Series for around $20 (same price as the ZN2)......but he was wrong. They carry the HYPER series for around that price, and can ORDER the Expert Series, but at more like $55 per cable!

Sooooooo.....after all that, I've decided to go with some StreetWires Zero Noise 3 (ZN335). I found a pair for $32, and it seems that a lot places usually sell them for around $50, so I figured this was probably a good price on some good RCA wire - whadda ya think?

PoweredByDodge

Sounddomain wants $33 ... so I'd say if somebody's giving you prices as good as Sounddomain, then you've done a good job of shopping around. $30-$35 bones is a good deal on the 3 series 12 foot. And they are markedly better than the ZN2's ... it's not something you'll regret.

I"ve got the 4 channel version of the ZN3's in something like a 20 foot length (or longer maybe, I don't recall, running in the cadillac... goes all the way down the driver side to the trunk... its zip tied right along with speaker cable and power cable... and i don't get even a whisper of signal degredation or distortion or noise, even though - in theory- i should have tons of it. Very good cable in my opinion.

SportsFan

Thanks again, PBD (and everyone else for your input as well).

Well, for my Alpine MRP-F240, I went with the following:

StreetWires Zero Noise 3 (ZN335) 11.5 ft. RCA Interconnects (2 pair)
Stinger HPM Series (SWKH8) 8 Gauge Amp Wiring Kit
Stinger 14-Gauge Expert Series speaker wire (50 ft.)

I believe that I found the best prices available for each, and got a pretty good deal on some pretty good wire. Once I've installed it (probably next weekend), I'll follow up and let anyone who's interested know how it sounds and how it turns out.

Thanks again for all of your help....