Speaker wire...?

noimposse

So I was looking to getting some decent quality speaker wire for my rti4's. Dont kill me....but right now I'm running some awful Magnavox-on-a-spool 18ish gauge wire that I had with my old sony speakers. I figure getting something better might clear up the sound a bit, but I am nowhere close enough to wealthy.

The closest thing to what I could afford and actually like are a pair of DAYTON SCP-10 with bananas for around $40 on parts express. I think that would be able what I plan on spending for the cables, I just dont know if the Daytons would be the best I could get in that price range, or if they are worth getting at all.

Suggestions or comments are appreciated. Thanks.

polrbehr

If you're looking for speaker cables at a decent price, look no further than Monster. They offer a lot of choices in a lot of price ranges. Acoustic Research wouldn't be your worst choice either, as long as you stay away from lamp cord. Both can be fixed up with banana plugs or other pin-type
connectors. They both offer fine stranded wire, which enables it to carry
current more efficiently since there is more surface area. Either way, I would go with 16AWG minimum, even for a short (<25') run, and of course make sure the connections are tight all the way around. Bad connections = resistance / heat = poor sound quality. Good luck.

reeltrouble1

Home Depot carries 12-14 guage. It will do you up just fine.

RT1

Lowell_M

polrbehr wrote:

If you're looking for speaker cables at a decent price, look no further than Monster. They offer a lot of choices in a lot of price ranges.

Monster Wire is a waste of money. I was looking for 12 ga., but Home Depot was out...Parts express had 100 ft of 12 ga. cheaper and it works just great.

Does anybody have any quantitative data to show that any higher cost speaker wire provides any better performance than a 12 gauge lamp cord? I read an article about the subject somewhere, but can't remember where.

danger boy

lamp cord was made for lamps. not audio. enough said.

noimposse

So doing it myself is the way to go? The Dayton cables are not recommended?

reeltrouble1

I have no **** with Dayton but would recommend diy. Can you tell a little about your rig? I know you said RTi4 speakers (very good) what kind gear are you using.

RT1

Lowell_M

danger boy wrote:

lamp cord was made for lamps. not audio. enough said.

I found the link to what I read before....http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm. This is the only article that I have found that offers scientific reasoning for type and gauge of speaker wire. I agree that interconnect quality is important, but can't justify spending extra cash on Monster wire (or more expensive) after reading this. The only other information I have found is marketing information directly from speaker wire manufacturers (which is meaningless)

Other than sarcastic comments....What are your opinions? Is there any actual data or reasoning to support buying expensive speaker wire?

reeltrouble1

Ding!

RT1

shack

a_mattison wrote:

I found the link to what I read before....http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm. This is the only article that I have found that offers scientific reasoning for type and gauge of speaker wire. I agree that interconnect quality is important, but can't justify spending extra cash on Monster wire (or more expensive) after reading this. The only other information I have found is marketing information directly from speaker wire manufacturers (which is meaningless)

Other than sarcastic comments....What are your opinions? Is there any actual data or reasoning to support buying expensive speaker wire?

What a tired old article.....

Unless you've actually tried it.....oh nevermind....I really don't care...use whatever....

polrbehr

Excellent link, a matt. Saved me the trouble of breaking out my ohmmeter and checking all of the wire I have! As a point of information, the Home Depot near my home doesn't seem to have 12ga. stranded wire, so I offered
Monster or another type as a readily available alternative. That article was very informative, though. I've learned quite a lot in my short time checking out this forum.

noimposse

Well as of now, the only notable component are the rti4's. Im using a Kenwood vr-705 as an avr, and the generic speakers cable. The system is really just starting out....the Kenwood is hopefully going to be replaced with a HK 240 by the end of the year. My next purchase is a sub(possibly the Mirage s8) followed by a center channel(Csi3).

I figured new wire might give me a cleaner sound and hold me over until I can afford all of the other things. College is a ****...

Lowell_M

noimposse,

I am by no means an expert in HT equipment and seem to have started somewhat of an argument, but although the linked article is old, the laws of physics don't change. I would say find yourself some 14 or 12 ga. stranded speaker cable that you can afford (parts express has some decent choices in my opinion. The important part is making sure you have good, clean connections at the ends of the wire. Copper corrodes over time and the connections may need cleaned from time to time.

In time, if you have the $$$ to buy more expensive wire, give it a shot and see what your ears think.

reeltrouble1

We have had more wire debates around here than I care to remember. Wire matters, you have a starter system, starter wire is fine, actually 14 guage is fine. Get used to how it sounds, change out when or if your ready.

Everything in the chain matters, you have years and years to enjoy audio and learn.

Have fun.

RT1

noimposse

Thanks guys, the opinions are really appreciated.

Since being at school kind of hinders actually getting to a home depot(its about 40 minutes away, and transportation is lacking...), off the top of your head, do you know what it may cost a foot/yard?

As for monster, Ive always found them to be a bit overpriced for what they are, and Im a newbie. Best Buy reps pimp that crap like the manager has a gun to their heads.

John K.

Noimposse, unless the runs to your speakers are more than about 20', that "awful Magnavox" wire(if it is in fact 18ga)is all you need and you can't get clearer sound with a different wire. If the ends of the wire are corroded they should be cleaned or trimmed off, otherwise the speaker wire has nothing to do with any dissatisfaction you may have. The speakers and listening room should be looked to.

steveinaz

noimposse wrote:

Thanks guys, the opinions are really appreciated.

Since being at school kind of hinders actually getting to a home depot(its about 40 minutes away, and transportation is lacking...), off the top of your head, do you know what it may cost a foot/yard?

As for monster, Ive always found them to be a bit overpriced for what they are, and Im a newbie. Best Buy reps pimp that crap like the manager has a gun to their heads.

Don't know about Home Depot wire, but Radio Shack's 12awg OFC is .99 cents a foot.

adam2434

steveinaz wrote:

Don't know about Home Depot wire, but Radio Shack's 12awg OFC is .99 cents a foot.

Wow, less than a penny a foot - I'm going to run out and buy a few hundred feet!

Just kidding - I knew what ya meant.

steveinaz

good eye!

McLoki

You can get 12 guage from Blue Jeans cable for .39/foot. (just an FYI)

Michael

McLoki

John K. wrote:

Noimposse, unless the runs to your speakers are more than about 20', that "awful Magnavox" wire(if it is in fact 18ga)is all you need and you can't get clearer sound with a different wire.

Out of curiosity, what, in your opinion, affects the sound that we hear from our systems? It seems cables and amps dont matter, but speakers and the room do. Please dont take this as an attack, I just want to understand your perspective. If I had 2 very similar rooms and sets of speakers, what would keep them from sounding identical to each other? (to keep things simple we will say the source is a cd or dvd player playing a digital media with standard analog cables to the pre-amp.

Source - wire - pre-amp - wire - amplifier - wire - speakers - room.

If the last two items in that chain are funtionally the same - what would account for different sounds between systems (or do you contend that the sound in each room would be the same?)

Thanks - just trying to understand you perception.

Michael

markopolo

I just switched out some realy crappy thin wire for some 12ga from Home Depot. Got it for 98 cents/meter. I noticed an improvement in sound (at least I like to THINK I did). As far as I'm concerned everything Monster is grossly overpriced. I'm not saying that Monster isnt good wire just that you can get equally good wire without the Monster branding for way cheaper. But ppl like to convice themselves that if they spend a lot then it MUST be better than everything else.

John K.

Michael, it isn't simply an opinion or perception(I try to avoid that whenever possible); although we read endlessly about the "sound" of players, amplifiers and even pieces of wire, most of that is BS(Before Science)and although music is art, audio is science. Well-designed equipment playing at precisely the same level(adjusted to within 0.1dB)isn't audibly distinguishable in properly controlled blind listening tests(the only condition in which we truly have to "trust" only our ears). When the nameplates and pricetags have disappeared, so have the differences in sound which were previously described in flowery terms by the same listeners for the same equipment before the test. This is well-established factual information, but despite this, subjective (mis)impressions have created an audio fantasy world where the participants continually reinforce each others' illusions.

What does matter and deserves our special attention(and money)in audio is the source material(e.g. CDs and DVDs, not the devices to play them), the speakers and the listening room. It isn't realistic to assume that any of these three factors are the same for different source materials, speakers and locations, but if it was arranged to have exactly the same source material playing through exactly the same speakers in exactly the same room setup, then by definition there'd be no difference in sound. There can be no effect without a cause.

F1nut

There can be no effect without a cause.

Fortunately, your cause has no effect here. Although, I do find your attempts to convince people that gear and cables don't make a difference quite humorous.

McLoki

John K. wrote:

Michael, it isn't simply an opinion or perception(I try to avoid that whenever possible); although we read endlessly about the "sound" of players, amplifiers and even pieces of wire, most of that is BS(Before Science)and although music is art, audio is science.

Sorry I have to disagree with you here. It is your opinion and I could not disagree with it more.

If you are ever in this part of the world, stop by for a few beers (or the drink of your choice) and we can try to prove each other wrong. Until then, you will have to enjoy your system and I will have to enjoy mine.

For all the new people seeking opinions, when we both respond - I guess they will hear both sides and hopefully they will be willing to test\listen\decide for themselves.

Michael

dorokusai

JohnK is also a fan of Axiom Audio...shouldn't he only be a fan of Fisher Price?

W WALDECKER

John K. wrote:

Michael, it isn't simply an opinion or perception(I try to avoid that whenever possible); although we read endlessly about the "sound" of players, amplifiers and even pieces of wire, most of that is BS(Before Science)and although music is art, audio is science. Well-designed equipment playing at precisely the same level(adjusted to within 0.1dB)isn't audibly distinguishable in properly controlled blind listening tests(the only condition in which we truly have to "trust" only our ears). When the nameplates and pricetags have disappeared, so have the differences in sound which were previously described in flowery terms by the same listeners for the same equipment before the test. This is well-established factual information, but despite this, subjective (mis)impressions have created an audio fantasy world where the participants continually reinforce each others' illusions.

What does matter and deserves our special attention(and money)in audio is the source material(e.g. CDs and DVDs, not the devices to play them), the speakers and the listening room. It isn't realistic to assume that any of these three factors are the same for different source materials, speakers and locations, but if it was arranged to have exactly the same source material playing through exactly the same speakers in exactly the same room setup, then by definition there'd be no difference in sound. There can be no effect without a cause.

I am writing this from the safe confines of my audio fantasy world.power amplifiers from various manufacturers obviously sound different and if you have a few to compare side by side if you cannot tell the difference you must have a tin ear. if you have wire from different lines offered by the same manufacturer side by side and listen to them the differences in sound can be night and day apart. how can you explain this phenomina ?in a high resolution audio system everything in the chain from the source to the loudspeaker and everything in between makes either positive or negative difference! thanks....WCW III

phipiper10

Make your own decisions but I went from some monster speaker wire about 10 years old - "XP" in a pinkish insulation i think it was to switching t some Audioquest wire.

I'm not advocationg spending lots of money or or even Audioquest but there was a LARGE difference. Does it mean monster sucks or AQ is awesome I don't know but I do know there IS a difference.

nellis8166

If you want to spend a little coin and get great wire check out Kimber Cables. I run 8tc on my rig, It made a huge difference.

shack

dorokusai wrote:

JohnK is also a fan of Axiom Audio...shouldn't he only be a fan of Fisher Price?

Waaaaaaaaaaaa...... Yep the gear doesn't matter.

shack

Maybe Jesse is right.