Speaker Wiring

apc

If I were to acquire some LSi9s, what type of speaker wire or cable is recommended for use with a vintage Marantz receiver?

I'm thinking that I have not bought anything new for years and should ask what is the current thinking on good quality. Used to run down to the shack and get a roll of pretty thick plastic-coated, twisted-strand speaker wire. Something tells me I should do better.

Thanks for your suggestions in advance.

steveinaz

Whats your budget for a pair? What length?

apc

Are they so expensive a budget is required? Wow, I've been gone too long. OK, length would not need to be over 10 feet each. Actually, the room is 12x12 and 8 ft each might be alright accounting for bending around furniture. My instinct is to say about $50 for wiring, but I'll most likely get laughed out of the room. Is that not realistic?

steveinaz

That's fine. Start out with some good 12 gauge stranded copper, or try Radio Shack's 18awg solid core copper for even better results. Wrap a pair together, stripping only at the ends, for each polarity for a higher gauge. It's good stuff and very inexpensive. In my experience, solid core copper renders a cleaner sound, multi-strand can sometimes sound unfocused, especially in the midrange.

davidk0512

I've haven't ever really thought about using solid wire, but now I have to wonder how well romex might work.

mwaarna

Check out http://www.bluejeanscable.com/ for speaker cables and wiring.

Orderd mine from there, received them within 4 days.

shack

If I could make a suggestion:

http://signalcable.com/classicspeaker.html

It would be a little over your budget, at about $77 for 8' length of single-wire with terminations. You could go spade/banana, spade/spade or whatever configuration you need. Frank gives CP members a 5% discount. Top notch cables and I highly recommend them.

candyliquor35m

davidk0512 wrote:

I've haven't ever really thought about using solid wire, but now I have to wonder how well romex might work.

I use 10 ga. romex but it's not easy to work with because it's so stiff and not very attractive either.

steveinaz

Mwaarna & Shacks ideas are both good as well, if you want something nicer. I've had cables from both of these companies, they do good work.

daboyz

I used the Belden 5000UE from Bluejeans and am very happy. Great bang for the buck.

TN_Polk_Lover

I was doing some reading on the audioholics.com website and there seems to be a small but loyal group who like to use the really thick orange extension cords like you can by at Home Depot or Lowes. I guess you just cut off the plug on one end and the socket on the other end, and they just don't use the third wire (ground). I don't think I'm gonna try it because I think it would look ugly, but I just thought it was funny that there are people who advocate using it!

John K.

APC, the requirements for wiring up speakers are determined by well-established electronic principles, and those aren't determined by vote or repealed by "current thinking". The same basic two parallel conductor wire, whether the generic term used is lampcord, linecord, zipcord, or whatever, and regardless of cost, serves as a guiderail for the electromagnetic wave traveling down its outside which carries the power and/or information. This should cost you about $0.20-$0.40/ft., depending on the length of the run and the impedance of your speakers, so don't imagine that something pricier can possibly do the job any better. For an excellent explanation of speaker wire in general, which might help to avoid misconceptions, study this article by a veteran audio professional who sets out the facts.

davidk0512

John K, excellent post! Thanks! I have a spool of romex in the garage that has been idle for a while, I think some bananas would look good and fit right, I going to try it out for a listen, I'm guessing I won't be able to hear the difference.

shack

davidk0512 wrote:

John K, excellent post! Thanks! I have a spool of romex in the garage that has been idle for a while, I think some bananas would look good and fit right, I going to try it out for a listen, I'm guessing I won't be able to hear the difference.

Nobody around here pays much attention to John K. He is pretty much a one topic poster. ie: wire and cable are all the same. Noting is better than anything else. He has linked to that tired old article by Roger Russell so many times... :rolleyes: The facts as Mr Russell has pointed out can be (and have been) countered by many other veteran audio professionals. You do what you want.

F1nut

As noted by Shack, the only misconception around here is that Johnny boy thinks he knows anything about audio, he doesn't.

However, there is plenty of info in this forum about speaker wire from knowledgeable people, hit the search function.

steveinaz

...you have to admire his tenacity...LOL

polktiger

combination of Monster Cable, Radio Shack, and the Blue Jeans 12 white in various places in the house. I can't hear the difference, but I fired many guns when I was younger without hearing protection and listened to walkmans at high volume while cutting the grass, so my hearing is not the best.

What I enjoy is the variety of answers. It is like asking an artist and an engineer to draw and describe a right triangle. Both groups of people see them differently. I am just happy my ears aren't that astute. Now, I have never used any solid core romex, and after pulling all that BJC/Belden 12 ga they are both a pain to work with. Some people will post speaker wire in the for sale section - you might check there for some good prices. Speaker wire seems to move more slowly than ICs.

apc

Ultimately, this is what I got.

50-Ft. 14-Gauge Flat, Clear Megacable® from Radio Shack.

Thanks for all the input.