Good quality speaker wire at affordable price?

digitalvideo

I am looking for very good quality speaker wire for my 7.1 surround speaker system that doesnt bust my bank. Is there a speaker wire company out there that is sort of like what Bluejeans cable is for HDMI where they put out a very good cable/wire at a good price?

How important is it to have high quality speaker wire and can you notice a big difference in how your system performs between a $50 wires and $300 dollar wires?

thsmith

Yes there is and it all depends on how good your equipment is.

What equipent do you have ?

A lot of people will recommend Signal Cable, I just tried one of their Analog 2 ICs for my TT and I am very impressed.

A friend brought his Pro-Ject II SE tube phono stage over yeaterday and we sample 4 cables between Phono Stage and Pre-Amp. There were definately differences.

Now, if take a HTiB I suspect you could put expensive excellent cables on the system and tell no difference.

I equate it to taking a economy car and putting expensive tires on it and running premium gas, you would not be able to tell a difference.

Take a sports car and you can tell the diffence in cheap, good and best tires as well as low, meduim and high grade gas.

ahorvitz

Your ears. Your budget. Start with something decent and don't overpay for Monster.

I'd go back to BJC for speaker wire. I use it all around the house. You'll find a lot of Signal Cable fans here. I've never used SC speaker wire, but I can recommend the interconnects (Analog II) and power cables (Magic Power).

dragon1952

Are you going to be running any of the wire in-wall?

digitalvideo

My home theater surround sound setup is in full HDMI and is used primarly for tv/sports movies/bluray/dvd.

My home theater 7.1 surround system is:

Pioneer Elite Kuro Pro-111fd plasma
Pioneer Elite SC 05 reciever
Oppo BDP-83fd
Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature 400 7 channel amp

Center speaker - Polk CSi A6
Front tower floor speakers L/R - Polk RTI A9
Side speakers - Polk FXI A6
Rear Speakers - Polk FXI A6
Sub - SVS PB12 Ultra

digitalvideo

Also what are your views and opinions on the Bluejeans BJC 5000ue or Twelve White speaker cable? How do they compare to Signal Cable?

digitalvideo

dragon1952 wrote: »

Are you going to be running any of the wire in-wall?

Nope, I have the wire on the ground right up against the wall around the room underneath and behind furniture with matching wall wire covers over it. The wire covers are the same color as the paint on the wall so it looks good and is hard to notice, I had a friend who does interior decorating do that for me.

thsmith

digitalvideo wrote: »

My home theater surround sound setup is in full HDMI and is used primarly for tv/sports movies/bluray/dvd.

My home theater 7.1 surround system is:

Pioneer Elite Kuro Pro-111fd plasma
Pioneer Elite SC 05 reciever
Oppo BDP-83fd
Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature 400 7 channel amp

Center speaker - Polk CSi A6
Front tower floor speakers L/R - Polk RTI A9
Side speakers - Polk FXI A6
Rear Speakers - Polk FXI A6
Sub - SVS PB12 Ultra

Blue Jeans Cables should do you just fine

daboyz

The Belden is an excellent cable. I use it for my rears and am very happy with it.

jacob.simpson

digitalvideo wrote: »

I am looking for very good quality speaker wire for my 7.1 surround speaker system that doesnt bust my bank. Is there a speaker wire company out there that is sort of like what Bluejeans cable is for HDMI where they put out a very good cable/wire at a good price?

How important is it to have high quality speaker wire and can you notice a big difference in how your system performs between a $50 wires and $300 dollar wires?

www.monoprice.com
one of the best priced for a good quality stuff, has got very good CS i have dealt with them couple of times and returned some stuff when i had ordered wrongly you can try them.
No Affiliations.

Freak When C

I got some banana plugs from monoprice for my speaker-wire and noticed that when I insert the plug into the jacks on my amp and the jacks on my speakers, that even after I tighten the plastic housings all the way down I can still pull the banana plug out of the jack. Same thing happens on another set of speaker wire I have equipped with banana plugs. Is this normal? Shouldn't tightening the plastic housing on the jacks keep the plugs tight and unable to be pulled out?

Freak When C

C'mon guys, somebody has to know if banana plugs are supposed to be able to be tightened down onto the jack so that they can not be pulled out. I didn't want to start a new thread just to ask so sorry for the hijack. But I'm able to remove the plug from the jack despite tightening the plastic housing all the way down. Is that normal? Someone, please?

Solumnus

Freak When C wrote: »

C'mon guys, somebody has to know if banana plugs are supposed to be able to be tightened down onto the jack so that they can not be pulled out. I didn't want to start a new thread just to ask so sorry for the hijack. But I'm able to remove the plug from the jack despite tightening the plastic housing all the way down. Is that normal? Someone, please?

Yes this is normal. Banana plugs are meant to be inserted and removed. They are never permanently installed. Now, stop thred hijacking.:eek:

gmb2428

ive bought all my hdmi and speaker wire cables from monoprice.com. there are great, and a 4' cat 3a hdmi cable for 3 bucks is a killer deal!!!

Freak When C

Solumnus wrote: »

Yes this is normal. Banana plugs are meant to be inserted and removed. They are never permanently installed. Now, stop thred hijacking.:eek:

I realize they're not meant to be "permanently installed" :rolleyes: Of course they would need to be able to be inserted and removed. How else would you connect and disconnect speakers, otherwise? That is NOT what I'm asking.

After I insert the banana plug into the receptacle (the jacks on the amp and rear of the speakers) and I then tighten down the plastic housing, the plug can still be easily removed WITHOUT loosening the plastic housing. In other words, tightening the plastic piece on the amp jacks and speaker jacks that accept banana plugs seems to do nothing. Is that normal?

jacob.simpson

You are absolutely confused, they are not meant to act in the manner what you describe, Banana plugs whether you tighten the plastic or not will plug in and come out easily, the whole purpose is to have a snug fit and be able to remove when required, not the way you think, kind of lock mechanism.

Freak When C

jacob.simpson wrote: »

You are absolutely confused.

I am not confused at all. I thought perhaps they're actually designed to work this way, but was not sure. I'm merely asking for verification that they're supposed to be able to be disconnected with the plastic housing tightened down, or if they're supposed to lock the way my interconnect cables do.

I just was asking if it's normal, that's all. Thanks.

comfortablycurt

Your banana plugs are behaving normally. Tightening or loosening the plastic nut on the binding post doesn't make a difference.

They do make locking banana plugs as well, if you're looking for a more secure connection. The GLS locking bananas are high quality, and don't break the bank.

http://cgi.ebay.com/28-Locking-Banana-Speaker-Cable-Plugs-GLS-Audio-P-BL28_W0QQitemZ350154366730QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5186d39f0a&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262&_trkparms=|293%3A1|294%3A30

Freak When C

Nice to know my bananas aint giving me the slip. I noticed one of my plugs was kind of not inserted all the way which is how I discovered they weren't locked in. But thanks for clearing up my "confusion". I just wasn't sure they were supposed to work that way.

Those locking ones look nice. I just might snag em. I really like how they work. "As you screw the shell on, it presses against the locking bar and spreads the internal spike into the tip" Awesome! Thanks Curt.

nguyendot

Why didn't you just google "Banana plugs"? That would have explained it all in about 30 seconds.

Freak When C

Because I'm lazy?

I did Google "banana plugs slips out of jack" and didn't really find what I needed. I always try to be too precise with Google, for some reason. Much easier to come and ask the experts here on CP (but I did try Google first).

dragon1952

The fact that the speaker terminals screw in and out has nothing to do with tightening the connection unless you are using bare wire or spades. For banana connectors you should tighten the jack all the way down first, and then insert the banana. The bananas just push in and pull out. They are held secure by the springs clips on the banana connector, or by compression of the connector. Some fit tighter than others. If they fit too loose, you can sometimes use a pointed object and pry the spring clips apart a little. Or in the case of BFA types, you can insert something close to the inner diameter of the connector and try and pry it open a bit.

Zeros

One word - Monoprice. You can usually catch the wire on sale if it is the daily deal for a very good price. They have good prices on banana plugs as well.

1fastz28

i have monster cable everything, speaker, hdmi, digital coax, sub cable etc. but i get them like 75% through work

rtart

OK, don't laugh (or yell!) I have used 12 gauge landscape lighting wire. Yep, the black stuff you find at HD or Lowe's. It is a LOT cheaper than similar gauge speaker wire, and if it will hold up outside or buried, it will be OK in my HT.

Conradicles

I use coat hangers, they work well and are cheap.

ahorvitz

rtart wrote: »

OK, don't laugh (or yell!) I have used 12 gauge landscape lighting wire. Yep, the black stuff you find at HD or Lowe's. It is a LOT cheaper than similar gauge speaker wire, and if it will hold up outside or buried, it will be OK in my HT.

For every job, there's a tool.