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Bronze Member Username: CartandpegPost Number: 29 Registered: Aug-06 | After looking around at various speaker cables I can see some would break the bank,I do realise you get what you pay for,so I am wondering if the likes of 100ft High Quality 18 Gauge Ga Awg Speaker Cable Wire via Ebay would suffice to wire up HT,I only use 18 Gauge as an example,my cable is basically what came with the HT plus some cable purchased to make up the shortfall. Example:General Information Quantity: 1 High Purity - Oxygen Free Copper Speaker Wire This 18 Gauge Speaker Wire is the ultimate in speaker wire. The strands of Oxygen-Free Bare Copper Wire will make your speakers crystal clear. Use this speaker wire for Amplifier to Speaker Interconnects whether you are connecting a state of the art Home Theatre, Recording Studio, or New Car Stereo system. 18AWG - 2 Conductor 99.999% Oxygen-Free Copper Strands of OFC Bare Copper per Conductor Wide Frequency Response Exceptional Stereo Imaging Two Conductor, Dual-Zip Construction Clear PVC Jacket Thank you. |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 2440 Registered: Oct-07 | Longer runs demand larger wire. More power / louder music requires larger wire. But, I would NEVER use 18ga. For say....25 feet of wire per speaker in the 'fronts', I'd use 16ga OR 14ga. If it was a hi-power / loud situation, I'd bias myself to the larger gauge. Google this subject. OR try this link: http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm Now, the hi-end guys will tell you wire makes a difference, and it DOES. Both in perception and in pocketbook. However, if all you want is to listen to your movies and occasional music, this link will provide some guidance. |
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Bronze Member Username: CartandpegPost Number: 30 Registered: Aug-06 | Thank you Leo |
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New member Username: A1wynnSanta Clara, CA USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Jul-11 | I agree with Leo here. Both your wire lengths, speaker system and audio all play an important roll. I prefer using larger wire AWG12 for my personal system; however affordable AWG10 is also a good choice when running long lengths, i.e. 35, 50 feet or more. As for Oxygen free, don't be fooled into believing it actually makes a big sound difference, because it doesn't. It does play an important roll in ensuring your wire doesn't change color due to the iron content that would normally be in non-oxygen free cable. If iron is present, you will see a change in the color of the wire over time to a greenish color deposit. |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 2509 Registered: Oct-07 | More about wire: I use 10ga. belden and it is overkill. I also have 500x2 watts available and usable. My speakers are very, very power hungry. That being said, I'd have been just as well served by 12ga. Overall, I'd say 14ga would be good to 50 feet in a 'normal' HT setup. You won't generally be dealing with low impedance (4ohm) hi current speakers. Copper oxidizes very easily. Too easily, in fact. Connections need to be renewed on a regular basis. I exercise (unplug->plug) everything in my system annually. I'm beginning to use Deoxit which I urge you to look up. Oxidized copper is GREEN in color and nasty and I don't think caused by iron in the wire. That being said, OFC is cheap insurance. Crimp connections should be airtight. Ultrasonic welding ensures NO air gets to the connections inside, where it counts. Do NOT buy Monster. This is just my opinion, but it is overpriced and a nasty company. For the same $$, you could by Audioquest, a certified 'big name' cable company. Blue Jeans cable, Monoprice and a bunch of others are both easy to deal with and make a superior product. BlueJeans, for example uses Belden Cable. |