Is 16 gauge lamp cord from home depot good enough for speaker wire?
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Bronze Member Username: BranniganPost Number: 17 Registered: Feb-07 | I know I'm leaving too many annoying posts but I want to get this right once and for all so I can relax and leave my system be. I picked up 20 feet of 16 gauge copper zip\lamp cord from home depot for my athena asf2.2 speakers and cut it into 2 equal lengths of about 9 feet each. My father recommended this and it seemed to make sense but I thought I should run it by the experts to make sure. It sounds good to me but after reading up on it a little it seems there is a chance they could oxidize and cause problems. Should I just stfu and stop worrying about it or what? Thanks. |
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Silver Member Username: DavidpaPortland, Oregon US Post Number: 460 Registered: Nov-05 | yes. your fine. |
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Bronze Member Username: BranniganPost Number: 19 Registered: Feb-07 | Thanks! |
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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 992 Registered: Oct-04 | You might want to read this http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm |
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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 993 Registered: Oct-04 | ...and this http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/cables/diy-speaker-cable-faceoff |
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Bronze Member Username: BranniganPost Number: 23 Registered: Feb-07 | I did, after I bought the wire from home depot. The picture of the oxidized lamp cord was the reason for my post. |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 7073 Registered: Dec-04 | Just cut it back every 6 months or replace it. In even lengths, of course. |
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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 994 Registered: Oct-04 | Actually, the picture is of oxidized speaker cable, not lamp cord. Further, the fact that you can actually see the oxidation is a good thing IMHO because it affords you the ability to see that the applied insulation is defective. Lamp cord will work, and if your not a very critical listener, I doubt you'd ever notice the difference between it and these http://www.aurant.com/signaturefeature.php Personally, I would have picked up some good all-purpose 14-GA speaker cable from Sound King, Parts Express, or even Radio Shack, as I mentioned, the clear insulation makes the task of periodic inspection easier. |
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Bronze Member Username: BranniganPost Number: 24 Registered: Feb-07 | The stuff I bought has clear insulation and one side has some king of silver colored coating over the copper to help tell positive vs negative. Hopefully this was a decent choice. I left some extra length too so cutting it back an inch or 2 every 6 months is no prob. |
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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 995 Registered: Oct-04 | Enjoy your new set-up. |
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Bronze Member Username: BranniganPost Number: 25 Registered: Feb-07 | Thanks, I think I'm all set. |
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Gold Member Username: Arande2Just a matte... Missouri Post Number: 2392 Registered: Dec-06 | I use CAT 5 cable. It works for me. |
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Silver Member Username: StefanomVienna, VA United States Post Number: 531 Registered: Apr-06 | A single CAT 5 is equivalent to two 18 gauge conductors, FWIW. |
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Gold Member Username: Arande2Just a matte... Missouri Post Number: 2401 Registered: Dec-06 | Do you mean like each little strand or all 8 together? I'm pretty sure it's the former. If so, I'm using 4 tied together on each pole (+ or -). I hope I'm not doing anything wrong. Oh, and what does the acronym FWIW stand for?  |
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Silver Member Username: StefanomVienna, VA United States Post Number: 533 Registered: Apr-06 | Each little strand is 24 gauge. Four little strands together is 18 gauge. FWIW= For what its worth. |
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