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New member Username: PowlazPost Number: 2 Registered: Jun-04 | I'm in the process of setting up my family room which is where my home theatre will go. I'm relatively sure that my TV will go on one end of the room and my subwoofer will go behind the couch on the other end of the room. I'd really like to avoid spending a fortune on a run of Monster Subwoofer cable if I can. Is there an 'accepted' trick for long runs of subwoofer cable? Here's what I was thinking. Why couldn't I run coaxial cable. If it's good enough to transmit a High Definition video signal from the cable company why isn't good enough to transmit good, clean, solid bass? I need to run this cable from my receiver, up the wall, across the ceiling, and down the wall to the jack where the subwoofer will plug in (maybe 40' total). I appreciate the help. I don't really want to skimp on the cable but I can't afford a couple hundred bucks for a quality run from cable manufacturers like Monster. Matt |
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Bronze Member Username: TurbodogPost Number: 43 Registered: Jul-05 | You have it exactly right. I am using RG-6 to send my line-level subwoofer signal a similar distance. It works great. I bought F-connector -to- RCA adapters at Home Depot. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6505 Registered: May-04 | Why not just buy a 50' spool of Belden or Canare interconnect cable and some decent Switchcraft connectors? How much have you spent on the HT and the room? Now you want to get cheap by a few dollars on the sub interconnect?! Also putting the sub behind you is usually not the best spot in the room for subwoofer placement. Read a few articles on sub placement before you just pick a spot for the sub. In almost any case, the spot where the sub "has to sit" will be the worst position for the sub to sit. |
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New member Username: PowlazPost Number: 3 Registered: Jun-04 | Great! I thought coaxial cable was a good idea. Glad to hear it works. But is it a generally accepted method for wiring? One of you seams to like the idea, the other doesn't seem so fond of it. I didn't spend anything on my hometheatre. Its a mish-mash that I'm starting with - but it's not a Home Theatre-In-A-Box. I was going to run a good quality 12AWG speaker wire. Figured the thicker gauge would handle any potential losses from the size of the run. Don't think I have a particularly long run for that matter, but better safe than sorry. I won't have a 'high - end' home theatre - I don't have the budget for it - but I don't necessarily want to skimp either. That's why I thought that there might be a cheaper but acceptable way of getting around the cost of running a long subwoofer cable. I couldn't figure out from your description, Jan, what cable on Belden or Canare's website I should look for. I've never heard of either of these companies but I assume since you thought of them that they are a better alternative than coaxial cable and/or Monster Cable. Belden makes 436 pages of interconnect cable and where Canare seems to offer less choices none of the choices given made sense to me. Could you be more specific. Am I looking for Mic cable, or flat cable, or twisted pair cable? I'm lost. Any tests ever done using RG-6 vs. a high end subwoofer cable? Thanks for the help so far. Matt |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6528 Registered: May-04 | Belden makes innumerable types of cable; from interconnect (microphone) cable to antenna cable (RG-6) and many, many other types and styles. So you can buy Belden cable no matter what sort of run you want to make. Canare is almost the same with the exception of being slightly more specialized. There are also companies which are near equivalents to Belden and Canare at slightly lower cost. I don't find a clue as to where you live, but there should be a supplier for these cables somewhere nearby. Begin with Belden and give them a call. (http://www.belden-wire.com/) There are plenty of suppliers of bulk cable and you don't have to stick to the brands I recommended. http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/speaker-cable.html http://www.bluejeanscable.com/ In relation to buying Monster Cable, you'll spend far less money. In relation to using RG-6 vs. an interconnect/microphone cable, the differences are mostly a small bit of cost due to buying a slightly more complicated cable with the interconnect. Buying a two conductor shielded cable allows the signal and the return to be carried by similar conductors and have both be shielded. The conductors are a twisted, multistrand type which is slightly easier to pull and to assemble to an RCA connector than RG-6. No, you don't have to buy Monster cable to get a good signal to your sub. But, buying a good cable is still worth the money. Do consider trying a few places in your room (I'm assuming you've read a bit about subwoofer location) before you decide to drill holes and cut drywall. Proper placement of the sub will allow the best performance at no real expense other than your time trying different locations. Behind the listening position is generally not the best location. |
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New member Username: Mike_butlerPost Number: 4 Registered: Nov-05 | What is the definition of a "good cable" for this application? Very simply, one that has sufficient diameter conductors to handle the current. You didn't say exactly how many feet long, but 12AWG is considered adequate for most room-size runs. Whether it be Belden or Canare or Carol Cable, it's all about handling the current. RG-6 may actually be worse, because of the smaller center conductor, and you don't need the shielding under normal circumstances. If you are worried about noise pickup, you can get Canare Star-Quad speaker wire, which is still nice and heavy (with the dual pair 14AWG conductors giving you an equivalent wire size of 11AWG) and still less costly than Monster (about $1.10 a foot, Belden has their own too for about $1.60). And the Star-Quad configuration is based on scientifically proven engineering theory, not some fictional pie-in-the-sky unscientific gobbledygook you get from the snake-oil peddlers with their megabucks speaker cables. And Liberty even has THX-certified cable up to dual 12 (9AWG paired) if all the above is not enough copper for you. |
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New member Username: Mike_butlerPost Number: 5 Registered: Nov-05 | Oh wait, Powlaz, I did this under the assumption that you are sending the output of your power amplifier to a passive sub. Rick Nolan mentioned sending a line-level signal, say between receiver/preamp/processor and the power amp for the sub, and of course coaxial cable is the right item for line-level audio interconnections up to about 25-30 feet. Anything longer, I'd want to use balanced shielded cable (commonly used as microphone cable) which is the standard in pro audio (where they use XLR not RCA jacks) and good up to several hundred feet. But stick to the heavy-gauge basic speaker wire if it's an amp-to-speaker run. I have had no problems with good old 12AWG zip pushing the watts. |
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New member Username: Mike_butlerPost Number: 6 Registered: Nov-05 | For a little help finding it, Canare calls it 4S11, Belden's quad is called 1810, and both the places mentioned by Jan Vigne carry them. |
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New member Username: Mike_butlerPost Number: 7 Registered: Nov-05 | Sorry, I forgot to answer the original question: Q: "Why couldn't I run coaxial cable. If it's good enough to transmit a High Definition video signal from the cable company why isn't good enough to transmit good, clean, solid bass?" A: Because it is two completely different tasks. CATV cable is designed to carry RF frequencies from 54 MHz and up, with very low current, over long distances. Shielding and capacitance are critical parameters, as conductors and dielectrics behave differently at different frequencies. Conversely, audio cables operate within the range of audible frequencies, nominally 20-20,000 Hz, and speaker cables in particular are tasked with carrying high current at low impedance, typically 4 to 8 ohms, with woofer cables carrying the most current and operating in the band of 20-200 Hz. Resistance is really the only important electrical measurement here, and since 12AWG has about 1-1/2 ohms per thousand feet, a 40-to-50-foot piece will have virtually unmeasurable resistance. A lotta words, but I think I said it right. |