Along the same lines of some other tv cable/hdmi cable discussions, what is some of your opinions on speaker wire quality? I just got a home theater system that obviously came with speaker wire for each of the 5 speakers. However, I need to extend the wire in order to get my 2 "back" speakers to where they need to be in our living room. Is there a certain brand to get or any difference in qualities? Any special ways to connect the extension wire to my existing wire? I haven't even searched on the internet yet but figured someone on here would know first-hand.
Speaker Wire
- Thread starter wonkadog
- Start date
My first thought is do not connect wires...just use a new wire that is one piece. The more connections you have, IMO, the worse the quality.
I don't know a lot about the various brands and quality. There is a great thread around here somewhere with a link to a study that shows the high-priced cables/wires are not only not as good as advertised - but no better than any of the other ones.
I don't know a lot about the various brands and quality. There is a great thread around here somewhere with a link to a study that shows the high-priced cables/wires are not only not as good as advertised - but no better than any of the other ones.
Just make sure that any new wire you buy is the same gauge as your already existing wire. If you can somehow take out the original wire and just use all the same without splicing it you'll be the best off.
I'm not sure what to tell you about best material to use but if you try to force the signal onto a smaller wire or let it widen out onto a larger wire you'll get a lot of strange pops and hisses from your system
I'm not sure what to tell you about best material to use but if you try to force the signal onto a smaller wire or let it widen out onto a larger wire you'll get a lot of strange pops and hisses from your system
Actually you may want to get thicker wire for your rears than your mains if you have to travel a long distance. My room is 20 feet deep, but becuase I had to traverse the vaulted ceiling, I actually used over 50 feet of wire in each run. Because of this I used 12 guage in the rears and 14 guage for the mains.
For only $23.75 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 12AWG Enhanced Loud Oxygen-Free Copper Speaker Wire Cable - 100ft | 12AWG Loud Speaker Cable
For only $20.00 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 14AWG Enhanced Loud Oxygen-Free Copper Speaker Wire Cable - 100ft | 14AWG Loud Speaker Cable
I recommend just regular old high quality wire, heck it is only $24/100ft. So maybe you could just buy a big spool and redo all your wiring with it.
For only $23.75 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 12AWG Enhanced Loud Oxygen-Free Copper Speaker Wire Cable - 100ft | 12AWG Loud Speaker Cable
For only $20.00 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 14AWG Enhanced Loud Oxygen-Free Copper Speaker Wire Cable - 100ft | 14AWG Loud Speaker Cable
I recommend just regular old high quality wire, heck it is only $24/100ft. So maybe you could just buy a big spool and redo all your wiring with it.
tearing up carpet or putting up crown molding around the ceiling 
The molding does make rooms look snazzy though. My dad and I did it when we wanted to send a component video line to our projector in the basement
The molding does make rooms look snazzy though. My dad and I did it when we wanted to send a component video line to our projector in the basement
tearing up carpet or putting up crown molding around the ceiling
The molding does make rooms look snazzy though. My dad and I did it when we wanted to send a component video line to our projector in the basement
Wise idea.
Looks like a difference of $3 for the thicker wire...I'd go with that, sounds like 100ft should get you taken care of for all of your wires with some to spare.
I'd go with just a regular 12 AWG speaker wire from home depot or somewhere like that. You can buy it per linear ft rather than an entire roll.
For your subwoofer, I'd recommend running RG6 just like you would for a coax cable run.
In my opinion, you shouldn't waste your money on Monster Cable.
For your subwoofer, I'd recommend running RG6 just like you would for a coax cable run.
In my opinion, you shouldn't waste your money on Monster Cable.
Can you get at ceiling on the level below it? Like the basement ceiling? If so, you can fish the wires through there. It is not a whole lot of fun, but it makes things look really really nice.
no 20-30 feet is fine with 14 or even 16 guage wire. If it is not a super high quality system you probably would not have any issues with even 18 guage wire.
I have not been to impressed with the wireless speakers, they run on the 900mhz band and have lots of interference. Some people have had good luck with it, but I have not heard a whole lot of praise for them.
I made a small incision in the carpet by the speaker, pushed a wire snake between the carpet and the pad to the general vicinity of the reciever, made another small incision by the receiver, and pulled the wire through. If your carpet isn't stretched real tight, this method could work for you. If you have two people, one person can guide the wire snake as you are pushing it so it ends up where you want it to end up.
My speakers and receiver are against walls, so the incisions are not noticeable. Also, along one wall, when I pushed down on the carpet, it revealed a nice gap between the paneling and the carpet to hide a wire.
I've also seen folks pull the wire up through a wall, go over the ceiling in the attic, and then come down in a wall by the speaker (we don't have basements down here). I was considering that, but it was just going to be too much work.
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RG6 for a subwoofer? How the heck do you connect RG6 to a stereo or a sub?
For my sub cable I just had the local stereo shop make me a 4M subwoofer cable, I think it was $20.
My system has a setup to do this. However my sub is powered, I don't know if thats a pre req for running the signal through an RG6 connector if if its just a vendor to vendor decision
Have done the fishing thing before, it's not bad depending on what the carpet is like and if you have anything to go around.
This is what we'll have to do, as this part of his house sits on a slab.
Fun project for this weekend...best not interfere with football! :wideeyed:
