Guys, I need serious help.

N

Notebook.

New member
Guys, I need help.
I got 14 gauge wires, and they're too big for the positive and negative on this amp: Samson Servo 300 Power Amp at zZounds
Also too big for the back of these speaker monitors: Alesis Monitor One Mk2 Studio Monitors at zZounds

What wires do I need to connect from the back of my speakers to the amp? I have the TS to RCA cable that goes from the amp to my interface. That's fine. I just need to know what wires will connect the positive and negatives of each speaker to the positive and negatives on my amp.
 
I know your dilemma, and here's how I do it with oversized wires:

You strip & prep the ends...and then you apply a liberal amount of solder to them.
Once the solder firms up, you simply grind/file/trim away enough so that you end up with a smaller diameter end so that it fits into the post holes.
You may need to add a second shot of solder to the ends if the strands start to unravel...but if you apply a good amount to begin with...they should stay together as one lump, which makes the grinding/filling/trimming easy.

I use even thicker gauge (12 GA) wires for connecting my amps and passive speakers...and the above method works like a charm, that way you get the benefit of the heavy gauge speaker wires, but are still able to connect to smaller terminals.
That's the same way I make my own guitar amp/cab speaker wires. The 1/4" jacks are often not big enough to accommodate the real heavy gauge wires...so I just solder-n-trim-em-down at the ends until they fit. :cool:
 
Notebook. said:
Guys, I need help.
I got 14 gauge wires, and they're too big for the positive and negative on this amp: Samson Servo 300 Power Amp at zZounds
Also too big for the back of these speaker monitors: Alesis Monitor One Mk2 Studio Monitors at zZounds

What wires do I need to connect from the back of my speakers to the amp? I have the TS to RCA cable that goes from the amp to my interface. That's fine. I just need to know what wires will connect the positive and negatives of each speaker to the positive and negatives on my amp.
Click to expand...
First off I find it pretty hard to believe those new products won't take 14 gauge. 14 isn't that big ...... I use 12 gauge mostly and the vast majority of my gear will take that so 14 is gonna go in almost anything.
Second ..... just go to Radio Shack and get some speaker cord ..... often called zip cord or lamp cord ...... not 4 wires ..... two wires each having two conductors joined together.
And you won't get 2 wires either .... it'll come in a little roll and you'll cut it to length.
Man ..... you really should sit down for an evening and read some basic info on these things........ this is as basic as knowing you have to plug something into the wall to make it work. So if you're struggling with this you're gonna have a HARD time with everything else.
I really recommend reading a tutorial or two.
 
NYMorningstar said:
Unless your wires will be longer than 50', 16 gauge is plenty thick for you . Radio Shack works.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say 16 gauge is too thin...but even with short runs, there can be some benefit from heavier gauge speaker wire. The first time saw it used was in a studio I interned at for a short time many years ago. The speakers were on the meter bridge, and their power amp was no more than a few feet away, yet the speaker wires used were HUGE.

Supposedly, it's about the total surface area of the copper strands that makes for better transmission than less (smaller gauge) area.

When I first changed the wires in my own studio from the typical home stereo system, 18 gauge speaker wire to 12 gauge...
...I actually could hear a difference. The best way I can describe it is that the sound became more "open". I did an A/B several times to convince myself as i thought I was maybe just imagining it...but, no, I really did hear a difference.
Subtle difference, mind you....but it was there.

For long runs...you almost have to go heavy gauge.
 
If you really can't get it through there, pull out some strands until it'll fit - Trim the excess strands off. Nothing to it.
 
miroslav said:
When I first changed the wires in my own studio from the typical home stereo system, 18 gauge speaker wire to 12 gauge...
...I actually could hear a difference. The best way I can describe it is that the sound became more "open". I did an A/B several times to convince myself as i thought I was maybe just imagining it...but, no, I really did hear a difference.
Subtle difference, mind you....but it was there.
Click to expand...

You have a promising career in home audio sales...:rolleyes:
 
stevieb said:
You have a promising career in home audio sales...:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure I would hear the difference. 18 gauge kinda 'throttles' an amp. I just recently went from some 18 gauge cheapo crap I had lying around and used to set up my living room system to some 12 gauge nice very fine stranded cable and the difference was absolutely noticable to me.
 
Well, the wires that I got on accident to connect the speakers to amp are 14 gauge.
And I read the manual for my speakers and it takes 12 to 14 gauge. So, I'm confused. And the ends of the wires look like 1\4 TS ends. So, it's seriously confusing.
 
I am not one of those guys that buys into most of the audio and speaker cable hype machine;most of it is baloney. That said, however, there is often an audible difference between 18 gauge and heavier gauge speaker wire. I refused to believe it at first, but after several blind tests conducted by a number of us back in the ancient retail days when were were in the process of re-wiring our comparison room, I has to accept the facts. We just went from 18- to 16-gauge and the difference was definitely audible and positive.

As to whether there's an equivalent advantage going from, say, 14- to 12-gauge, or whether the difference is only from 18 -gauge to thicker because 18-gauge is just at a minimal threshold, I couldn't say for sure, but I suspect that there a minimum diameter threshold, that below 16-gauge is inferior, and 16 or above is better than that.

I'd also point out that for those who still use terminal screw connections or non-solder connectors, cutting off the bare end of the wire and re-stripping new ends also can help. The layer of oxidation on old exposed ends can slightly affect the sound as well.

But back to the OPQ; I've never met a 1/4" connector that was too small to accept 14-gauge cable. Now, maybe there are some out there that I just haven't experienced, but I would think that as long as you properly tinned the ends of the cable and tacked them into place before finishing off the soldering job, that it should work OK. If not, I might recommend different 1/4" connectors.

G.
 
Notebook. said:
Well, the wires that I got on accident to connect the speakers to amp are 14 gauge.
And I read the manual for my speakers and it takes 12 to 14 gauge. So, I'm confused. And the ends of the wires look like 1\4 TS ends. So, it's seriously confusing.
Click to expand...
do you mean it has the 1/4 jacks on the wires?
If so you're gonna have to cut those off.
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
As to whether there's an equivalent advantage going from, say, 14- to 12-gauge, or whether the difference is only from 18 -gauge to thicker because 18-gauge is just at a minimal threshold, I couldn't say for sure, but I suspect that there a minimum diameter threshold, that below 16-gauge is inferior, and 16 or above is better than that.
Click to expand...
I think even going from 16 to 14 or 12 is audible although my days of testing stuff like that are far behind me ........ I just don't care enough anymore to bother.
But to me even 16 gauge is kinda smallish for anything that puts out significant power.

SouthSIDE Glen said:
I'd also point out that for those who still use terminal screw connections or non-solder connectors, cutting off the bare end of the wire and re-stripping new ends also can help. The layer of oxidation on old exposed ends can slightly affect the sound as well.
G.
Click to expand...

Absolutely ... especially here in Florida where the air corrodes everything on contact.
I try to take all my connections every year or so and clean them with DX-5 and then with DeOxit Gold.
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
Amen to that. Hell, I hardly ever even listen to my stereo anymore anyway.

G.
Click to expand...
yeah me too.
Although ...... last week I started putting on records instead of leaving the TV on and was surprised how much stuff I got done.
Also .... for me, LP's will grab my attention but for some reason CD's don't . I don't know why ........... maybe the 20 minutes at a time thing allows me to listen to LP's more ..... I really don't know why but I definitely notice the difference in my attention level.
 
Not really sure why the skepticism about speaker wire gauge having an audible effect on your tone...??? :D
Granted...if you are going up/down one step in gauge for a length of only a couple of feet...it ain't gonna' make much difference, but like Bob points out, for a high powered situation/bigger load, even with short runs you want to use heavier gauge wire for best results. Otherwise...for longer runs, and simply for "opening up" you tone...there is plenty of science out there to support the "gauge factor"...
....it's not just "home stereo salesmanship".

I haven't bothered with speaker wire concerns in a long time, ever since I made a bunch of heavy gauge speaker wires for guitar amps/cabs and for my studio monitors from a large roll of 12 AWG speaker wire. Most was easy to deal with at the terminal posts and 1/4" plugs...some needed a bit of "trimming" to make the fit.

This is one of those things that you research at some early point in your "audio evolution"...then you put it bed, and from that point forward there's no need to reevaluate which kind of wire to use.
I've got a pile of 18-22 AWG "home use" speaker wire from my early days...before I learned about speaker wire gauges and their effect on tone.
If anyone wants it...send me you address, I'll ship it to you for free! ;)
 
Lt. Bob said:
I try to take all my connections every year or so and clean them with DX-5 and then with DeOxit Gold.
Click to expand...

Oh god...how I hate that process. It takes me all day to do that in my studio....getting behind all the racks, cleaning EVERY connection. :(
I try to do it a couple of times a year, and it tends to hold pretty well in-between. But up here in NY there's not as much a corrosive climate as FL.

But yeah...I clean it with DeOxit and I also apply the Gold stuff.
Last year I opened up my console and cleaned everything! Usually I was only doing the faders when they started to get a little "tight"...but after many years of hassle-free service, I thought it was time to really get inside the console and clean every switch/pot/connection regardless if it needed it or not. That alone took a couple of days.
 
TV is for folks who can't afford firewood. Of course, if they didn't waste their money on monthly cable bills, they probably could;).

After a while, music is like sex; what's the point of watching someone else do it? It's like watching someone else eat when you're hungry.

I think half the reason vinyl grabs one's attention more is because one actually has to take a temporary timeout from life to actually set it up to play it; it forces one's attention out of the gate. It is an actual ceremony in a way that popping a CD in the player is not.

G.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top