Using two different types of speaker wire

  • Thread starter Thread starter Stone B
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Stone B

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Bad right?

I don't know much about speaker wire, I have passive monitors and a diferent cable for each of the two. I need to know if it will compromise my sound.
The cables I have are very very long, and have been cut before, I'm not sure how long they are, does that affect anything?
I don't need them to be that long, all my stuff is pretty close together, if I need to have the wires uniform, would it be cheaper just to cut one of the wires in half and and just use the two halves?

Also how would I know which one of my wires is better?
One is a fat black one, thicker than my computer's power cable, the other is the standard one I see in the stores, transparent plastic insulation so you can see the color of the wires underneath.

I also read about a device you can get to switch between different sets of monitors and speakers, is it okay if I use different wire for the different speakers, as long as each set of speakers have matcing wire?
 
I'm not looking to start the great speaker wire debate here, but if you're doing short runs (like 10ft or less?), then standard zip cord is just fine.
 
I wasn't aware there was a debate on the subject

What's Zip wire exactly?
(Newbie)
 
Zip cord or sometimes callled lamp cord is just like what you see coming off a lamp, or that wire you described as standard store bought speaker wire. It's usually 18 or 16 gauge, and will work perfectly in your situation.
 
So what about the other stuff?

Cutting it and what not.
I'm sure mine is much longer than ten feet

What do you think the other wire I have is?
 
Just cut the standard wire to the lengths you need, and you'll be fine. Not sure what the other stuff is without looking at it, but it sounds like it might be either twisted pair wire with heavy insulation on the outside, or it could even be a shielded (instrument cable), which would be bad news as speaker wire...Could cause your amp to oscillate and possibly damage either the speakers or the amp. Best to stick with the standard wire.
 
Thanks

I'll get to cutting when I get that device to switch between monitors.
 
14 or 12 gauge is more recomended.
Click to expand...

Stone B,

If you do decide to upgrade to some larger gauge wire, Home Depot has a good deal on some very nice 12 gauge wire for about 30 to 40 cents a foot. I bought a bunch of it for my home theater, and it's very flexible and looks really nice.
 
I looked at the fat black cable

Inside there are two smaller wires, one insulated in black, one in white. The ends were stripped, so I could see the actual wire, both are the exact same color, what does that mean?
 
LooneyTunez said:
....or it could even be a shielded (instrument cable), which would be bad news as speaker wire...Could cause your amp to oscillate and possibly damage either the speakers or the amp.
Click to expand...
Huh?????

...ssplain that one to me:confused:
 
you got it...

Shielded wire has a certain amount of capacitance. This is why they call the coax you use for cable TV "75-ohm". (in reference to its characteristic capacitance)

Anyways, capacitance on the output of a high powered amplifier can be very bad. The cable can resonate at high frequencies due to its interaction with the amp.
 
All wire has a certain amount of capacitance. Shielded cable may have a higher capacitance than regular speaker cable, but it's really not some big risk to your amp.

Almost every amp other than some hi end "audiophile" types have a few inductive turns on the output to help prevent high frequency oscillation. Furthermore, speakers themselves have a cap in line with the tweeter that almost certainly has a much higher capacitance than any normal length of wire, shielded or not. If there were a problem with oscillations, the speaker would surely cause it first.

Maybe hooking up a very long run of high capacitance cable to your amp could cause damage, but mostly it's not a concern.

Mind you, I'm not advocating the use of shielded cable for speakers. I'm just arguing the basic principle.

barefoot
 
Well, as a general rule shielded wire is not recommended for speaker hookup, so why take the risk, even if it's small? I was just making that statement as a general warning of something that could happen...but not of big concern really.
 
Knightfly just recently posted one of the best technical explainations of the interactions between power amps, speakers, and cables that I've seen in a long time.

Problem is, I can't remember the name of the thread!:(

Maybe you could do a search for it...
 
Littledog, I found the post

After about the fourth time I read it over I began to understand most of it, but I'm still a little confused, I think he made a small error which you corrected, that kinda threw me off.

At least now that I have monitors, I know that they're 8 ohms, but I'm still a little confused, if a higher gauge wire is better, how come Knightfly got a better sound from using ten gauge? did he alter them somehow, I know he did them himself, did I miss something?

Also... would my amp's high wattage be something to consider when dealing with this issue?

What's the highest gauge wire you can get?
 
No no no!

LOWER gauge wire is better. (E.g. 12 gauge better than 16 gauge). The lower guage is fatter, with less resistance.

And having high wattage output from an amp is never a disadvantage - it's the low wattage amps that will cause problems.
 
Thanks

I just woke up this morning smacking myself in the head, realizing that I had it all backwards, you saved me a trip back to the search engine.

Is there a such thing as 5 gauge wire?, 1 gauge?
 
"Is there a such thing as 5 gauge wire?, 1 gauge?"

Sure, even 0 Gauge like the wire you'd see coming off your car battery. Don't want to be running that for speakers though, not very flexible and expensive as well (as pointless). 12-14 is good enough.

Get bigger than that and you'll have a hard time connecting it to the monitor post holes.
 
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