Electrical cable as speaker cable

[Count Dacula]

In a pinch, a 2 conductor wire like lamp cord and be doubled to add some capacity that is otherwise unavailable.

Something like an extension cord is ok too, even with 3 strands you can combine them into one leg.

 

[Speedskater]

Cable capacity (as in Amperage) is not a factor. With music, any cable can easily carry ten times or more than it's rated amperage.
The concern is the total end-to-end resistance with respect to the loudspeaker's impedance curve.

 

[mhardy6647]

Welcome to ASR.

For the avoidance of doubt - audio when traveling in wires is electricity. Mains electrical cable mostly carries 50 or 60Hz at quite high dB levels, but this is also an electrical signal that sounds like "hhmmmmm".

Like field recordings of an old rotary engined Mazda.

Sorry. Couldn't resist. I cannot help myself sometimes.

 

[wwenze]

i wonder if a tin layer is a problem and if a pure copper one is better for home use ? ( I’ve seen a lot of industrial installation wire with a tin coating and also a lot without it ).

Tinning just makes things easier in various ways. It stops the strands from oxidizing, from fraying, keeps the cable together over time, easier to solder. Downside is, pre-tinned wires are stiff. I simply tin the ends of stranded cables.

At the industrial level, it's the advantage of tinning without having to personally tin it. Belden speaker cable 8461, I believe.

 

[keiron99]

I'm looking for (cheap) brown, round, flexible cable to use as speaker cable. Hard to get in the UK, it's always black, brown or orange. Except "lamp cord" that is, which they do in f an old school brown fabric. It's only 0.75mm though (I think that is 19AWG). Is that OK to use?

 

[voodooless]

It's only 0.75mm

.75mm2 isn’t really proper as a speaker cable. I’d say make sure you at least have 2.5mm2, better is 4mm2. This will eliminate most of the influence the cable can have for most domestic distances and use cases. Try online stores for a greater selection.

When really needed the thin cable will work, but expect that it will influence the bass response. I’ve had rear speakers running on CAT cable pairs, it works, but it’s certainly not ideal.

 

[Gringoaudio1]

You pulled multi strand out of your walls? Where on earth is multi strand legally used for house wiring?

 

[Timcognito]

You pulled multi strand out of your walls? Where on earth is multi strand legally used for house wiring?

It is used primarily for extension cords but is approved for other uses where flexibility is required, like long tortuous pulls through conduit. It is much more expensive than solid core "Romex".

 

[Punter]

If you want to go true budget, wire coat hangers have been shown to be as good as any "premium" speaker cable.

Cable myths: reviving the coathanger test

Today, in our speaker cable blind test we're going to try to prove one way or another whether or not high-end speaker cables make a difference for your equipment.

www.soundguys.com

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

In the '80s I read a double blind test article in a hi fi magazine that compared regular zip cord with high end cable. The null hypothesis won in a landslide. What you have seems fine. 12 gauge is good for pretty long runs.

 

[mhardy6647]

In the '80s I read a double blind test article in a hi fi magazine that compared regular zip cord with high end cable. The null hypothesis won in a landslide. What you have seems fine. 12 gauge is good for pretty long runs.

Ahh, but the high end cable of the 1980s doesn't hold a candle to what's available today. All that 21st Century technology brought to bear, don't you know?

 

[keiron99]

If you want to go true budget, wire coat hangers have been shown to be as good as any "premium" speaker cable.

Cable myths: reviving the coathanger test

Today, in our speaker cable blind test we're going to try to prove one way or another whether or not high-end speaker cables make a difference for your equipment.

www.soundguys.com

Thanks for sharing that. Not surprising but very funny.

 

[tmtomh]

I'm looking for (cheap) brown, round, flexible cable to use as speaker cable. Hard to get in the UK, it's always black, brown or orange. Except "lamp cord" that is, which they do in f an old school brown fabric. It's only 0.75mm though (I think that is 19AWG). Is that OK to use?

There are simple and more complex calculators available online. This Polk Audio one is simple but I think a useful baseline or "sanity check":

Speaker Wire Gauge Chart

support.polkaudio.com

Using the stricter scenario - a 4 ohm speaker load as opposed an 8 ohm speaker load - the Polk chart says you can use 18 gauge wire for up to a 16-foot run.

Polk doesn't list 19 or 20 gauge (which is what 0.75mm wire would be), but extrapolating from the chart's other entries it seems likely they would say you can go up to 10 or 12 feet with 19 or 20 gauge wire.

With that said, a lot of folks - including me, and I would guess including a lot of other ASR members who believe strongly in the measurement-base approach here - nonetheless prefer a little bit of "overkill" or "wiggle room" with their speaker wires because it just makes us feel better.

Are you specifically looking for brown fabric covered wire? If you are okay with the look of brown plastic insulated wire, there are options available to you in lower (thicker) gauges.

 

[yewneek]

I picked up a set of 2m Chord Clearway speaker cables fromm Freecycle today. Apparently it's directional! AC, directional? Wire...directional? Because, following this interpretation of Ohm's Law, houses would burn down with cables being used the wrong way.

What level of fuckwittery buys into this utter shit? 136GBP for a set of 2 metre x2 14AWG speaker wire.

Free sounds good to me.

 

[Count Dacula]

In a pinch, someone could just use double runs of + and - cables. If you're really concerned about current and have bi-amp terminals there's some opportunities for connecting them up, leave the jumpers in. Also utilizing both A & B speaker outputs on your amp. So, in theory, you could have just lamp cord, but max it out with a single double-strand of each, connected to each available terminal. I'm just sayin'....in theory.

 

[Chrispy]

There are simple and more complex calculators available online. This Polk Audio one is simple but I think a useful baseline or "sanity check":

Speaker Wire Gauge Chart

support.polkaudio.com

Using the stricter scenario - a 4 ohm speaker load as opposed an 8 ohm speaker load - the Polk chart says you can use 18 gauge wire for up to a 16-foot run.

Polk doesn't list 19 or 20 gauge (which is what 0.75mm wire would be), but extrapolating from the chart's other entries it seems likely they would say you can go up to 10 or 12 feet with 19 or 20 gauge wire.

With that said, a lot of folks - including me, and I would guess including a lot of other ASR members who believe strongly in the measurement-base approach here - nonetheless prefer a little bit of "overkill" or "wiggle room" with their speaker wires because it just makes us feel better.

Are you specifically looking for brown fabric covered wire? If you are okay with the look of brown plastic insulated wire, there are options available to you in lower (thicker) gauges.

FWIW I just buy 12g speaker wire in bulk, cheaper that way and useful for all connections in multiple systems. Not that it makes me feel better particularly....but I do like not wasting money on speaker cables.

 

[Keith_W]

You pulled multi strand out of your walls? Where on earth is multi strand legally used for house wiring?

Would you be able to explain why multi-strand is a bad idea for power cabling? (Genuine question, I have no idea. I didn't even know this was a thing).

 

[wwenze]

Would you be able to explain why multi-strand is a bad idea for power cabling? (Genuine question, I have no idea. I didn't even know this was a thing).

Some connections / terminations at breaker box etc are not spec'ed for stranded.

 

[tmtomh]

Some connections / terminations at breaker box etc are not spec'ed for stranded.

It's to do with the possibility of fraying or breakage at those connection points, yes?

 

[AudiOhm]

You pulled multi strand out of your walls? Where on earth is multi strand legally used for house wiring?

Multi strand cables are used where you need flexibility, try running solid wire in a conduit, with 4 90deg bends, not all that easy.

Ohms