Make your own Speaker wire and or cables RCA / TRS / XLR

[a4eaudio]

The signal going to a subwoofer via a "subwoofer cable" is line-level....

You are assuming a powered subwoofer.

 

[Ropeburn]

You are assuming a powered subwoofer.

That is 1) a reasonable assumption and 2) exactly what OP was talking about.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

I've been using zip cord from the hardware store for speaker wire forever. I generally get 14 gauge even though 16 gauge is fine for most of the distances I use at home. I like banana plugs for speakers that have that kind of terminal. They're just easier for people like me with poor fine coordination although I know how to wrap wire around binding posts. The most important thing for me is that it's easy to tell one wire from the other so I get the polarity right.

 

[MAB]

You are assuming a powered subwoofer.

It's what OP said:

Make your own Speaker wire and or cables RCA / TRS / XLR

:rolleyes:

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[kyuu]

You are assuming a powered subwoofer.

Yep.

 

[Devnull]

My personal favorite for line level is shielded Ethernet cable. Cut ends off and you get 2 pairs for signal, a pair for control and a spare pair. A simple uninsulated ferrule crimped works perfectly with phoenix connectors or anything with a screw. I avoid XLRs like the plague, they add nothing in a permanently installed environment.

If a cable can pass a few hundred MHz reliably it can handle audio frequencies.

 

[Ropeburn]

My personal favorite for line level is shielded Ethernet cable. Cut ends off and you get 2 pairs for signal, a pair for control and a spare pair. A simple uninsulated ferrule crimped works perfectly with phoenix connectors or anything with a screw. I avoid XLRs like the plague, they add nothing in a permanently installed environment.

If a cable can pass a few hundred MHz reliably it can handle audio frequencies.

But but I don't like crimping

Old PTSD from the army when I spent days and weeks doing nothing but crimping hundreds and thousands of network cables and patchbays and testing them and almost went insane pulling cables through various cramped cable shafts like chimneys. That was some frustrating bullshit I certainly don't miss.

 

[eddantes]

I got my custom speaker cables after I ran the mower over the extension.

 

[Chrispy]

FWIW never have purchased any pre-made speaker wire myself. Too easy to setup your own. Some of the stuff in this particular thread, particularly some of the rca cable stuff, is pretty bizarre, tho.

 

[Doodski]

FWIW never have purchased any pre-made speaker wire myself. Too easy to setup your own. Some of the stuff in this particular thread, particularly some of the rca cable stuff, is pretty bizarre, tho.

@Chrispy speaking of bizarre. I had a bunch of customers bring me their multi thousand dollar speaker cables/home made expensive speaker cables/expensive RCA interconnects that had been chewed by their cats. They always had many many tiny bite holes in them and sometimes cat molar marks too and where not safe for speaker wire and had issues. The owners somehow thought I could do stuff with them to rescue the owner from buying more stuff. I have no idea why they thought I could save them but each time it was a NO answer from me.

 

[Chrispy]

@Chrispy speaking of bizarre. I had a bunch of customers bring me their multi thousand dollar speaker cables/home made expensive speaker cables/expensive RCA interconnects that had been chewed by their cats. They always had many many tiny bite holes in them and sometimes cat molar marks too and where not safe for speaker wire and had issues. The owners somehow thought I could do stuff with them to rescue the owner from buying more stuff. I have no idea why they thought I could save them but each time it was a NO answer from me.

Wow. Cat people and odd audiophile combination sounds kinda deadly. You didn't try and reassure them likely the bite marks did nothing except the stupid aesthetics they bought them for?

 

[Doodski]

Wow. Cat people and odd audiophile combination sounds kinda deadly. You didn't try and reassure them likely the bite marks did nothing except the stupid aesthetics they bought them for?

LoL. I tried the cables and they had issues because of the cat biting many many times on the soft outer stuff that they apparently really like biting many many times. The speaker wires carry voltage that is significant enough that if there is a short between the conductors the amp will blow or if it has safety sensing protection it will engage the protection but that does not work all the time on amps that have it and the expensive big amps do not have protection circuitry most of the time. There was no way I could put a guarantee on those wires so it was off to the garbage or at the owners personal risk without my blessing. I had a adult female albino ferret for some years and at the beginning for ~2 years I locked it in it's large cage days when I was at work but I felt sorry for it sleeping it's life away and I left the cage door open after for years and it never chomped my wires ever.

 

[wwenze]

"Make your own wire" I was expecting an extruder if not a refinery

 

[Keith_W]

Well, I did my own "speaker cable performance upgrade".

After I constructed my new cable, I noticed that one woofer would play at normal volume and then go soft. Then it would be normal again. So I opened up the Speakon connector and examined it. It seemed OK, so I put it back together. The problem came back, but this time both woofers were behaving the same way.

I decided to spend some money and buy genuine Neutrik connectors (AUD$25 each) to replace the no-name Chinese Speakon connectors.

Neutrik on left, no-name Chinese Speakon on the right. The Neutrik has much larger conductors. No funny contact issues here.

Neutrik on the left. The screw-in terminals for cable wire are much more robust and exert more torque on the bare wire. Also, Allan screws rather than Philips.

Everything about that Neutrik Speakon connector is just nicer! Anyway, the Neutriks solved the problem. No more funny connection issues.

 

[Chrispy]

LoL. I tried the cables and they had issues because of the cat biting many many times on the soft outer stuff that they apparently really like biting many many times. The speaker wires carry voltage that is significant enough that if there is a short between the conductors the amp will blow or if it has safety sensing protection it will engage the protection but that does not work all the time on amps that have it and the expensive big amps do not have protection circuitry most of the time. There was no way I could put a guarantee on those wires so it was off to the garbage or at the owners personal risk without my blessing. I had a adult female albino ferret for some years and at the beginning for ~2 years I locked it in it's large cage days when I was at work but I felt sorry for it sleeping it's life away and I left the cage door open after for years and it never chomped my wires ever.

LOL so they didn't notice until chewed through? I was thinking of less as I suppose I always suspect cats of mischief

 

[Doodski]

LOL so they didn't notice until chewed through? I was thinking of less as I suppose I always suspect cats of mischief

I am not sure how they realized the wires had a bazillion holes in them. They where primarily focused on the integrity of the wires and wanting me to guarantee that the wires where safe for the amplifiers to operate. I would never guarantee such an absurd thing. All these speaker wire bites people where referrals from a esoteric high end store in the center of a major city of ~1 million people. I got the feeling on many of these referrals that I was simply a contact and place to dump customers onto that the high end store had no ability to manage so they just shoved the customers that they did not want my way and made it my problem to get rid of the customer(s). They where not regulars and they all apparently had expensive systems with monster amps from the sound of them at the time.

 

[Chrispy]

I am not sure how they realized the wires had a bazillion holes in them. They where primarily focused on the integrity of the wires and wanting me to guarantee that the wires where safe for the amplifiers to operate. I would never guarantee such an absurd thing. All these speaker wire bites people where referrals from a esoteric high end store in the center of a major city of ~1 million people. I got the feeling on many of these referrals that I was simply a contact and place to dump customers onto that the high end store had no ability to manage so they just shoved the customers that they did not want my way and made it my problem to get rid of the customer(s). They where not regulars and they all apparently had expensive systems with monster amps from the sound of them at the time.

Weird begets weird sometimes

 

[Ropeburn]

@Chrispy speaking of bizarre. I had a bunch of customers bring me their multi thousand dollar speaker cables/home made expensive speaker cables/expensive RCA interconnects that had been chewed by their cats. They always had many many tiny bite holes in them and sometimes cat molar marks too and where not safe for speaker wire and had issues. The owners somehow thought I could do stuff with them to rescue the owner from buying more stuff. I have no idea why they thought I could save them but each time it was a NO answer from me.

You're talking about electric safety issues regarding amps shorting, but what about the kitties? Our beloved smol apex predators who can't help themselves but chew on things they'd better not to, risking their lives? 50V AC and 100V DC are human safety limits, what about a cute little creature of 2-5kg?

 

[Chrispy]

You're talking about electric safety issues regarding amps shorting, but what about the kitties? Our beloved smol apex predators who can't help themselves but chew on things they'd better not to, risking their lives? 50V AC and 100V DC are human safety limits, what about a cute little creature of 2-5kg?

Oh just kitty proof the whole house and worship them as they would like

 

[Devnull]

Hey did anyone notice that this is kinda like this thread that the same member started?

Delicate higher harmonic frequencies vs wire Gauge no measurements on this subject...

EDIT UPDATE SORRY FOR THE MIKSTAKE : ( I made a small error when stating the gauge of wire I used, the print on the wire is hard to see I always thought it was reading 18 but after looking with a magnifier on my cellphone it is indeed a larger 16 gauge :eek: I am very disappointed this was...

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