Ian C

Splicing speaker wire?

Hey guys. I've decided I'm not happy with my rear speakers where they are (too close to couch), so I want to push them out a bit. However, the speaker wire for one speaker is just long enough for the position its currently in, and I already have the wire hidden away.

Can I just splice in another piece of wire about 3 feet long? Will this significantly affect the sound quality? Is it safe to just wrap the strands together and then wrap it in electrical tape?

Thanks,
Ian C.

Chu Gai

Yes, but why not add a couple of extra feet in case you get the moving urge again.
Not unless you screw up the splicing.
Yes, but consider this approach instead. Get some shrink tubing (colored is nice) and slip it down the wire a bit. Make your cuts in the original and additional wires offset so they look like this:

=======/ /===========

==========/ /=======

Join the wires together and finish up by soldering the connections. If you've offset them enough, the wires won't touch. Now bring that shrink tubing up and warm it up. The tubing will shrink and fit snugly against the wires. The reason for the offset cuts is to minimize/eliminate the possiblit of the wires shorting.
If anyone asks what that bulge in the wires is, just tell them its a harmonic vibration eliminator and follow it up with "sheesh!".

John Royster

butt connectors are your friend.

-edit- NO PICTURES Chu, I can just see you searching for pics as I'm typing this.

Chu Gai

I'm a twist and solder person myself, but those would work well also. I wonder if it's important to make sure the crystal structure is laying in the same direction...hmmmm. OK, no pictures.

Ian C

Thanks guys. I'll give it a go.

Ian C.