Need wiring advice for speakers?

johnny-t · 09-16-2003, 08:53 AM

Now that I have my speakers, how do I hook them up?

I need wiring recommendations for JBL N-series speaker set w/ Yamaha receiver. Monster cable is good, I know, but seems way overpriced.

How much should it cost me to hook up fronts, center, surrounds and sub?

Can I just get wire at Home Depot and then put some banana plugs on them?

Do I use the same gauge all around, or the the surrounds get a lesser gauge?

Any thoughts/comments greatly appreciated!
John

JamieS · 09-16-2003, 09:50 AM

Yes get home depot cable and make them yourself the length you want. Monster = waste of $.

How long are the runs. Long runs you should use 12 GA if you can. If they are short you could use 14 GA if you want to save a couple $.

I'd just buy a roll of 12 GA speaker wire and go from there.

Rick-S · 09-16-2003, 10:30 AM

I fully agree w/Jamie.
If Home Depo or Lowes doesn't have CL rated wire for in-wall or attic runs, you can visit partsexpress.com.

As far as Monster is concerned, someone has to pay for all the advertising......thus the price.

johnny-t · 09-16-2003, 02:31 PM

Can you define 'Long' vs 'Short' ?

Fronts will be no longer than 8' from the receiver (more like 6' but I'll probably cut them a bit longer than I need). However, backs will use about 35-40' after I hide all the wire. Will 14 gauge all around be OK?

Also, what does 'CL-Rated' mean? Will I be able to easily tell the wire is CL-Rated?

GrahamT · 09-16-2003, 05:48 PM

Hey John, it looks like you decided to get the JBLs. There is no rule or chart for lengths and gauge. 14 gauge will do nicely, but 12 is better if the price is right. As for CL i dont know, it may mean copper loss, I wouldn't worry as long as it is speaker wire, oxygen free copper is considered ideal. Hope I have helped.

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johnny-t · 09-16-2003, 06:35 PM

Thanks Graham,

Where's the best spot to get a good deal on the wire? Radio Shack? Will Home Depot have it?

Thanks,
John

GrahamT · 09-16-2003, 06:51 PM

I use 14 and 12 gauge speaker wire from home depot. There is cheap wire at radio shack and from places on the net. IMO you dont even need 14 gauge, 16 will suffice. It depends on the length. You want the resistance of the wires to be the same, and as low as possible. When you double the cross sectional area of the wire, resistanced is halved. When the length is doubled, resistance is doubled. There is very little resistance in copper wire, it is the second best conductor next to silver, but you want the least resistance possible to avoid it colouring the sound. You will be fine if you buy a spool of 14 gauge and run it to all speakers. Good luck to you.

Michael R Price · 09-16-2003, 09:00 PM

The resistance will become an issue with 30 or more feet of wire. I guess it's a good idea to use the 12-gauge for the long runs.

Chuck Schilling · 09-16-2003, 10:28 PM

Not to tell anyone what to do, but I am in the camp of those who buy the stranded wire from Home Depot. I actually use 10 ga. all around - it's just about the heaviest gauge you can get to squeeze inside speaker posts and banana plugs, and given the heavy gauge I don't worry about the run lengths - there isn't any noticeable signal degradation that I'm able to measure.