Inexpensive Decent Looking Speaker Cable (1 Viewer)

[Ben Henry]

I am looking for some inexpensive 12 gauge speaker cable. I don't need anything fancy, but would like to find cable that looks fairly nice. I don't want the clear plastic look, but I don't feel like paying a ton of money right now for wire. Any suggestions? I was hoping to find something in a dark unobtrusive color that wouldn't detract from the rest of the room. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Ben

 

[PomingF]

Ben:
You could have posted this on the other forum under the same thread as well since we are about to break their all time longest post record anyway.
I made myself a pair of braided (or more like twisted) 12 gauge speaker cables for the 6.1's by separating then braiding the paired 12 gauge speaker cable I got from Recoton back when they were selling @ $3/30 ft (I got 6 rolls) and terminated them with AR banana plugs from BestBuy. Yes, they are clear coated but you should be able to find some regular lamp cord at whatever gauge & color you want @ your local hardware store (you may want to make sure they are made of oxygen-free copper) and they should work just fine.
PF

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

You might want to look into wiring for low-voltage outdoor lighting. They make cable for it that looks like zip cord, only in black. I’m pretty sure you can get it in 12ga.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
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[Elbert Lee]

If you're into looks, get some decent-looking speaker wires and braid them. Aperture tips look good as well.
I tried this for my subs'a ac power cord and it looks cool.
Elbert

 

[Ben Henry]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll check those options out.
PMF- Didn't know we were about to break any records over there!

Kinda cool in a geeky A/V way!

 

[Chu Gai]

consider doing a search over at ebay on speaker cables. provided that the gauge is sufficient for the run you're considering, you may find something that is visually attractive and perhaps at an attractive price. btw, what do you consider inexpensive?

 

[Ben Henry]

Chu,
Fair question. I really don't want to spend more than a buck a foot right now as I have about 25 foot runs to my rears. By the way, I did look over on eBay and couldn't find anything that wasn't clear or with wild colors.
Ben

 

[Kevin T]

look into the ixos gamma 6003. it's a dark purple/medium purple colored cable. you can buy 13ga cable from accessories4less.com for about $1.50-1.75 a foot. i have my fronts and center run with this and my rears with ixos in-wall speaker cable. i don't really believe that speaker cable makes much of a difference but i preferred the way this cable looked and suprisingly when i hooked everything up, the hiss from my sony receiver became quieter. probably some psycho-acoustical effect but it was an effect for the better whether real or not so i'll take it.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

StraightWire makes some great stuff...from very affordable to rock-star affordable. straightwire.com
Better Cables as well, thought someone would've mentioned them by now, the link is at the top of the forum page.
Spending a little extra on wires now will require little in the way of replacement down the road....sonically it can help a bit too IMO.
Jeremy

 

[Brian Corr]

Belden 1810A is a 14 x 4 cable designed for speaker applications and is in a black sleeve. Twisting 2 of the 14 gauge strands together yeilds 11 gauge.
You can get it at www.anixter.com for .80 a foot.

 

[Ben Henry]

Bryan,
I'd say that is about perfect for what I want. Any opinions on the Belden shielded wire? For example,
item # 27111AS
12 gauge x 4 conductors and aluminum shielding in PVC jacket.
I haven't found out how much this is yet, but it looks pretty nice.
Ben
[Edited last by Ben Henry on August 06, 2001 at 08:04 PM]

 

[Allan Jayne]

If you don't mind braiding or twisting them together yourself, you can get single conductor 12 gauge insulated wire in black, sometimes brown, at your local electrical supply store or Home Depot. If I remember correctly it was about 15 cents a foot and you need two lengths (since it is single conductor) per speaker giving a net cost of 30 cents a foot. No jacket is provided to enclose the two wires into a cable.
Video hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Andrew Pratt]

I second the IXOS suggestion I love the way mine look
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