Subwoofer cabling (2 Viewers)

[Juan Castillo]

Can I use regular RG-59 coax cable, with RCA ends as a subwoofer cable.. I know the quad shield stuff is better, but the regular stuff is already run.. what do you guys think?

 

[Neil Joseph]

You could, yes. RG-6 (the heavier stuff) would be better of course for longer runs and I have done this in this setup as well as the last setup using 40 and 50 foot runs respectively. Simply use f-rca adaptors at each end.

 

[Juan Castillo]

OK, I have an abundance, (450 ft to be exact) of Quad Shield RG-6 from a failed attempt to fix my house wiring problem. Got my direct TV up and running and my sub (which sounds freaking awesome now) and was wondering. Since the cable I used for sub made it sound so much better than the thin non shielded RCA cable I was using, can I use the even better, higher shielded stuff to make new interconnects...

Albeit, they are going to be very bulky, but will I get the same increase in clarity if not better, if I do this?
The gold plated connectors sell for 4 a pop at Rat shack, not sure about parts express, but anyway, 8 bucks a cable plus what I already spent on the spool, won't be cheap, and I don't want to waste my time if its not...

 

[Chu Gai]

Well yes you can but is there something wrong with your present interconnects?

 

[Bob McElfresh]

can I use the even better, higher shielded stuff to make new interconnects

Shielding is like insurance: it does you no good unless you need it. Better shielding does you NO good if you dont have a interference problem.

What this means - put some RCA plugs on the already run RG59. If you dont notice hiss/humm, you are good to go.

(RG6 is better for Microwave frequencies over RG59. Subwoofer frequencies are 1/1000000 of these - a trivial frequency for either coax.)

Are you really worried about blowing $8 for RCA plugs? If so, you may be involved with the wrong hobby. That is about 3 DVD rentals or less than half of a DVD purchase.

 

[Juan Castillo]

Chu... Nothing wrong with my current interconnects, except they are not the best..

Bob, 8 dollars a cable, two cables per audio interconnect, and probably about 10 interconnects.. thats... 160.00

Not a big deal, but if it won't make it sound any better than it already does, I'd rather buy ~10 DVD's

The subwoofer is already connected, and it does seemingly sound better than it did before. The interconnects run close to power cables, and therefore the question about shielding.. Sorry to be confusing.

 

[Mike Boniferro]

Juan, all I can say is give it a shot on one component. If you notice a difference in sound quality (less hum or whatever) then do the rest... if not, you probably don't have a problem.

 

[Juan Castillo]

I guess so.. will try. Thanks.

 

[Chu Gai]

just make sure your that the center conductor is copper and not copper over steel.