So, just select the correct gauge depending on your speaker impedance and the length of the cable run. If you want a quick answer, gauge AWS speaker wire should cover most solutions with no problems. And, most people will be fine with the cheaper gauge AWS. But, if you want to be sure, take a look at the maximum wire length table above and make the right decision for your room.
Well, if you think that it improves the sound in your room, and makes you feel better buying it, then that is the best speaker wire for you. Buy a reputable brand if you wish — but their basic wire is all you probably need.
You can also get unbranded copper speaker wire very cheaply that will do just fine in most cases. In my opinion, the best speaker wire is simply the correct gauge for your system while taking into account:. If you want to save some money, then buy some CCA wire. Generally, I would choose copper if I had the choice.
But what happens if you change your speakers or amplifier and want a different termination on the end?
While you can solder these connectors in place, most will just screw on and are perfectly acceptable. OFC is copper that has been refined to reduce the level of oxygen. The theory is that this purity will aid electrical conductivity — and therefore it has become popular for making speaker wire. Because your sound system will improve if you buy OFC speaker wire. The copper that is regularly used for electrical purposes C has a purity of OFC has a purity of It might be all that is available.
Just buy the right cable for the job. The thinking is that thicker wire is better quality, so I should use this on my most important speakers at the front.
The surrounds are less important, and further away, so I can save some money and buy cheaper, thin speaker wire. The thicker wire has less resistance and so should be used in the longer cable runs. For the shorter runs, you can get away with much thinner wire. If your maximum cable run is less than feet — and you have 8-ohm speakers — just buy some simple gauge copper wire and use it for everything.
If you want to save money, then CCA copper-clad aluminum is fine. Just make sure that you consider the higher resistance compared to copper when you calculate the best gauge to buy.
There is no exact number on how far you can run speaker wire. General opinion seems to be that over feet might begin to give audible differences in sound quality — regardless of the thickness of the cable. In theory, you might get a slightly different sound from two speakers if one has a different impedance in the cable run. Of course, try not to go to extremes. You know, by having a 3-foot wire to your left speaker and then have the whole foot reel of wire connected to the right.
And anyway, if you are connecting surround sound speakers around your room, it might be impossible to get these matched exactly. Who knows what manner of furniture and wall furnishings you will need to avoid while running wire back to your amplifier? Your room is hardly likely to be exactly symmetrical now, is it? Just try to make each speaker wire run as short as possible. You just need to make sure that the positive terminal on the amplifier is connected to the positive connection on the speaker.
The same with the negative side. This is why speaker wire has one side marked in some way. Or, some other marking. Look closely and you will see it. Just make sure the side with the marking is connected to the corresponding terminal at either end.
You can swap them around if you like. Is the same piece of wire connected to positive at both ends? Is the other wire connected to negative at both ends?
However, if your cable and connections are a year or two old, and they look dirty, then it will do no harm to give your system a bit of TLC. If you are using bare wire, then just cut off the end and strip a new section of insulation. That is, assuming you have enough slack to spare! Speaker wire inside a banana plug or other type of termination should be protected and clean. But, if the connectors on the wire — or on the speaker and amplifier — are dirty, then give them a clean.
I have always used Isopropyl alcohol cleaning fluid. There are many brands that you can pick up cheaply enough. Tinning the bare ends of speaker wire can help to prevent oxidation and keep rogue copper strands in check. Please choose one:. For Tech Support, call Begin chat. Thank you,! Your Advisor,. Order number. Billing zip code. Billing last name. Virtual agent:. No Yes You said. Your phone number.
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Meet Steve Kindig Close. Relative thickness of wire gauges, drawn to scale not actual size. Pull 4-conductor wire to an in-wall volume control left or a stereo-input speaker right. Spring clip terminals accept bare wire or pin connectors.
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Metra ethereal Self-crimping Banana Connectors. Home theater systems can be tricky to set up, especially when running speaker wires to and from an audio receiver. In this article, we'll explain how to match up terminals and wiring to connect amplifiers and receivers properly. Most stereo receivers, amplifiers, and standard speakers have terminals on the back for connecting speaker wires.
These terminals are either the spring clip or binding post type. Note that some speakers are bi-wire capable, which means the red and black terminals come in pairs for a total of four connections. Even though there are only two parts, there's still a chance of getting these connections wrong if you're not careful. Swapping the positive and negative signals can seriously affect system performance, so it's worth the time to double-check that these wires are correctly connected before powering up and testing the speakers.
While the terminals on the back of stereo equipment tend to be easily identified, the same cannot be said for speaker wires. This is often where confusion can occur because the labeling isn't always obvious. If a speaker wire doesn't have a two-tone color scheme, look for a single stripe or dashed lines these usually indicate the positive end along one of the sides.
If your wire has light-colored insulation, this stripe or dash may be dark. If the insulation is a dark color, the stripe or dash is more likely to be white. If the speaker wire is clear or translucent, check for printed markings. If this labeling is difficult to read or identify, use tape to label the ends after you know which is which for quicker identification later.
If you're ever unsure and need to double-check, you can quickly test the speaker wire connection using an AA or AAA battery. Speaker wires are most commonly bare, meaning you'll need to use a wire stripper to expose the strands at the ends.
Twist the bare wire strands tightly so that they stay together as a neat single twisted wire, whether your equipment uses spring clips or binding posts.
You can also find speaker wire with its own connectors, which can facilitate connections and help quickly identify polarity if they're color-coded. Plus, you can install your own connectors if you don't like to fumble around with bare wires. Purchase connectors separately to upgrade the tips of your speaker cables. Pin connectors are used only with spring clip terminals. These pins are firm and easy to insert. Banana plug and spade connectors are used only with binding posts.
The banana plug inserts straight into the connector hole, while the spade connector stays secured in place once you tighten the post.
The positive speaker terminal red on the receiver or amplifier must be connected to the positive terminal on the speakers, and the same applies to the negative terminals on all the equipment.
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