Speaker wires
01-24-03, 12:45 PM
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Paradigm Ref. Studio 40 speaker wires
Hey guys...just picked up a pair of Paradigm Reference Studio 40s for my room. I had a question concerning speaker wires. I don't know much about speaker wires. Some people are of the belief that speaker wires don't make a bit of difference and that the ones you buy for $1/ft sound the same as one you would get for $12/ft. I was thinking of getting kimbercables for them for about $10 a ft. At a pair of 6ft. cables that would cost me about $120. And they need to be bi-wired. So...what do you guys recommend? Is there a good price on speaker wire on the net?
Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!
Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!
Last edited by Aphex Twin; 01-26-03 at 12:07 AM.
01-24-03, 01:34 PM
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It is entirely up to you. You have to ask yourself... "With this $120, what do I want to spend it on? What would I get the most enjoyment with?"
Personally, I would live on the Sun before I spent $10/ft on speaker wire. In my opinion, you will get much more enjoyment spending the $120 on your wife, kids, the local gentlemen's club, or a ton of new DVDs.
I don't think you will find much difference in $120 of speaker wire versus $5 of speaker wire. But, who knows. Some people believe your system is only as good as your weakest link. Unless you have spent $1000s on creating your own theatre or sound room, with no windows, sound suppression, and engineered it for acoustic balance, I doubt spending that much on speaker wire will give you benefit. Unless you are in a professional studio or have a Sony Theatre in your own home, your speaker wire IS NOT your weakest link.
A high percentage of people on this planet physically could not hear a difference anyway. Our ears just aren't that good. Now, if you are spending $10/ft for your dog... that's another story.
Personally, I would live on the Sun before I spent $10/ft on speaker wire. In my opinion, you will get much more enjoyment spending the $120 on your wife, kids, the local gentlemen's club, or a ton of new DVDs.
I don't think you will find much difference in $120 of speaker wire versus $5 of speaker wire. But, who knows. Some people believe your system is only as good as your weakest link. Unless you have spent $1000s on creating your own theatre or sound room, with no windows, sound suppression, and engineered it for acoustic balance, I doubt spending that much on speaker wire will give you benefit. Unless you are in a professional studio or have a Sony Theatre in your own home, your speaker wire IS NOT your weakest link.
A high percentage of people on this planet physically could not hear a difference anyway. Our ears just aren't that good. Now, if you are spending $10/ft for your dog... that's another story.
01-24-03, 08:10 PM
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Originally posted by bfrank
search!
We have had a few good threads on this topic in the last few weeks.
search!
We have had a few good threads on this topic in the last few weeks.
01-25-03, 12:59 PM
#7
The 12 ga Home Depot is sound, simple advice, and totally adequate..
If you want more complex advice, what is the rated impedance of your speakers (4 ohm or 8 ohm is most common)?
What length will your wire runs be? In HT, usually rears are quite a bit longer than fronts/center.
Speakers are designed to be driven from a low impedance. Ratio of speaker impedance/ (amp + wiring) is called damping factor, and affects control of transient response. You certainly want damping factor greater than 10, and its probably worth getting it to 40, more than that is probably a waste of resources although some purists would argue.
Using 40, the two wires (to/from) can be 8/40 ohms total, or 8/80 = 0.1 ohms each, max (0.2 ohms would give df=20, 0.4 ohms, df=10).
Different wire gauges have following resistance per 1000'
(measured at 7deg;C or 68°F
20 AWG 10.15 ohms
18 6.4
16 4.0
14 2.5
12 1.6
10 1.0 ohm
So, with 14 gauge wire, a 40' run would meet the 0.1 ohm requirement, adequate for most rears. Even 18 AWG would suffice up to 15', probably sufficient for most fronts.
$10/foot wire is marketing ripoff. Remmber lower number above is bigger wire. If you want to spend more, but not $10/ft, use the 0.1 ohm calculation, then go one wire size bigger (lower number). Beyond that, you will never hear the difference.
If you want more complex advice, what is the rated impedance of your speakers (4 ohm or 8 ohm is most common)?
What length will your wire runs be? In HT, usually rears are quite a bit longer than fronts/center.
Speakers are designed to be driven from a low impedance. Ratio of speaker impedance/ (amp + wiring) is called damping factor, and affects control of transient response. You certainly want damping factor greater than 10, and its probably worth getting it to 40, more than that is probably a waste of resources although some purists would argue.
Using 40, the two wires (to/from) can be 8/40 ohms total, or 8/80 = 0.1 ohms each, max (0.2 ohms would give df=20, 0.4 ohms, df=10).
Different wire gauges have following resistance per 1000'
(measured at 7deg;C or 68°F
20 AWG 10.15 ohms
18 6.4
16 4.0
14 2.5
12 1.6
10 1.0 ohm
So, with 14 gauge wire, a 40' run would meet the 0.1 ohm requirement, adequate for most rears. Even 18 AWG would suffice up to 15', probably sufficient for most fronts.
$10/foot wire is marketing ripoff. Remmber lower number above is bigger wire. If you want to spend more, but not $10/ft, use the 0.1 ohm calculation, then go one wire size bigger (lower number). Beyond that, you will never hear the difference.
