Advice please- Speaker Cable

Tinder Surprise · 10-03-2015 11:32am #1

Hi guys,

I have gathered up all the bits for my home cinema room (Projector, amp, 5.1 speakers etc etc) and now its time to start thinking about installing everything.

I am at the stage of calculating how much speaker cable I need for the 5.1 system, and my head is spinning from different advice I am reading about quality/cost of speaker cable etc.

I am no nerd when it comes to having the best of ear for audio etc so I am not looking to spend a fortune on cable, but I would like to get it right to some decent degree.

Is the audio cable quality debate similar say to the HDMI cable debate, and you can spend an absolute fortune on a cable when others argue that the cheaper versions are just the same?

I am looking for advice and recommendations on specs, prices, suppliers (Dublin) of speaker cable, and all advice welcome.

TIA

T.

ZENER · 10-03-2015 12:52pm

The worms are already all over the carpet at this stage

There are those who hold that certain types/brands of cable 'sound' better than others. You could pay hundreds or even thousands on cables. For the more practical minded (and the less well of of us !!) a cable that's capable of carrying the current expected over the distance required with adaquate protection against it's environment is good enough.

A good starting point is a cable with a cross sectional area of at least 1.5mm. This should carry up to 10 amps and be ok for most situations and amplifiers.

Myself I use a 79 strand 2.5mm cable which is made from Oxygen Free Copper and cost about 1 euro per meter in my local electrical wholesalers.

Purists will say that all the cables should be the same length but that's not practical in a multi-speaker home cinema install.

If you tell us the make and model of the amp and speakers it would give us a better idea of the power involved.

Ken

Tinder Surprise · 10-03-2015 3:34pm

ZENER wrote: »

The worms are already all over the carpet at this stage

There are those who hold that certain types/brands of cable 'sound' better than others. You could pay hundreds or even thousands on cables. For the more practical minded (and the less well of of us !!) a cable that's capable of carrying the current expected over the distance required with adaquate protection against it's environment is good enough.

A good starting point is a cable with a cross sectional area of at least 1.5mm. This should carry up to 10 amps and be ok for most situations and amplifiers.

Myself I use a 79 strand 2.5mm cable which is made from Oxygen Free Copper and cost about 1 euro per meter in my local electrical wholesalers.

Purists will say that all the cables should be the same length but that's not practical in a multi-speaker home cinema install.

If you tell us the make and model of the amp and speakers it would give us a better idea of the power involved.

Ken

Thanks Zener !

amp:

5.1 system:

I really appreciate your offer to throw an eye over these items.

The room is exactly 14ft x 14ft square.

Projector screen in middle of one wall and speakers as good as in four corners of room, lets say.

amp in back left corner - so max run for furthest speaker would be along 14ft + across 14ft = 28ft

ZENER · 10-03-2015 3:58pm

In practical terms you would get away with a 25Mt roll of 2x1.5mm flex. I know it's not the 'HiFi Way' and others will say to buy heavier or even lighter cheaper speaker flex but my suggestion should suffice given the amp and speakers you've selected.

The Sub would normally take the bulk of the power but the one you show is active and only needs a line level signal from the amp so no speaker cable required.

A 25m roll of 2x1.5mm from an electrical wholesaler should be about 12 to 15 euro.

Ken

Tinder Surprise · 10-03-2015 4:58pm

ZENER wrote: »

In practical terms you would get away with a 25Mt roll of 2x1.5mm flex. I know it's not the 'HiFi Way' and others will say to buy heavier or even lighter cheaper speaker flex but my suggestion should suffice given the amp and speakers you've selected.

The Sub would normally take the bulk of the power but the one you show is active and only needs a line level signal from the amp so no speaker cable required.

A 25m roll of 2x1.5mm from an electrical wholesaler should be about 12 to 15 euro.

Ken

thanks again man.

Question about the connection from amp ---> Subwoofer

The amp has two ' Pre Out' ports at the rear, so I am guesing I will need a speial cable to go from one of the 'pre out' into 'L & R' on the subwoofer, correct?

ZENER · 10-03-2015 5:07pm

Tinder Surprise wrote: »

thanks again man.

Question about the connection from amp ---> Subwoofer

The amp has two ' Pre Out' ports at the rear, so I am guesing I will need a speial cable to go from one of the 'pre out' into 'L & R' on the subwoofer, correct?

Yeah, a Phono to Phono stereo lead is what you need. These should do although there are better quality leads available if you want to spend the money. Just be sure to get the length you need to reach between the amplifier and the Sub.

Ken

Tinder Surprise · 10-03-2015 5:15pm

ZENER wrote: »

Yeah, a Phono to Phono stereo lead is what you need. These should do although there are better quality leads available if you want to spend the money. Just be sure to get the length you need to reach between the amplifier and the Sub.

Ken

Ken you're help is so well appreciated - thanks!

Tinder Surprise · 25-03-2015 6:18pm

UPDATE:

All hooked (bar subwoofer) and WOW really impressed.

played AVATAR on the projector and the kids were blown away and I could see them looking around the room at where the sounds where coming from.

one question about the subwoofer. ...

The AV Receiver I have has a single output for Subwoofer, and the subwoofer and two inputs 'L' and 'R' .

Exactly what type of cable do I need again? keeping in mind its about 6 metres away from the a.v receiver.

Also Im guessing I need to give the subwoofer its own power supply?

and yes, I am that green:D

ZENER · 26-03-2015 1:07am

The Sub is a mono device and as there's very little stereo information below 100Hz you can get away with a mono feed to it. This is why most amps have a single output for the Subwoofer. At the subwoofer itself the L and R phono terminals are joined together inside.

According to the manual page 8, either L or R can be used where only one feed is provided so just get a single phono to phono lead and connect the sub end to either L or R phono socket.

The sub is mains powered and has its own internal power amplifier so yes you will need a socket for it.

Enjoy !!

Ken

mraie · 10-04-2016 4:35pm

I got speaker cable from http://www.thomann.de/ie/cordial_cls_225.htm and found it good and easy to work with. Can buy by the metre.

Advice please- Speaker Cable

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