speaker wire questions

[domflane]

Sorry to bring up an old subject, but I have some specific questions. I'm pretty new to this and I haven't had the opportunity or the money to try out lots of different gear, so I figured I'd check with the pros:

1st - Right now I'm using 12ga speaker wire to my mains. It's Acoustic Research cable that I got pretty cheap from parts express. I have 18 ga going to the rears and 14 ga for the front. Is this stuff any good? Do you recommend different sizes?

2nd - I don't have any terminations on the ends, they're connected with bare wire. I've heard that this offers good sound, but are banana plugs better? I don't know how to solder, so are the set screw ones any good?

3rd - I just bought a subwoofer cable from monoprice, it will replace the monster composite video cable that I've been using, any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance guys, I feel pretty good about the direction I'm going with my electronics and speakers, but I really have no clue when it comes to the cables, so any help or advice will be greatly appreciated. I don't have a ton of money for this, so I won't be getting MIT's anytime soon, unless I win the free drawing they're having on their website. Thanks again,

- Dominic

[bigaudiofanatic]

1. Their are many ways to look at this. Personally I think a good 12 or 10 gauge wire going to all your speakers is fine. Of cores others say differently.

2.If you feel that you will be taking your wires on and off a lot of you just want a cleaner look than get bananas.

3. As many will say their is a lot better than monster. I think wires only make your system sound better to a certain point. Also depends on your setup.Again many different looks on this.

[sTiLlLeArNiNg]

I would stick with the 12g you have now on the F and run at least 14g for the rest of your system, as long as the wire is of decent quality you will be OK. Bare wire is best but it is highly reccomended to "tin" the end's with some solder to keep them from oxidizing. As mentioned banana connector's are good if you are moving thing's around a lot otherwise save your cash.

[Serendipity]

You should be fine. No need for Bananna connectors unless you will be swapping gear frequently.

[Knucklehead]

Bare wire is best but it is highly reccomended to "tin" the end's with some solder to keep them from oxidizing.

Great idea....If you dont want to solder you can use deoxit and treat the end of the wires.

[kawizx9r]

Great idea....If you dont want to solder you can use deoxit and treat the end of the wires.

+1
And once you deoxit the wire ends, make sure not to touch them with your bare fingers. Wire exposed to air is what makes speaker wire turn green the way it does (bad!) but it doesn't happen overnight. However if you live in a humid area or something it can definitely speed up the process.

If you want, I've got a whole set of bluejeanscables spades. Toss me your address and pay the shipping for them and they're yours.

-Freddy

[domflane]

Wow, thanks Freddy, thats really nice of you, awsome karma. Just one question, how do the spades connect to the posts on the receiver and the speakers? I'll PM you with my address. Thanks again,

Dominic

[kawizx9r]

NP.
Just unscrew the binding posts enough for the spades to fit in/around the post then screw it down tightly.

As far as your receiver goes, they might not work for it if you don't have binding posts big enough but you can just use those extra spades on another pair of speakers.

[domflane]

alright, thats what i thought, thanks again. PM sent