It will take a little converting on my part for you American Outlaws, but I just called my local Canadian Home Despot and they are selling that 12 gauge that I mentionned for $1.46 Cdn/m which is ~$0.33 US/ft.

I recently purchased a bunch of gold plated Acoustic Research "pin" style speaker connectors for $9.99 Cdn ($07.30 US) for a pack of four connectors from Jest Buy. Bananas were about the same price. The AR pin connectors are a perfect size for the 12 gauge wire - and worked beautifully with all of my speakers (which are not banana-friendly) and those amps of mine (that are not as well). So for comparison, two sets of 8' cables would cost $19.88 US - taxes not included. (Fellow Canucks know the significance of that!)

I also checked and found out that Despot sells 150m rolls for $199 Cdn - which works out to just under $0.30 US/ft. Not a big savings.

They may not look the same as your fancy Dan brands of bootique cables, but I'll bet dollars to donuts that you won't hear a difference between the two.

Jeff Mackwood

Canare is a favorite of mine, and they make excellent products. Their wires and connectors are used professionally and they are made to high quality standards.

The problem I have with smaller cable compainies (even Monster) is that their products are usually manufactured in countries like China and there is not the demanding quality control that is afforded cables intended for professional applications. These cables are, after all, intended for less demanding consumer applications where buyers are less likely to know the differences between high and lesser quality construction (and looks don't tell the whole story). The professional market would not put up with a cable that does not make the grade in quality or performance.

My speaker wires are a combination of Belden 10 gauge (tinned conductors) and Gepco 12 gauge mulit-conductor.

this site is cheap as anything:
http://www.gigcables.com/

Jeff, I guess the pricing structure there is a bit different than here. The cost for 250’ / 76m rolls here was less per unit than the 150m rolls you mention, but the measure-and-cut costs here were higher than you mention there. Perhaps the average works out about the same with a larger gap between the price points here. The difference may be in where the bean counters think the labor costs of handling the wire occur and how the costs should be recouped. Or it’s a marketing strategy. Where Jeff lives, the closer price points make it seem more “fair” to the person that doesn’t need 150m of cable. Where I live the thought may be “we’ll sell more cable if the roll appears to be a bargain.”

May I suggest looking in the current issue of "The Absolute Sound"? There is a wire review/comparison with a startling conclusion. A wire sold as an extension cord by Home Depot beats out some of the more esoteric brands. TAS advises just cutting off the ends and terminating with appropriate plugs. Frankly, to my ears, I can't hear a difference in any adequate wiring. As long as the wire can handle the power, is well-built with good connectors, it's ok with me!

Jay

[This message has been edited by JMS (edited April 30, 2004).]

Thank you, JMS.

A personal opinion: The longer the copper-based cable run, the heavier the gauge. Try to keep the round-trip resistance of the wire near or below 3% of your speaker's nominal impedance. For 50’ of cable, a total of 100’ of wire, that means 14 or 12-gauge wire for an 8-ohm loudspeaker. For a longer run and/or lower impedance loudspeakers, this might mean dropping to 12 or 10-gauge wire, or doubling up on thinner gauges.

When using genuine tri- or bi-amplification, a higher frequency driver may have a higher nominal impedance allowing for a slightly lighter gauge wire to be used.

When the cable contains significant amounts of metals other than copper, the gauge needed may be lighter if the resistance of the cable is significantly lower than copper.

Again, this is a personal preference.


[This message has been edited by bestbang4thebuck (edited April 30, 2004).]

Also, solid core romex (the stuff inside your walls powering the thing you're reading this on) works... I've used it inside some speakers in my office... only downside is that it's kinda stiff

“solid core” just reminded me of this term “interstrand conduction” found in this article. http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/spkcbl_e.html

I’m curious how engineer gunslingers would interpret this information.

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

I think I get it but just wanted to make sure. What does that mean in easier term (for non-engineers in the saloon)?