Speaker wire for quad system

[4x4audio]

I just have a couple questions about speaker wire. I am assembling my Quad Sansui QRX 7500,
along with 4 channel Pioneer M800A amp. I went to get speaker wire to the local high end retailer,
and came away completely confused and blown away with all the fancy/shamcy wire available today.
It used to be that Monster cable was "Da Bomb", now they are saying that it has inherent RF interference,
bla, bla, bla, They are pointing towards a type of cable that is braided, and with between 4 to 8 seperate lines inside the cable.
Ok, I do understand the principles of braiding, magnetic fields etc... But how do you all feel about just some good old 12G monster cable. Will I get any better sound out of my system with this cable that will cost me close to $200.00 just for the cable??
Also, I was told that I should make sure to run the same length of cable from amp to eachof the speaks. regardless of
how far the distance is between the amp/speaks. i.e. something about the sound being to loud/
or out of phase with the speak. on a shorter cable?? Any thoughts??
(P.S. about 30 ft. to RF and LR speak, and 10 ft. to LF and LR speak)

Thanks,
Chris

 

[JonUrban]

I have found that a lot of the "wire propoganda" is pretty lame. I an sure that if you ran lamp cord, it would be better to run $200 a foot balanced wire, but really.....

Use a good quality speaker wire from a repuatable company. I spent big bucks on wire for my system, and I am not sure that it made one bit of difference. As long as the guage is big enough to let the electrons flow, your ear will probably not hear a difference.

As far as wire lengths to each speaker??? Sounds like technobabble to me...

:-jon

 

[The Quadfather]

I use lamp cord too. You can get it in rolls at a hardware store, and one side has ribbed insulation for polarity identification. And since you would have to pay out 11,700 feet of more wire on one channel to be 180 degrees out of phase at 20,000 hertz, I don't think that's a problem either. However, it's cheap to be a purist here, if you aren't wasting all your dough on fancy schmancy speaker wire, you can run all your lines to a central point to all the speakers, and then fan them out, but don't roll them up, that creates an inductor. But of course all wire has capacitance and inductance, and so do objects near the wire add capacitance so you can add little insulators to hold up the wire, and make sure that that is oxygen free wire that you are using, and the insulators must be low capacitance and it goes on and on and on... So, you wanna know the truth of the matter? Just make sure the wire is big enough, and the speakers are wired in phase, and that the wire reaches the speaker from the amplifier, so you can put the speaker where you want it. If you want to make them all the same length, that's fine, it does no harm. A compromise is to make the fronts the same and the rears another length, but the same between them. Like I said, I use lamp cord. Much of that hoodoo comes from the microwave world where it really does make a difference. However we aren't dealing in microwaves, our waves are much much longer, and none of that stuff applies, because at long wavelengths, it is all negligible, because most room setups come nowhere near approaching those lengths. Just don't puncture the wire when stapling it to the wall. I hope this clears it up a little for y'all.

The Quadfather

 

[4x4audio]

Thanks guys, I am going with a heavy gauge "Basic" wire, and staying clear of the rocket
science wrapped "Oxygen Free" stuff.

Chris

 

[AllAroundSurround]

Hey Chris, DO>>> Use the o2 free wire. won't go green and cause an inductance or cap. problem! re read the the post previous , i think it was the Quad father

 

[AudioLancelot]

As a Metallurgist working in a copper mill, I assure you O2 free (specifically OFHC - Oxygen Free High Conductivity Copper ASTM/CDA Alloy 10200 - Conductivity 106 % IACS ) will oxidize green ( although more likely to oxidize to a dull to a blue/black color ) in the same environment as regular copper ( ETP Electrolitically Tough Pitch Copper ASTM/CDA Alloy 11000- 101 % IACS Conductivity ). The green color is Copper Sulphate caused by e.g. acid rain etc. The green color will be avoided if the metal can be protected from sulphide radicals. The normal dull oxidixation on the surface only in time is simply copper oxide from exposure to generally air ( 21 % O2 ).

However I agree with the general consencus that in the end, audible differences are minimal as long as you use the thicker gage material.

Dennis

 

[The Quadfather]

Uh, what he said. Actually any oxidation on the surface of the wire will not affect conductivity, unless it is at the connection point. However, wire kept in dry conditions normally will not turn green under the insulation.

The Quadfather