2. cables
  3. 1349974765

Thoughts on very cheap speaker cables

Hi all,

Has anyone tried speaker cables made as follows:
1. 4 single 12Ft strands of 22 AWG certified OFHC CDA
101 annealed temper copper ($0.25 a foot).
2. Each inserted in pure lowest dielectric woven cotton.
3. Each assembly inserted in lowest dielectric PTFE tubing.
4. The ends will be sealed with a PTFE sealant.
5. About 1" of bare wire will protrude from the sealed
ends, coated with a low dielectric antioxident.
This will provide a twisted pair, held together with shrink wrap, for each B&W803N speaker connected directly to an Aragon 8008bb amp. All thoughts will be greatly appreicated.

Thanks,
Henry Rancourt
henrylr
henrylr OP
7 posts
 
I have 500 feet of the wire so i was also thinking of twisting 2 wires for the + and 2 wires for the - for each speaker. This would result in 8 12 ft lengths of 22 awg. I think the result of twisting two 22 awg wires would = about 18 awg. Does that make sense?
almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Connecting two of the conductors in parallel would of course reduce the resistance by a factor of 2. As you can see in the wire gauge table, a factor of 2 change in resistance corresponds to an increment of 3 gauge sizes. So you would have the equivalent of 19 gauge.

I can't say, of course, whether or not that would be satisfactory in your system from a subjective standpoint, but from a technical standpoint it strikes me as being marginal at best.

Regards,
-- Al
theduke
372 posts
 
DIY should be encouraged, not discouraged. Cost should not the issue. The joy and satisfaction of doing it yourself cannot be overestimated. Like an audiophile from the 50's, go for it!
almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Correction to my first post above: The reference to "between about 10% and 20%" should have said "between about 5% and 10%."

Regards,
-- Al
rrog
1,958 posts
 
If you want cheap speaker cable go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy an outdoor extension cord. They come in a variety of colors including white, beige, green, blue, etc. and in 40' and 50' lengths. It is 3 wire 16 gauge. Just clip the groung wire and you are set. This cable worked best on my friend's Quads. Using bare wire connections the cost is approximately $15.00 for 50'.

Another inexpensive speaker cable is Kimber Kable Kwik 12. It competes with expensive cables at a reasonable price.
More to discover