Surround Cable Recommendations


Hello,

I need some cable to run to my surrounds 'on the cheap'. I'm using a Marantz SR7200 and Snell SR.5 surrounds. The runs will be somewhere around 35 feet long.

Chris
cdelplato
Well you can stick to the IXOS 6003 or go for the larger 11 awg 6006 that lists for $3.50. Accessories for less sells it for $2.39

At Audio Advisor.com you could go for Analysis Plus Oval Theater 14, which sells in bulk for $2.99 per foot. They can have them terminated also. It is CL3 rated for in wall installation as well.

Gotta remember here that when you run 35' of cable - to each speaker the total is 70'. Making even "cheap" spooled wire rather pricey at 2/3/4 bucks a foot. This audio hobby can be a black hole for cash if we do not plan our purchases strategically. For instance, if you ever wanted to upgrade - the cheap spooled stuff has nearly NO value once you've purchased & used it, whereas the MIT would maintain a greater percentage of its initial retail value.

If you can find the MIT used - that would be your best bet.

Unless you've got everything else in your system up to your ultimate level I'd say go with a spool of generic 16 awg wire from Radio Shack, Home Depot, etc. that will work just fine. The surrounds are only going to be handling relatively low-level ambient information, so the improvement of spending a few hundred dollars on better cable for this application will be minimal at best, especially compared to sinking that money somewhere else in your system. At less than $10 you should just try a generic spool first as you've got very little to lose. Best of luck.

Tim