Is there any disadvantage, electrically, by using solid wire for speaker wiring?
Replies (8)
swez on 04/21/2007 03:28:20
Yes and no...
If the speakers are hardwired and the bundle is not disturbed, it will work. It works fine in conduit and other commercial/industrial audio paging apps.
Depending on the wire gage used, solid wire can be easily sheared, crack apart and we get an open circuit. In HT or Car Audio, not the best choice as it's stiff and hard to manage.
Electrically speaking, no difference. Mechanically speaking, it depends on the install.
Swez
gearhead on 04/21/2007 03:44:42
I'm setting up my shop/garage. I've got plenty of 12ga. THNN wire (about 2000'). The speakers and amps will be mounted solidly, so no movement to worry about. The main reason I'm asking is cost. 12ga. speaker wire is around $167 for 250', 12ga THHN is around $60 for 500'.
swez on 04/21/2007 04:17:34
Sure, why not use #12 THHN to a barrier strip connector and then use normal speaker wires to your speakers. (a few feet of braided wire should be cheap enough)
This should be fine for mid/highs, but you may have to bite the bullet when using subs. If wire resistance is high, the low bass may suffer after 25 feet or more. Try it and see.
Swez
gearhead on 04/21/2007 04:40:27
Thanks. I'm going to give it a shot.
trunkisloud on 04/21/2007 09:35:52
my cousin used coax cable for his sub to save on mess....sound is not as good as it was
ShootuhMcBustaCap on 04/21/2007 10:36:56
I have always wondered about that, my stepdad installs fire alarms, and has like a good football feind worth of nice thich solid wire, not sure of the gauge though......
swez on 04/21/2007 16:16:05
Coax is fine for low signals in many range frequency devices. However, because of the way it's wrapped, very poor for speaker lines. It attenuates the highs a lot and really muddies up the lows too. (Too much line losses and capacitive/inductive reactance too)
Swez
ShootuhMcBustaCap on 04/21/2007 20:49:16
Oh, I wasn't thinking coax, I was thining the solid line.
Replies (8)
swez on 04/21/2007 03:28:20
Yes and no...
If the speakers are hardwired and the bundle is not disturbed, it will work. It works fine in conduit and other commercial/industrial audio paging apps.
Depending on the wire gage used, solid wire can be easily sheared, crack apart and we get an open circuit. In HT or Car Audio, not the best choice as it's stiff and hard to manage.
Electrically speaking, no difference. Mechanically speaking, it depends on the install.
Swez
gearhead on 04/21/2007 03:44:42
I'm setting up my shop/garage. I've got plenty of 12ga. THNN wire (about 2000'). The speakers and amps will be mounted solidly, so no movement to worry about. The main reason I'm asking is cost. 12ga. speaker wire is around $167 for 250', 12ga THHN is around $60 for 500'.
swez on 04/21/2007 04:17:34
Sure, why not use #12 THHN to a barrier strip connector and then use normal speaker wires to your speakers. (a few feet of braided wire should be cheap enough)
This should be fine for mid/highs, but you may have to bite the bullet when using subs. If wire resistance is high, the low bass may suffer after 25 feet or more. Try it and see.
Swez
gearhead on 04/21/2007 04:40:27
Thanks. I'm going to give it a shot.
trunkisloud on 04/21/2007 09:35:52
my cousin used coax cable for his sub to save on mess....sound is not as good as it was
ShootuhMcBustaCap on 04/21/2007 10:36:56
I have always wondered about that, my stepdad installs fire alarms, and has like a good football feind worth of nice thich solid wire, not sure of the gauge though......
swez on 04/21/2007 16:16:05
Coax is fine for low signals in many range frequency devices. However, because of the way it's wrapped, very poor for speaker lines. It attenuates the highs a lot and really muddies up the lows too. (Too much line losses and capacitive/inductive reactance too)
Swez
ShootuhMcBustaCap on 04/21/2007 20:49:16
Oh, I wasn't thinking coax, I was thining the solid line.
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