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Post by leog2010 on Jan 6, 2011 21:17:09 GMT -5
One stupid question.
I have 12/4 speaker cable for my front speakers. Can I use 2 wires for the positive and 2 for the negative? What gauge should I finally get? The main problem is that I can´t get 10 awg speaker cable locally (in Ecuador). By the way, my amp is an XPA-2 running in 4 ohms.
Thanks.
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NorthStar
Seeker Of Truth
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Post by NorthStar on Jan 7, 2011 2:48:49 GMT -5
So you have four 12 awg gauge speaker wires? And you want to use two for each speaker?
Why not go ahead! More wires won't do no harm; it will actually make the total awg bigger and that's a plus! ...That'll be like 8 awg now! And if you can fit them in your spade lugs or banana plug speaker connectors.
But one pair of 12 awg per speaker is all you truly need. And if they are about 10 feet or less, no sweat.
{I don't know too many people that do like you want to do, unless they are bi-wiring or bi-amping.}
* I use 13 awg myself for my two Main fronts, and 9 awg for my Center, and 14 awg for my Surrounds.
And all my speakers are 4 Ohms.
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Post by leog2010 on Jan 7, 2011 19:55:53 GMT -5
My main right is +-45 ft away, the center +-40 and the left +- 35 from my amps. That`s the main reason why I´m thinking about going thicker than 12 awg, am I right?
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NorthStar
Seeker Of Truth
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Post by NorthStar on Jan 7, 2011 21:00:32 GMT -5
My main right is +-45 ft away, the center +-40 and the left +- 35 from my amps. That`s the main reason why I´m thinking about going thicker than 12 awg, am I right? Good thing you just mentioned the distance. Yeah, 12 awg is the minimum and should be fine. If you can find 10 awg, good, but if not I wouldn't worry about using 12 awg.  ...You're still below 50 feet and 12 awg is the right gauge. * My surround Back speakers are using 14 awg and the cables are both 50 feet long. And they are 6 Ohms, but they do dip at 4 Ohms. But if they would be my main fronts and with 50 feet long of speaker wires, I'll be satisfy with 12 awg (or unless I can find 9 to 11 awg for a good price). Monoprice would be the place to get those for cheap. Cheers, Bob |
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Post by solarrdadd on Jan 7, 2011 21:16:59 GMT -5
My main right is +-45 ft away, the center +-40 and the left +- 35 from my amps. That`s the main reason why I´m thinking about going thicker than 12 awg, am I right? your room is more than 85' across, oh yeah, and then all that's 35' away from your amps; what kind of place is this!?! I mean "how big is it"!?! |
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NorthStar
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Post by NorthStar on Jan 7, 2011 21:22:12 GMT -5
My main right is +-45 ft away, the center +-40 and the left +- 35 from my amps. That`s the main reason why I´m thinking about going thicker than 12 awg, am I right? your room is more than 85' across, oh yeah, and then all that's 35' away from your amps; what kind of place is this!?! I mean "how big is it"!?! His amp(s) is/are probably in the back of his room, and the front speakers on the front?  ;D * My room is only 24 feet long, but I still need 50 feet long speaker wires for my back surround speakers (amps are on front). And the wires follow all the walls with the corners and height, etc. |
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Post by leog2010 on Jan 8, 2011 0:27:38 GMT -5
You`re right. My amps are in the back of the room.
So, what would you recommend me, to stay with the 12 awg or use two of them together to get a thicker gauge (maybe 8 awg). The reason I`d used the 12/4 wire is that I´m going to install the wide front channels in my new 9.2 configuration system. If you recommend me to use the 2 wires together, then I have to add another 12 awg wire for the wide speakers.
Thanks again for your help.
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NorthStar
Seeker Of Truth
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Post by NorthStar on Jan 8, 2011 22:09:46 GMT -5
You`re right. My amps are in the back of the room. So, what would you recommend me, to stay with the 12 awg or use two of them together to get a thicker gauge (maybe 8 awg). The reason I`d used the 12/4 wire is that I´m going to install the wide front channels in my new 9.2 configuration system. If you recommend me to use the 2 wires together, then I have to add another 12 awg wire for the wide speakers. Thanks again for your help. One single pair of 12 awg should do it my friend, just like I said before. I truly doubt that by adding another pair of speaker wires would make a difference; but you can try and listen for any sound difference. Just put a tune you're familar with (preferably Jazz acoustic music with piano and acoutic bass guitar). And try single and double pairs. I presume your Infinity speakers are not bi-wirable? {12 awg is fine for runs of less than 50 feet in my humble opinion, but if in doubt, just get some 10 awg ones.} - If your speakers are indeed demanding of high current, the bigger the gauge the happier they'll be. Cheers, Bob P.S. Of course I knew your amps were on the back of your room. |
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Post by solarrdadd on Jan 9, 2011 0:18:41 GMT -5
good catch bob, i didn't even think about the amps being in the back of the room! and yes, the #12awg is plenty of wire for the distance.
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NorthStar
Seeker Of Truth
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Post by NorthStar on Jan 9, 2011 0:29:29 GMT -5
good catch bob, i didn't even think about the amps being in the back of the room! and yes, the #12awg is plenty of wire for the distance. Hey my good friend Solarrdadd; as you can see I can find relaxation on other places of the world. _____________________________ * I noticed they've removed my avatar and my Picture Albums as well!  ...No biggie. |
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Post by leog2010 on Jan 9, 2011 9:22:01 GMT -5
Thank you very much for your help guys!!!
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Post by solarrdadd on Jan 11, 2011 22:00:14 GMT -5
good catch bob, i didn't even think about the amps being in the back of the room! and yes, the #12awg is plenty of wire for the distance. Hey my good friend Solarrdadd; as you can see I can find relaxation on other places of the world. _____________________________ * I noticed they've removed my avatar and my Picture Albums as well! ...No biggie. I'm glad to see you do in fact find relaxation in other places & Oh Yeah, i saw that they removed your avatar, kinda petty but remember, it's their ball, their bat... |
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edmondwolfman
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Gun Control Is Hitting What You Aim At
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Post by edmondwolfman on Jan 26, 2011 11:25:46 GMT -5
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Post by briank on Jan 29, 2011 14:59:38 GMT -5
Thanks Edmundwolfman, interesting read, I can vouch for the double wire speaker cable design, my Dh lab speaker cables use 2 twelve gauge and 2 fourteen gauge wire to make it equivalent of 10 gauge and they are definitely the best of about a dozen different cables that I've tried.
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Post by flamingeye on Jan 29, 2011 18:46:46 GMT -5
12 awg is good to 50 feet no problem no need to double it
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Post by NezFF on Feb 16, 2011 21:36:43 GMT -5
12AWG wire on a 8ohm load is fine up to distances of 120 feet.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2011 21:41:32 GMT -5
I have 7 AWG because i can ;D
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Post by roadrunner on Feb 17, 2011 0:58:24 GMT -5
The cable length guide in the Audioholics webstie is very close to the "Rule of Thumb" that I have always used. The 4 Ohm load column is almost identical to what I recommend for all speakers.
Below is what I use for systems I install.
0 -- 25' 14 GA
26 --50' 12 GA
50+ feet 10 GA
Audioholics recommends:
18 GA at 5'
16 GA at 10'
14 GA at 18'
12 GA at 30'
10 GA at 50'
I just don't like using 18 GA wire for speakers no matter how short the cable is. I wouldn't cry foul for using 16 GA cable for very short runs, but I feel more comfortable starting out using 14 GA wire. I would rather err in the direction of being sure you get the best sound from your speakers. If I don't just use a high quality generic cable cut to length I use Impact Acoustic or Blue Jeans Cables. I notice that Audioholic also recommends speaker cables from the same two vendors -- just one of many areas I agree with their recommendations.
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Post by jackfish on Feb 17, 2011 11:04:17 GMT -5
According to Roger Russell, guru at McIntosh: 4 Ohm Load 22 gauge 6 feet max 20 gauge 10 feet max 18 gauge 16 feet max 16 gauge 24 feet max 14 gauge 40 feet max 12 gauge 60 feet max ** 10 gauge 100 feet max ** ** 50 feet is the maximum recommended length for normal line cord or Romex solid copper wire. www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#longerwires |
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Post by Nemesis.ie on Feb 17, 2011 11:10:05 GMT -5
OP: If you really want to be sure, you can always join all 4 of the cables together and run two lots. You could try with 1 wire, 2 wires, 3 wires and all 4 as a test and see if you can hear any difference. |
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...You're still below 50 feet and 12 awg is the right gauge. 
;D
...No biggie. 
