What does everybody use...

[Andrew]

...for speakers cable?

My drivers are all here ready to wire into the cabs Colin kindly built for me but I'm wondering what to use for wire, both internally and externally?

thanks,

-- Andrew

[pre65]

What have you got at hand to choose from ?

[Andrew]

Not much....some on Talk 5.1 stuff from Richer Sounds and some very nice DNM solid core stuff that's came with my commercial stand mounters which are now doing a fine role in a second system, and I am loath to touch.

I was thinking of using the the Talk stuff for the meantime externally but what about internally?

Is there any obvious bargains to be had that is as good as the DNM stuff? But not £18 a meter!

-- Andrew

[Max N]

I think the various DIY CAT5 recipes are hard to beat.
eg

http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/triple_t_e.html

[Andrew]

I think the various DIY CAT5 recipes are hard to beat.
eg

http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/triple_t_e.html

Aren't they highly capacitative? And does that matter?

Cheap enough tho'

-- Andrew

[Greg]

Hi Andrew,

The basic TNT designs are capacitive but seem to work well for many. It doesn't cost alot. Suck it and see. You can use stripped down Cat5 for internal wiring. Certainly it is cheap and cheerful and you have the option of selecting the number of conductors you want to use.

Remember the commercial cable thing remains a total rip off. In contrast you could look at what WD offer. Their cables are cheap and have been designed to meet needs and work properly......I mean that! Peter specifically directed on wire choice, construction and insulation. They offer options for different drivers so you can select from full range, high frequency and low frequency. They are cheap but that doesn't mean crap. WD use these cables in their demonstrations as we did at Heathrow last weekend. In other words, probably a best option.

Remember my longstanding observation.....cables are the biggest income generating rip off in the market today. WD are honest and supply the basic stuff that does the business at a proper price. At Heathrow, this is what we used. A very much 'puting your money where your mouth is' situation. It works well, sounds good and doesn't cost a fortune.

If I were you I'd be playing with CAT5 but if you don't want to do that, the WD options are a very good choice.

Best wishes,

Greg

[Toppsy]

Andrew,
For both my ESLs and the MLTLs I use Monster XPHP cable. That's the stuff you listened to at my place.

http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=4605

I used some similat cable from Richer sounds for internal hookup to the main driver on my MLTLs, and some 0.6mm dia silver plated solid copper PTFE sheathed for the tweeter and L-pad.

I have enough spare of both cables to hookup yours if you want it?

Cheers
Colin

[richardcooper2k]

you could start with electrical mains cable and then see if you notice a difference with anything else

[planet10]

I think the various DIY CAT5 recipes are hard to beat.

We started out with multiplies of Cat 5 as Frugal-phile(tm) wire, but have slowly worked our way down to spaced single strands (cryo-treated)

Keep in mind that cable is VERY system dependent and we are working in an ebvironment with single FR relatively high efficiency speakers.

dave

[Max N]

Dave, do you 'wind' the spaced wires at all? Maybe not necessary, but I was thinking a gentle spiral would remove the possibility of an inductive loop?

[planet10]

Dave, do you 'wind' the spaced wires at all? Maybe not necessary, but I was thinking a gentle spiral would remove the possibility of an inductive loop?

I laid mine out flat not-quite parallel on packing tape. My partner wanted something a bit tidier, he woumd his around some hemp rope (1/4" D (?)) such that the conductors always crossed at close 90 degrees.

Inside the cab i separate the strands and keep them apart. thry do need to be damped or constrained as if they start moving, and hit a wall or brace you can hear them.

dave