dumb questions about speakers and speaker cable

[punkaroo]

Hi!

I've set up my Rotel integrated amp and Paradigm speakers in my office. I've never set up audio equipment before, so it was a bit of a challenge! I used banana plugs to go into my Rotel and the other end is simply bare wire going into the speakers.

I bought Monster cable after reading some positive reviews online. I know Monster has an iffy rep around here...but I went with it anyway.

My speakers are at an uneven distance from the amp. I've read online that you should have equal lengths of speaker cable no matter what. How much of a difference does it actually make? One speaker is right next to the amp, so I cut a shorter length for that one, but the other speaker is a bit further away. I can't hear a difference as of yet. If I redo the one with a shorter length of cable, is it ok to coil the remaining cable? Should I redo it?

The one thing that irks me about vintage equipment is having to use bare wire. I just think banana plugs are way more convenient and secure. My Paradigm speakers have spring clips on the back, so that involved twisting and hopefully getting a good connection in the clips. It seems iffy. My Marantz has older style (I guess) speaker connection, which seems worse off than clips. It seems like these have a higher chance of short circuiting or having other such problems down the road. Am I being paranoid?

Thanks for your patience

[tim3320070]

You can get pin type connectors at Radio Shack or elsewhere that will work with spring clips. There is nothing wrong with bare wire though (many say it's the best). I don't believe different length cable will matter much (maybe unless we're talking 50' vs. 5'). You can probably tell I am not a cable "believer".
I have never heard a difference between speaker cables, or using bare wire vs. connectors, and so I use Monoprice cable.

[punkaroo]

Thank you!

I was going to buy speaker cable from monoprice (I bought a ton of cables from them - awesome site), until I saw the shipping price to Canada!

I'm not sure what the speaker terminal is called, but it's the one where you have to push on to expose a hole and then push wire through. Can pin connectors be used on those?

[tim3320070]

Yes, that's what they're for- see link.
Flat-Pin Connectors for 10-12 Gauge Wire (4-Pack) - RadioShack.com

[punkaroo]

I realized through more online reading that I NEVER bothered to check the polarity of the cables before I put banana plugs on. Nothing sounds out of whack though. Does it matter?

Thanks Tim

(I'm thinking of getting some pin connectors for my Marantz receiver and the Paradigm speakers and redoing it...or am I being really OCD?)

[iriverdude]

You should match like for like, don't want speakers to be out of phase. Spring clip/ Pin connectors are a bit pants, banana or spade are better.

[punkaroo]

How would I know if they're out of phase? They sound perfect.