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Recommendation for a thin speaker wire

post #1 of 16
1/8/06 at 11:32pm
Thread Starter 
Just wanted to know whats a good choice for thin speaker wire (one where the combined wire gauge is small and not the individual cores). Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks
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post #2 of 16
1/8/06 at 11:34pm
Hi,

You could try the DNM Reson cables or Nordost cables.

Cheers!
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post #3 of 16
1/8/06 at 11:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quick question, are these flatwire cables bendable? Looks alittle bit like ribbon cable, can they supply sufficient amounts of amps, I'm looking to power an 80 watt (max) Paradigm mini monitor for about a distance of close to 40-50 ft.
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post #4 of 16
1/8/06 at 11:59pm
Hi,

The cables are bendable. They can supply enough amps. However, for the length that you require, the cost would be really high. Moreover, there will probably be significant amount of treble roll-off for the DNM cable, and perhaps somewhat less for the Nordost.

Alternatively, you could find generic thin cable types from Tandy or other electronics hardware stores which are sold in a small reel. This may suit your needs better.

Regards.

cansman
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post #5 of 16
1/9/06 at 12:07am
I read an article once, believe it or not, that said that Cat5 makes great speaker wire, outperforming the top notch cable manufacturers. The article says take two strands of Cat5, twist all 8 wires together at either end of both strands. Use one strand as the +, one strand as the -. Supposedly it's amazing. Never tried it, but that's what I read....
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post #6 of 16
1/9/06 at 12:31am
Quote:
I read an article once, believe it or not, that said that Cat5 makes great speaker wire, outperforming the top notch cable manufacturers. The article says take two strands of Cat5, twist all 8 wires together at either end of both strands. Use one strand as the +, one strand as the -. Supposedly it's amazing. Never tried it, but that's what I read....
Another method is a single CAT-5 run with all the "striped" wires tied together as the speaker/amp "+" leads and all the "solid" wires tied together as the speaker/amp "-" leads.

The ultimate in simplicity that whips a lot of big $$ cable butt is #20 high purity copper magnet wire either as a twisted pair (higher inductance) or as a parallel pair (higher capacitance).My present cables are of the parallel pair type using some cool cotton material i found at the local sewing store (remnant table) to both separate the two wires (+/-) and protect them a bit :

1-3" wide X 15' long cotton-black with a white pattern
2-from the centerling of 1-3/4 " each wire is 1/4 inch IN from the outer edge for one and from the center line for the other
3-these wires are "tack stitched" along their length so they stay put until step
4-Fold the 3" over so that it is now 1.5 inches total width and 15 feet in total length (with 3" wire sticking out from both ends) then stiched down the open side
5-run a zig-zag stitch down the center to permanantly separate the two wires and keep them centered i/4 from the edges and 1" apart

Works pretty good for my situation plus my best sonics so far for a DIY speaker cable and most likely could be duplicated with any solid wire of small guage (the key to it sounding good in my rig-light guaged and solid core combined with the natural cotton dielectric)

total cost about $25/pair
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post #7 of 16
1/9/06 at 8:22am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by nspindel
I read an article once, believe it or not, that said that Cat5 makes great speaker wire, outperforming the top notch cable manufacturers. The article says take two strands of Cat5, twist all 8 wires together at either end of both strands. Use one strand as the +, one strand as the -. Supposedly it's amazing. Never tried it, but that's what I read....
Keep in mind, I need to have thin overall cable thickness, Cat 5 is just as thick as my current belden cable, which bulges out quite a bit. I've already used this option for several of my friend's setup and its quite good compared with generic speaker cables.
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post #8 of 16
1/9/06 at 8:32am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cansman
Hi,

The cables are bendable. They can supply enough amps. However, for the length that you require, the cost would be really high. Moreover, there will probably be significant amount of treble roll-off for the DNM cable, and perhaps somewhat less for the Nordost.

Alternatively, you could find generic thin cable types from Tandy or other electronics hardware stores which are sold in a small reel. This may suit your needs better.

Regards.

cansman
Thanks for the recommendation cansman, I'll see if they have any good thin cable in radioshack. Unfortunately, I've had bad luck with generic thin cable in the past and would like to avoid this option at all costs!


Quote:
Originally Posted by rickcr43
Another method is a single CAT-5 run with all the "striped" wires tied together as the speaker/amp "+" leads and all the "solid" wires tied together as the speaker/amp "-" leads.
This gives me the idea that if I need good cable, mind as well disassemble the CAT 5 cable and try to use at most 2 twisted pair for the cable core and solder their ends to make it as long as I need, i.e., one CAT 5 cable will entend about 4 times as long... With proper techflex, the twisted pair won't discolor the walls!

Quote:
Originally Posted by rickcr43
The ultimate in simplicity that whips a lot of big $$ cable butt is #20 high purity copper magnet wire either as a twisted pair (higher inductance) or as a parallel pair (higher capacitance).My present cables are of the parallel pair type using some cool cotton material i found at the local sewing store (remnant table) to both separate the two wires (+/-) and protect them a bit :

1-3" wide X 15' long cotton-black with a white pattern
2-from the centerling of 1-3/4 " each wire is 1/4 inch IN from the outer edge for one and from the center line for the other
3-these wires are "tack stitched" along their length so they stay put until step
4-Fold the 3" over so that it is now 1.5 inches total width and 15 feet in total length (with 3" wire sticking out from both ends) then stiched down the open side
5-run a zig-zag stitch down the center to permanantly separate the two wires and keep them centered i/4 from the edges and 1" apart

Works pretty good for my situation plus my best sonics so far for a DIY speaker cable and most likely could be duplicated with any solid wire of small guage (the key to it sounding good in my rig-light guaged and solid core combined with the natural cotton dielectric)

total cost about $25/pair
Thanks for the recommendation and step by step instructions rick, do you happen to have any recommends for the brand of copper magnet wire? Looks like a fun DIY project for my speakers and my wife will love you for it!
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post #9 of 16
1/9/06 at 8:56am
Audience speaker cables are thin.
The Au24 is only about 1/8" diameter, but it's also expensive.
The Maestro is only a little thicker and is an excellent cable.
Prices
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post #10 of 16
1/9/06 at 11:57am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd R
Audience speaker cables are thin.
The Au24 is only about 1/8" diameter, but it's also expensive.
The Maestro is only a little thicker and is an excellent cable.
Prices
Wow, those maestro cables are really expensive. I think 10 meters of speaker cable is more expensive then my entire speaker system! Thanks for the note, Todd, I'll keep it in the back of mind (preferrably in the part of my brain where its dormant til I become rich).
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post #11 of 16
1/9/06 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by grasshpr
Wow, those maestro cables are really expensive. I think 10 meters of speaker cable is more expensive then my entire speaker system! Thanks for the note, Todd, I'll keep it in the back of mind (preferrably in the part of my brain where its dormant til I become rich).
Oh,
I didn't know you needed so much!
The Conductor line is good too.
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post #12 of 16
1/9/06 at 1:13pm
Quote:
recommends for the brand of copper magnet wire?
Even the Radio Shack "triple spool pack" is good stuff for audio though being north of the border I am not sure if that relates to availability.
I have a source where I purchased my spool (enough for ten years ) but will have to dig the purchase order out of my records and get back to you.
I will say high purity copper magnet wire is now in every phase of my system for signal transmission and that is both internally as hookup wire and externally as interconnects and speaker wires and i have zero desire to change ever.The best sound for me personaly of any signal transmission ever plus the low profile nature of the beast pleasing to even the most anti-cable wife in existance .
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post #13 of 16
1/9/06 at 2:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rickcr42
The best sound for me personaly of any signal transmission ever plus the low profile nature of the beast pleasing to even the most anti-cable wife in existance .
Your telling me! Getting the proper cable for my system just to please my wife is worst than pulling teeth. They should have an entire store for this type of problem, electronic aesthetics...
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post #14 of 16
1/9/06 at 9:44pm
Canare 4S11? That's the cable I use. Total AWG is 12 x 4conductors. Starquad layout.

They also make thinner cable like the 4S8 and 4S6.
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post #15 of 16
1/9/06 at 11:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Garbz
Canare 4S11? That's the cable I use. Total AWG is 12 x 4conductors. Starquad layout.

They also make thinner cable like the 4S8 and 4S6.
I've already got 4S11 cable. Its as thick as my belden cable, which I believe is slightly larger than cat 5 (not a whole lot of course). All of which I can't use because of its thickness (not the gauge of the individual conductors, but the overal thickness of the cable). I'll take a look at 4S8 and 4S6 though. Thanks!
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