[kiljim]

I've just recently decided to give passive speakers a try due to all I've read about powered speakers being crap comparatively

Bought a pair of BIC America DV62si and realized they don't come with even a crappy wire to test with (that's okay since my amp hasn't arrived yet)
So I'm looking to get a cheap pair of cables. Usually I look to Monoprice, but they don't have any with banana plugs built on

Any suggestion on something good and cheap? Maybe around $30 (yeah i'm pretty cheap)

 

[skyline889]

If you're looking for cheap, you'll have to go with bare wire. Or you can DIY. Buy the 2x or 4x spool of speaker wire from Monoprice, then buy some of their screw on Bananas at $2 a pair. Canare 4S11 is also good for the money.

 

[koven]

definitely monoprice

 

[somestranger26]

Monoprice for the win! I just ordered a 50-foot spool of 12AWG speaker wire for $17 with overnight shipping.

 

[kiljim]

Alright thanks guys

I'm looking at this right now
Wires 12AWG Enhanced Loud Oxygen-Free Copper Speaker Wire Cable - 50ft
2 pairs of plugs High-Quality Copper Speaker Banana Plugs - Closed Screw Type

Those plugs don't need to be soldered on right?

 

[somestranger26]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiljim /img/forum/go_quote.gif Alright thanks guys I'm looking at this right now Wires 12AWG Enhanced Loud Oxygen-Free Copper Speaker Wire Cable - 50ft 2 pairs of plugs High-Quality Copper Speaker Banana Plugs - Closed Screw Type Those plugs don't need to be soldered on right?

Nope! Check out the PDF on the page for the banana plugs, step by step instructions how to put them on without solder.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Try Radio Shack speaker wire. Even Stereophile gave it a good review at one time. That was, of course, before they started accepting large amounts of advertising from cable manufacturers.

You might also want to Google the plans for using Home Depot power cords as speaker wire. Quite a few people have and reported good results. You simply snip the plugs off the ends and attach the connectors of your choice. You could add Techflex for that megabuck look. Or, possibly, insert them into a garden hose for that Virtual Dynamics style.

 

[tim3320070]

Monoprice is great (using it now), but Erik is right about Radio Shack and you can get it today...IMO any good quality oxygen free copper cable works well.

 

[sochee]

Radioshack worked great for me, and you don't need banana plugs, you can use the bare wire contact. From BJC site:

"While it's common to use banana plugs or spade lugs to terminate speaker cable, one option worth considering is simply using bare wire termination--just buy the speaker cable raw, strip the ends, and insert them into the side holes in the binding posts. Whether this will work in your application depends largely on how big the holes in your binding posts are, and whether you can successfully access them to get the wire properly inserted (not an easy task on many surround receivers). When it's feasible to do, we like to use bare wire termination because it's simple and inexpensive, and because it avoids making additional connection points (e.g. wire to banana plug) which can fail."

 

[DeusEx]

I have some DIYed Cat5 cable (silver endings) a gift from my friend. They're actually quite nice, and a step up from my old cable.

 

[Lead Ears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiljim /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any suggestion on something good and cheap? Maybe around $30 (yeah i'm pretty cheap)

Well, these aren't very long (6 ft), but for your budget, they do have a lot of bling-factor:

Parts-Express.com:*Dayton SCP-6 Speaker Cable Pair w/Bananas 6 ft. | speaker cable audio cable speaker wire banana plug banana wire DaySpeak11408

 

[HD-5000]

I'd just get the 50' spool of 16ga wire at monoprice.

Follow this guide. If your lengths exceed what is recommended for the gauge, move to a thicker wire. And since it seems like you are only ordering 50 ft, you might as well save your money and get the skinnier wire.
Speaker Wire

 

[FraGGleR]

Used Monoprice wires for years when I still had a home theater. Great stuff. One of these days I will learn how to solder and start making cool wires like a lot of people here.

 

[somestranger26]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD-5000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd just get the 50' spool of 16ga wire at monoprice. Follow this guide. If your lengths exceed what is recommended for the gauge, move to a thicker wire. And since it seems like you are only ordering 50 ft, you might as well save your money and get the skinnier wire. Speaker Wire

Even non-audiophiles in the Monoprice reviews claim to hear an improvement with the 12AWG, it's like $3 more to get 12AWG than 16AWG... why not get the superior wire for peace of mind?

 

[HD-5000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by somestranger26 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Even non-audiophiles in the Monoprice reviews claim to hear an improvement with the 12AWG, it's like $3 more to get 12AWG than 16AWG... why not get the superior wire for peace of mind?

I guess you could argue that peace of mind, no matter how unfounded, is worth the extra few dollars. But that's all it is, peace of mind (that can cost dearly). For short runs, I'd bet the house that nobody can tell the difference between 12 and 16 gauge wire.

I chalk up the reviews on Monoprice to bias and misinformation.