|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
69.253.128.57
Hi,
I need a pair of 25-foot PA speaker cables. They need to be 1/4-inch jacks on one end, Neutrik speakon connectors on the other end.
I'm wondering if there is a "known best". Is 12-gauge better than 14?
Also wondering if there is a known "stay away from this brand, it is crap."
Thanks!
Hukk
Follow Ups:
I use Monster Cable Studio Pro 1000 Speaker Cable.
I have a small venue PA system and have done shows for about 12 years or so; I've schlepped around several hundred pounds of cables from time to time and have had generally good results for the money over time with speakerrepair.com . My budget is between tight and non-existent. I have also found Peavey cabling to have decent longevity.
The weakest link in any standard quality cable will be the soldered connections, so it might be a good practice to inspect the connections on a regular basis and resolder them if you have any sense that something is getting beat up. Budget brands don't allow for this often as they tend to use molded plugs. I have found that the most reliable cables tend to be the ones I build or repair myself.
The trick for me is to maintain the cables in some decent manner; that usually means giving them a bath periodically and looking for failures.
The only other trick I use is to be religious about testing every cable with a pocket cable tester immediately prior to connecting it. Bad cables are embarrassing as hell and this is the only way I can be sure that I've done timely QC on every single piece of wire in the rig.
Sounds like VermontGuy and I are on the same page. I'd only add that when you build your own cables, as I do for hard-use applications like speakers and microphones, put a piece of shrink tubing over each conductor to help hold that sucker tightly in place so it can tolerate more abuse.
Oh, and, don't throw or drop the connectors on hard floors (concrete, terrazo, etc.)! That's like looking for trouble!
:)
I just buy real Neutrik connectors (or Switchcraft) from the local electronics dealer, and 14-2 or 14-4 cabtire (is that a Canadian or Commonwealth term?) jacketed cable from Home Depot. I think I chose an unnecessarily rugged jacket... the 14-4 cables are nearly as thick as garden hose.
What gauge you use depends on the length of your runs
The longer the cable run the more resistance
Copper prices are high and it will translate to your speaker cable price
These guys have great deals on cables that cant be beat
If you are going more then 25ft I would recommend 12gauge
It's not so much the cable as it is the connection at the connectors. Guitar Center carries a brand called Hosa. I won't buy anothe Hosa cable if I can avoid it. Two out of eight cables have failed (with light usage), as I noted in another thread. That's not good.Look back through the recent threads. There were a couple posts which suggested a few brands. My experience is that the most reliable cables I have are the ones I made. 'Course, I build everything so it will never fail. (Maybe it's just me. lol)
14 gauge is plenty if you're using 1/4" on the end. 16 would even be enough. The contact area of a 1/4" connector is tiny, and will be the weak spot.
Edits: 10/26/11
Is 12 gauge speaker cable likely to sound or perform better than 14?
-Hukk
Again...the longer the run the more resistance
A 25ft run can easily be done with 14gauge cable
No sonic difference between that and 12gauge at 25ft
Unless you are running a HUGE amount of power and then you would go
with 10 gauge
Im suspecting you are not and thus 14/2 will do the job fine
Don't know if that ranks as a ton of power or not.
Thanks,
Hukk
The 25ft 14/2 wire will work just fine for your application
Keeping in mind that we're talking about a 25 foot cable...
12 gauge twisted pair is the bomb. It has all the right curves. ;) Big, cheap. But, by comparison, 14 isn't going to sound like crap. Heck, it's only a knat's hair smaller. 12 gauge has been shown to effectively be the upper limit on speaker cable. Use 12, 14, or 16.
There's way too much hype about cables and their effect on the signal. I'd challenge anyone to prove an audible difference between 12 gauge and 18 gauge for the average high end stereo system at average levels.
Alpha Al is correct in that the larger the wire, the less resistance. The question is, does it matter? In most cases, the answer is no. Now, if you're pumping a bunch of watts into a low efficiency speaker at a high SPL, big wires will help.
I use 12 gauge twisted pair for my home speakers, not because it sounds better, but because it's one less thing to think about. :)
Bigger is always better.
It depends on the load impedence, and the cable length.
#14 might be OK for 8 Ohms, whereas for 4Ohms or less, #12 would have less loss.
Also:- MCS Electronics
- Power Pro Audio
- Seismic Audio
- pLoynk audio?
Thanks,
Hukk
Edits: 10/26/11
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: