Cheap but good speaker wire choice?

[amir_j]

Need 30m of cable to run between a KingRex T20 amp to Tannoy Mercury F1 speakers as bedroom setup. Im not sold on the whole amazing difference lark so just want some decent cheap stuff.

Had a look at Richer Sounds and they have Gale entry for 99p a metre, The speakers were 85 quid so buying 30 quid of cable seems a bit silly. Any views?

[WZC1]

You get what you pay for. Signal loss will be more apparent over a longer distance so I would suggest it is £30 well spent. You could try 2 core electrical cable over the same run if you can find that cheaper but I would stick with the Gale cable.

[amir_j]

Been reading up and going to go with Cat 5 for the same 0.99 a metre as per AV forums and TNt http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=19868...

[P700DEE]

Thick stranded cable can give a thick sound. I used 5amp solid core mains wire (10m) runs before spending out on Kimber 8TC. Anti-cables from the States are quite popular and sound good although they can be a bit harsh (feature of solid core cables) To avoid the cost now the £ has plummeted try Maplin solid core transformer wire. Sold by weight rather than length and you will need to scrape off the insulating polyimide coating at the ends. Quad did a demo at the 2007 Hi-Fi show using a DIY store outdoor wire (Orange). Of all the cables in a system I have found speaker cables make the least difference.

[JustinP1]

For the type of speakers you have anything decent will perform much of a muchness.

99p a metre isn't too bad though - the problem is you want 30m of it when the average length is about 3m each side!

[cjs]

Just get yourself some 2 core flex form an electrical wholesaler. You can get 100m for £30.

[bsdnazz]

When I was wiring up our 5.1 speakers I went to Richer Sounds and got lots of the 'best cheap speaker cable'. Looking at their WWW site now I guess I have the Gale Symphony 100 cable which they're listing at 69ppm. I sure I paid 50ppm a couple of years ago.

Price of copper has gone up!

[Titanium lover]

Thats one big bedroom !

[Dave 500]

cjs said:

Just get yourself some 2 core flex form an electrical wholesaler. You can get 100m for £30.

+2 2.5mm mains job done.

Edited by Dave 500 on Friday 27th February 09:59

[old No 1]

I ve just done a comparison on my Tannoy DC4 T floorstanders ....
2 core flex £5 worth V TCI super boa constrictor thingies at £300 a pair (silver plated solid core bi wire)

erm couldnt tell much difference? Although the solid core ones 'bend' into shape round the hearth and the flex didnt so that was a plus :-)

[JulianHJ]

I use a couple of runs of Cat5e to each speaker - works a treat!

[R32DEV]

Dave 500 said:

cjs said:

Just get yourself some 2 core flex form an electrical wholesaler. You can get 100m for £30.

+2 2.5mm mains job done.

Edited by Dave 500 on Friday 27th February 09:59

Is this really a good solution. Having the builder put speaker cabling into the walls, during first fix and want to have rear speakers, which will be about 30 feet away from system high up on A beams. I was going to order clear sheath 2x2.5mm speaker cable at GBP 47 for 100 meters from Cable Universe as recommended here, but just saw these comments. Is the resistance etc okay, I do not know yet which stystem I will be putting into this room, but some form of home cinema and it needs to be good quality for music playback.

[Simon Says]

JulianHJ said:

I use a couple of runs of Cat5e to each speaker - works a treat!

Cat 6 for me with 2 twisted pairs over about 25ft x2 use the solid wire Cat 6 stuff though not the stranded stuff,well pleased not my idea someone on here recommended it

[Plotloss]

R32DEV said:

Dave 500 said:

cjs said:

Just get yourself some 2 core flex form an electrical wholesaler. You can get 100m for £30.

+2 2.5mm mains job done.

Edited by Dave 500 on Friday 27th February 09:59

Is this really a good solution. Having the builder put speaker cabling into the walls, during first fix and want to have rear speakers, which will be about 30 feet away from system high up on A beams. I was going to order clear sheath 2x2.5mm speaker cable at GBP 47 for 100 meters from Cable Universe as recommended here, but just saw these comments. Is the resistance etc okay, I do not know yet which stystem I will be putting into this room, but some form of home cinema and it needs to be good quality for music playback.

I'd not risk it personally.

Whilst it is a perrenial web discussion, this use of twin and earth, I can't think of a single AV dealer that would advocate it.

Speaker wire is cheap, like the budgie.

[darreni]

Back in my teens, i had a seperates system connected to a set of mission speaker with 6mm twin & earth - the solid core type used for wiring in cookers etc. Sounded great, but a bd to hide the cable runs.

QED do some cheap trade type stuff, between 50p - a quid p.m.
My local dealer says they use it all the time for commercial installs, comes in 2 core & 4 core & i'm sure he told me the sleeving was fire resistant.
The sleeving is a matt pink in colour, if it helps anyone inentify it.

I have a KEF Kit 540 system in the lounge & it sounds awesome. (not that i am suggesting the cable is the reason for this, but it certainly dosent do any harm).

[R32DEV]

Plotloss said:

R32DEV said:

Dave 500 said:

cjs said:

Just get yourself some 2 core flex form an electrical wholesaler. You can get 100m for £30.

+2 2.5mm mains job done.

Edited by Dave 500 on Friday 27th February 09:59

Is this really a good solution. Having the builder put speaker cabling into the walls, during first fix and want to have rear speakers, which will be about 30 feet away from system high up on A beams. I was going to order clear sheath 2x2.5mm speaker cable at GBP 47 for 100 meters from Cable Universe as recommended here, but just saw these comments. Is the resistance etc okay, I do not know yet which stystem I will be putting into this room, but some form of home cinema and it needs to be good quality for music playback.

I'd not risk it personally.

Whilst it is a perrenial web discussion, this use of twin and earth, I can't think of a single AV dealer that would advocate it.

Speaker wire is cheap, like the budgie.

Thanks Plotloss, is what I was going to order: clear sheath 2x2.5mm speaker cable at GBP 47 for 100 meters from Cable Universe a good option?

[Plotloss]

Wire guage depends on run length, whats your longest run?

[R32DEV]

about 30 ft

[Plotloss]

Then you're good to go.

[R32DEV]

Plotloss said:

Then you're good to go.

thanks for your help and advice.