Seeking advice on speaker cable

[Eric the Mac Guy]

Hi everybody, I'll admit I'm shamelessly seeking free advice from here -
I'm not an audiophile, just a music and movies addict, and I recently
upgraded my speakers. I have a very small living room so I went with
the Definitive ProCinema 60 set - for anyone not familiar, 4 little
cubes plus a center channel plus a subwoofer. Certainly not high-end
but not the bottom of the barrel either. The receiver, however, is
pretty cheap - a JVC RX-884V. 110 watts per channel.

My question is this: do you think there will be ayn benefit to buying
speaker cable that is better than the standard chintzy cheap cable sold
at all electronics stores? Would Monster cable produce better sound on
this setup? Are there any OTHER types of cable that you would recommend?

And finally, the speakers can accept a variety of connectors: banana
plug, pin, spade or ring, according to the description. Any
advantages/disadvantages to any of these?

Thanks in advance,

Eric

[George M. Middius]

Eric the Mac Guy said:

> My question is this: do you think there will be ayn benefit to buying
> speaker cable that is better than the standard chintzy cheap cable sold
> at all electronics stores? Would Monster cable produce better sound on
> this setup? Are there any OTHER types of cable that you would recommend?

You should get 16 gauge at a minimum (14ga is better) for the
surrounds. It's a tiny investment that will safeguard the fidelity,
however limited, of the signal going to those speakers.

> And finally, the speakers can accept a variety of connectors: banana
> plug, pin, spade or ring, according to the description. Any
> advantages/disadvantages to any of these?

Bananas are the easiest to insert and remove. Anything else requires
loosening and tightening if you change anything.

[Arny Krueger]

"Eric the Mac Guy" > wrote in message
...
> Hi everybody, I'll admit I'm shamelessly seeking free advice from here -
> I'm not an audiophile, just a music and movies addict, and I recently
> upgraded my speakers. I have a very small living room so I went with
> the Definitive ProCinema 60 set - for anyone not familiar, 4 little
> cubes plus a center channel plus a subwoofer. Certainly not high-end
> but not the bottom of the barrel either. The receiver, however, is
> pretty cheap - a JVC RX-884V. 110 watts per channel.
>
> My question is this: do you think there will be ayn benefit to buying
> speaker cable that is better than the standard chintzy cheap cable sold
> at all electronics stores?

Yes, some of that is so thin you can thread a needle with it.

The hot tip is 12 gauge stranded 2-conductor low voltage stranded wire from
your local hardware store or home improvement store.

> And finally, the speakers can accept a variety of connectors: banana
> plug, pin, spade or ring, according to the description. Any
> advantages/disadvantages to any of these?

If you're careful and don't create a short, or a loose connection, they all
sound the same.

[Bob Morein]

"Eric the Mac Guy" > wrote in message
...
> Hi everybody, I'll admit I'm shamelessly seeking free advice from here -
> I'm not an audiophile, just a music and movies addict, and I recently
> upgraded my speakers. I have a very small living room so I went with
> the Definitive ProCinema 60 set - for anyone not familiar, 4 little
> cubes plus a center channel plus a subwoofer. Certainly not high-end
> but not the bottom of the barrel either. The receiver, however, is
> pretty cheap - a JVC RX-884V. 110 watts per channel.
>
> My question is this: do you think there will be ayn benefit to buying
> speaker cable that is better than the standard chintzy cheap cable sold
> at all electronics stores? Would Monster cable produce better sound on
> this setup? Are there any OTHER types of cable that you would recommend?
>
> And finally, the speakers can accept a variety of connectors: banana
> plug, pin, spade or ring, according to the description. Any
> advantages/disadvantages to any of these?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Eric

There is no evidence that Monster Cable or any other brand has better sound.

One strategy which some enthusiasts pursue is to wire in parallel multiple
sets of common 16 gauge zipcord, available at Radio Shack.
If you're handy with an ohm meter, it's an effective thing to do.
Otherwise, take George's or Arny's suggestions.

[Lionel Chapuis]

Eric the Mac Guy a écrit :
> Hi everybody, I'll admit I'm shamelessly seeking free advice from here -
> I'm not an audiophile, just a music and movies addict, and I recently
> upgraded my speakers. I have a very small living room so I went with
> the Definitive ProCinema 60 set - for anyone not familiar, 4 little
> cubes plus a center channel plus a subwoofer. Certainly not high-end
> but not the bottom of the barrel either. The receiver, however, is
> pretty cheap - a JVC RX-884V. 110 watts per channel.
>
> My question is this: do you think there will be ayn benefit to buying
> speaker cable that is better than the standard chintzy cheap cable sold
> at all electronics stores? Would Monster cable produce better sound on
> this setup? Are there any OTHER types of cable that you would recommend?
>

Let's have a look to the cheapest of the esoteric solutions :
Multi-pairs cable (phone...).
This solution have 2 major advantages :
- It fits the minimum requirements of my above friends' posts.
- It doesn't deprive you of the very long and badly argumented
discussions around this first quality troll subject. :o)

Lionel

[Bob Morein]

"Lionel Chapuis" <lionel{dot}chapuis{at}free{dot}fr> wrote in message
...
> Eric the Mac Guy a écrit :
> > Hi everybody, I'll admit I'm shamelessly seeking free advice from here -
> > I'm not an audiophile, just a music and movies addict, and I recently
> > upgraded my speakers. I have a very small living room so I went with
> > the Definitive ProCinema 60 set - for anyone not familiar, 4 little
> > cubes plus a center channel plus a subwoofer. Certainly not high-end
> > but not the bottom of the barrel either. The receiver, however, is
> > pretty cheap - a JVC RX-884V. 110 watts per channel.
> >
> > My question is this: do you think there will be ayn benefit to buying
> > speaker cable that is better than the standard chintzy cheap cable sold
> > at all electronics stores? Would Monster cable produce better sound on
> > this setup? Are there any OTHER types of cable that you would
recommend?
> >
>
> Let's have a look to the cheapest of the esoteric solutions :
> Multi-pairs cable (phone...).
> This solution have 2 major advantages :
> - It fits the minimum requirements of my above friends' posts.
> - It doesn't deprive you of the very long and badly argumented
> discussions around this first quality troll subject. :o)
>
> Lionel
>
:).

[Leonard]

Ref: Cable stuff..

Eric,

By all means check with an Audio store that could arrange
some "loaner" cables. You take them home and in the private
world of your audio domain..listen and swap out cables at
a pace you are comfortable with. You decide, if the less
expensive cables sound better to you, so be it. Whatever
you are content with is the main goal.

Be wary of those on these groups that will tell you what
sounds best to you. Be happy with what "you" select.
But, do be leery of the crowd that will line up on these
Newsgroups and repeat statements made from the middle '90's
as to what is best for everyone else. Pitiful crowd!

Leonard...
__________________________________________________ __________________

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 19:56:05 -0400, Eric the Mac Guy wrote:

> Hi everybody, I'll admit I'm shamelessly seeking free advice from here -
> I'm not an audiophile, just a music and movies addict, and I recently
> upgraded my speakers. I have a very small living room so I went with
> the Definitive ProCinema 60 set - for anyone not familiar, 4 little
> cubes plus a center channel plus a subwoofer. Certainly not high-end
> but not the bottom of the barrel either. The receiver, however, is
> pretty cheap - a JVC RX-884V. 110 watts per channel.
>
> My question is this: do you think there will be ayn benefit to buying
> speaker cable that is better than the standard chintzy cheap cable sold
> at all electronics stores? Would Monster cable produce better sound on
> this setup? Are there any OTHER types of cable that you would recommend?
>
> And finally, the speakers can accept a variety of connectors: banana
> plug, pin, spade or ring, according to the description. Any
> advantages/disadvantages to any of these?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Eric

[Lionel Chapuis]

Leonard a écrit :
> Ref: Cable stuff..
>
> Eric,
>
> By all means check with an Audio store that could arrange
> some "loaner" cables. You take them home and in the private
> world of your audio domain..listen and swap out cables at
> a pace you are comfortable with. You decide, if the less
> expensive cables sound better to you, so be it. Whatever
> you are content with is the main goal.
>
> Be wary of those on these groups that will tell you what
> sounds best to you. Be happy with what "you" select.
> But, do be leery of the crowd that will line up on these
> Newsgroups and repeat statements made from the middle '90's
> as to what is best for everyone else. Pitiful crowd!
>
> Leonard...
> __________________________________________________ __________________

Hey sir,
What is your crusade ?
Before you put your dirty feet in, it was one of the quietest thread
since a long time !.....
Sorry Eric this guy is right but I don't like the way he told that.
Lionel

[[email protected]]

In rec.audio.misc Leonard > wrote:


> Be wary of those on these groups that will tell you what
> sounds best to you. Be happy with what "you" select.
> But, do be leery of the crowd that will line up on these
> Newsgroups and repeat statements made from the middle '90's
> as to what is best for everyone else. Pitiful crowd!

Care to be really specific as to who actually has done that?

[chris]

OR else you could try a cat5 solution from CVH or TNT's FFRC. imho a very
good bit of wire for beer money and blisters, but make sure you follow the
instructions carefully and utilise the twisted pairs feature - else they
sound crap.
An alternative option would be Jon Resh's UBTYE coax stuff. lots of people
swear by it.



"Lionel Chapuis" <lionel{dot}chapuis{at}free{dot}fr> wrote in message
...
> Eric the Mac Guy a écrit :
> > Hi everybody, I'll admit I'm shamelessly seeking free advice from here -
> > I'm not an audiophile, just a music and movies addict, and I recently
> > upgraded my speakers. I have a very small living room so I went with
> > the Definitive ProCinema 60 set - for anyone not familiar, 4 little
> > cubes plus a center channel plus a subwoofer. Certainly not high-end
> > but not the bottom of the barrel either. The receiver, however, is
> > pretty cheap - a JVC RX-884V. 110 watts per channel.
> >
> > My question is this: do you think there will be ayn benefit to buying
> > speaker cable that is better than the standard chintzy cheap cable sold
> > at all electronics stores? Would Monster cable produce better sound on
> > this setup? Are there any OTHER types of cable that you would
recommend?
> >
>
> Let's have a look to the cheapest of the esoteric solutions :
> Multi-pairs cable (phone...).
> This solution have 2 major advantages :
> - It fits the minimum requirements of my above friends' posts.
> - It doesn't deprive you of the very long and badly argumented
> discussions around this first quality troll subject. :o)
>
> Lionel
>

[Michael Mckelvy]

"Eric the Mac Guy" > wrote in message
...
> Hi everybody, I'll admit I'm shamelessly seeking free advice from here -
> I'm not an audiophile, just a music and movies addict, and I recently
> upgraded my speakers. I have a very small living room so I went with
> the Definitive ProCinema 60 set - for anyone not familiar, 4 little
> cubes plus a center channel plus a subwoofer. Certainly not high-end
> but not the bottom of the barrel either. The receiver, however, is
> pretty cheap - a JVC RX-884V. 110 watts per channel.
>
> My question is this: do you think there will be ayn benefit to buying
> speaker cable that is better than the standard chintzy cheap cable sold
> at all electronics stores? Would Monster cable produce better sound on
> this setup? Are there any OTHER types of cable that you would recommend?
>
The short answer is that the 16 gauge wire sold at Home Depot for about
23cents per foot is as good a wire as any you can buy in terms of sound
quality.

> And finally, the speakers can accept a variety of connectors: banana
> plug, pin, spade or ring, according to the description. Any
> advantages/disadvantages to any of these?
>
No.

> Thanks in advance,
>
> Eric

[Joseph Oberlander]

Michael Mckelvy wrote:
> "Eric the Mac Guy" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>Hi everybody, I'll admit I'm shamelessly seeking free advice from here -
>>I'm not an audiophile, just a music and movies addict, and I recently
>>upgraded my speakers. I have a very small living room so I went with
>>the Definitive ProCinema 60 set - for anyone not familiar, 4 little
>>cubes plus a center channel plus a subwoofer. Certainly not high-end
>>but not the bottom of the barrel either. The receiver, however, is
>>pretty cheap - a JVC RX-884V. 110 watts per channel.
>>
>>My question is this: do you think there will be ayn benefit to buying
>>speaker cable that is better than the standard chintzy cheap cable sold
>>at all electronics stores? Would Monster cable produce better sound on
>>this setup? Are there any OTHER types of cable that you would recommend?
>>
>
> The short answer is that the 16 gauge wire sold at Home Depot for about
> 23cents per foot is as good a wire as any you can buy in terms of sound
> quality.

Of course, a spool of 12 gauge electrical wire makes 250 ft of wire
for under $25. Good for all but the heaviest loads and worst impedances.

[ShLampen]

Hey, here's a wire guy in need of some advice!! My home is wired with 10AWG
cable (made as a special by Belden for a customer). It works great but, in my
surround speakers, they use those chintzy push-and-insert connections and the
10 AWG wire (which is terminated in really nice crimped spade lugs) is so huge
and heavy it keeps pulling itself out of the speaker (only one side of the lug
fits in the hole).

QUESTION: Does anyone make an adaptor which is goes from a hefty single pin
that this speaker would actually hold onto and go to a screw terminal, so I
could screw down the lug and insert the pin in as far as the speaker would
allow. Anybody seen one? If not, this is your million-dollar idea for the
week, and I'm your first customer.

Steve Lampen
Belden Electronics Division