Speaker wire recommendation needed

[raghupb]

can we mix 2 types or wiring? I am planning to use amazon basic 12awg for ear level speaker and polycab 2mm double core electric wire for all overhead wiring.

Yes. No harm done.
It is all copper anyways

You will find other esoteric philosophies on this but scientifically speaking, speaker wires are also electrical wires the same way as finolex / polycab wires are.
Speaker wires are however paired for convenience while the latter aren't.
And yes, your spare polycab wires will work.
If you do want an over-engineered solution (and i mean it in a good way), get a fresh set of thick 2.5mm (or 4mm) wires unless you know your spare wires are the same spec or better

Finolex/Polycab have 2 core and 4 core cables in this gauge (2.5 sqmm)
If doing in-wall wiring, 4 core may not be a bad idea (redundancy)
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Michelangalo]

2.5 sq mm is approx 13AWG.
I have been using Finolex in 3 rigs.
No complaint

Cheers,
Raghu

Finolex/Polycab have 2 core and 4 core cables in this gauge (2.5 sqmm)
If doing in-wall wiring, 4 core may not be a bad idea (redundancy)
Cheers,
Raghu

Is this what you are talking about?

FINOLEX FLAME RETARDANT PVC INSULATED INDUSTRIAL CABLES 1100 V AS PER IS 694/1990 - Black - 2.5 sq. mm -- 90 M COIL

Finolex Flame Retardant PVC Insulated Industrial Cables 1100 V as per IS 694/1990 - Black - 2.5 sq. mm -- 90 M COIL

estore.finolex.com

How to know the cores?

I am not looking for in-wall wire, what core would you recommend?
Distance is approx 32 feet for the rears.
Where did you buy Finolex from?

 

[raghupb]

Link is not opening for me. But its a basic lamp cord.
2 core will be 2 wire individually sheathed and housed in outer sheath.
If you buy single core reel (usually 90m), you'll have to make the wire by lightly braiding them.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[RRR]

Which is preferable...Finolex or Polycab 2.5sqmm to make an extension strip for 15amp socket.

 

[raghupb]

Which is preferable...Finolex or Polycab 2.5sqmm to make an extension strip for 15amp socket.

2.5 sqmm, 3 core cable. Brand wise both are good, so is Havells
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[spirovious]

can we mix 2 types or wiring? I am planning to use amazon basic 12awg for ear level speaker and polycab 2mm double core electric wire for all overhead wiring.

This is not considered seriously but having many speaker cables with me, I can say that matching of all cables can give seamless effect.I have 14 awg Taiwan OFC wires for surrounds and whenever l test different fronts cables, sometimes fine details of surrounds are missed.This may not be a serious issue if once you use Audyssesy or other room correction method.

 

[RRR]

2.5 sqmm, 3 core cable. Brand wise both are good, so is Havells
Cheers,
Raghu

Thanks Raghu

 

[drkrack]

I use the Radio Shack Auvio 12 awg. Very good stuff.

From where did you source it?
I stumbled upon this post when I was deciding between 14awg vs 12awg, picked up 12awg.
From this article its clear that, The quality control on cheaper wires in not upto the mark.

 

[prem]

EBay

 

[spirovious]

From where did you source it?

Auvio ® 2780464 25' 15 Gauge Round Pro Premium Speaker Cable Wire - New | eBay

Auvio ®2780464. 25 foot roll.15 Gauge Round Pro Premium Speaker Cable Wire. 99.95% Oxygen Free. New, factory sealed.

www.ebay.com

similar one

 

[Michelangalo]

Local shop has Polycab 2.5 sqmm for 25 per meter. They also have 4sqmm but it's so thick and afraid it won't fit in the speakers directly.
My requirement is of 32 *4. 4 wires for two rear speakers. Shall I go for Polycab?

 

[raghupb]

Local shop has Polycab 2.5 sqmm for 25 per meter. They also have 4sqmm but it's so thick and afraid it won't fit in the speakers directly.
My requirement is of 32 *4. 4 wires for two rear speakers. Shall I go for Polycab?

Just make sure that the local store guy can guarantee genuineness.
These are usually sold in 90m rolls. Lots of fakes around.

You may do a trial with your front speakers if you wish.
8 meter (2x4) should do the trick for fronts. INR 200 for expt.
4 sqmm will be a challenge if doing bare wire.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[prem]

Auvio ® 2780464 25' 15 Gauge Round Pro Premium Speaker Cable Wire - New | eBay

Auvio ®2780464. 25 foot roll.15 Gauge Round Pro Premium Speaker Cable Wire. 99.95% Oxygen Free. New, factory sealed.

www.ebay.com

similar one

This is completely different. The one I have comes in 12 awg and 16 awg. It’s transparent outer. All Auvio cables are not the same.

 

[Prodigy]

It’s a rule of thumb in that you want the wires to roughly be the same length.
This is done to ensure that resistive losses remain approx equal so that one speaker doesn’t sound louder than the other.

It’s ok to have say 5 meters for L and 6 for R.
What you don’t want is say 1 meter for L and 25 m for R.

Having said that , any differences on account of unequal cable lengths will be very subtle and can always be corrected through the gain control on your AVR.
So if someone has already wired with unequal lengths and put the cables in a conduit, it would not be worthwhile to re-wire but for a fresh setup, you might as well keep ém equal

And no for the latter, you can keep your cable lengths as short as you want

I did start my wire project. Will complete it tomorrow and try it out and post some pics.

 

[deserteagle]

Local shop has Polycab 2.5 sqmm for 25 per meter. They also have 4sqmm but it's so thick and afraid it won't fit in the speakers directly.
My requirement is of 32 *4. 4 wires for two rear speakers. Shall I go for Polycab?

There is lot of fake cables in market for all good brands like Finolex, polycab. You can directly order from polycab or Havells website.

 

[Prodigy]

There is lot of fake cables in market for all good brands like Finolex, polycab. You can directly order from polycab or Havells website.

Just another doubt here. Does an expensive Banana connector or spade make difference over the normal ones that’s available on Amazon ??

 

[superczar]

Just another doubt here. Does an expensive Banana connector or spade make difference over the normal ones that’s available on Amazon ??

Most end users do not need banana connectors and are better served binding the wire directly to the speaker post.
IMO, skip it unless you have a need to swap speakers/ equipment often.

 

[Prodigy]

Most end users do not need banana connectors and are better served binding the wire directly to the speaker post.
IMO, skip it unless you have a need to swap speakers/ equipment often.

Got it! I don’t have to swap speakers at all. So I think I’ll skip the banana plug part.
some of them are very expensive.

 

[raghupb]

Got it! I don’t have to swap speakers at all. So I think I’ll skip the banana plug part.
some of them are very expensive.

Lugs, spades, plugs are useful for swapping or when the wire is too thick for bare wire connections.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[spirovious]

Interesting comparison -

When 12 Gauge Wire is Not 12 Gauge

Introduction Why test 12 gauge (AWG) wire? 12 AWG speaker wire is a “safe bet” from performance point of view because anything thinner may interact with the low impedance of your speakers and cause the frequency response to vary beyond threshold of hearing (-0.5 dB). That change can “color”...

www.audiosciencereview.com