my speaker wire is (almost) too short

[whitak24]

ok, call me a dumba$$.

i knew i needed around 80 feet of speaker wire, so i bought 3 rolls of 30' OF 16-ga wire (i found it cheap in the 30' rolls vs. 50' or 100').

anyway, i neglected to think about what my longest run of wire would be. turns out i can do it with a 30' length, but an extra 5' would allow me to hide the wires along the walls better rather than cutting off the corners, etc.

so my question is: will i be screwing up my sound quality, etc if i attach another length of wire with the little "wire connector" things? (i don't know the actual name -- they're orange and you stick the wire in them).

[ufcrusher]

If you use wire connectors you are exposing the wire to the air under the connector which will lead to oxidation of the wire. This will impede your signal and lead to degraded sound quality.

That said, I have a couple of my longer wires connected because I was being a cheap skate. If you trim both ends so that only about a 1/2" or less is showing on both wiring and make sure the connection is tight, it should limit the amount of oxidation.

The only other thing to consider is the length of your wires. If you are running over 25' you should be using a 14 or 12 ga wire. This is because the amount of impedeance in the line becomes so great as to be noticeable. If you look on Monster wire spools it actually gives you the maximum recommended length per application for that ga.

That said, I routinely flout these rules and use 16 ga wire for my rears since I dont feel like paying what I do for my fronts and center in 40 foot runs.

If you are trying to save some money, you can go with some in wall speaker wire. It normally goes for $0.43/ft for a 14 ga and if you pull off the moulding at the bottom of your walls there should be a gap that is large enough for you to slip in both wires. It gives you the better quality without the major cost.

[whitak24]

Originally posted by ufcrusher
If you use wire connectors you are exposing the wire to the air under the connector which will lead to oxidation of the wire. This will impede your signal and lead to degraded sound quality.

That said, I have a couple of my longer wires connected because I was being a cheap skate. If you trim both ends so that only about a 1/2" or less is showing on both wiring and make sure the connection is tight, it should limit the amount of oxidation.

The only other thing to consider is the length of your wires. If you are running over 25' you should be using a 14 or 12 ga wire. This is because the amount of impedeance in the line becomes so great as to be noticeable. If you look on Monster wire spools it actually gives you the maximum recommended length per application for that ga.

That said, I routinely flout these rules and use 16 ga wire for my rears since I dont feel like paying what I do for my fronts and center in 40 foot runs.

If you are trying to save some money, you can go with some in wall speaker wire. It normally goes for $0.43/ft for a 14 ga and if you pull off the moulding at the bottom of your walls there should be a gap that is large enough for you to slip in both wires. It gives you the better quality without the major cost.
wow, thanks for the info crusher

i think i'll just go ahead and put the wire together with some connectors. it may not be ideal but it will at least get me by for now. eventually, once my bank account recovers from all the stuff i've bought so far, i can buy some long 12 ga wires and redo it.

which brings up another question: is it bad for the system if i ran 12 ga wires to the rear surround speakers but left the front speakers on 16 ga?

[ufcrusher]

Theoretically in the most ideal world you would have equal lengths of wire for both of your rears and be using all the same guage wire.

Truthfully its not going to do your system any harm, but why would you want to restrict the flow to your front and center? Those are the speakers which get the most information from the receiver, so I normally say, get the best for you center and front speakers, then skimp (if you have to) on your rears.

For example, on my system

On the bedroom theater, I am running 10 ga wire to my fronts and center and 16 ga to my rears (for the time being that is).

On the main theater, its in wall 12 to the rears, with 1o ga to the center and fronts.

On the third system, its flat 12 all around.

So, I would recommend getting a large ga for your center and fronts, and then as close to it as you can for the rears.

[i6s1]

I disagree. If the run lengths are shorter, you can use smaller wire, and keep the same inductance and resistance characteristics.

[hapoo]

if oxidation is your problem, twist them together, and then dip them in wax from a candle :)