An alternative to speaker wire???

[elpico]

What about the oxygen though. We probably want some oxygen in there right? Wouldn't want the poor cable to suffocate.

 

[Old Gaucho]

If you paid big money for some fancy oxygen-free super-refined copper with solid gold connectors then you'll be able to hear the difference. If you don't have any emotional involvement with a speaker cable then you won't.

 

[elpico]

I actually owned a monster cable branded one for a short time. Cable went missing when I was out of town and the local shop only had one option to replace it. I can confirm it functioned just fine too. Oddly it too went missing some months later. Some sketchy character at the practice space must've got a look at all that copper and couldn't help himself. The ugly cables don't seem as likely to walk off.

 

[telemnemonics]

What about the oxygen though. We probably want some oxygen in there right? Wouldn't want the poor cable to suffocate.

Oxygen in speaker cable is way better than paper in oil caps for warming up the toanz

 

[Swirling Snow]

If there is oxygen in the copper then it will corrode in time and turn a nasty green brown. I know this because I got a sample of 14ga speaker and that's what happened after several years.

My speakers took 50 watts, my amp only did 60 watts, so I wanted to make sure all the power got to the speakers. Back in the '60s, most speaker wire was 22 gauge. Our stores gave away 18ga wire with every system, suggesting the skinny wire would "constrict" the sound. I was a secretary in the home office and I asked our wire supplier if he had anything bigger than 18ga, and he brought me 3 100' hanks of 14ga wire with clear insulation. It took EV a while to deliver my speakers, so the wire sat on my desk for several months.

Turns out, the guy that started Monster Cable was one of the frequent visitors to our home offices as he was then a factory rep for Ohm speakers. Hmmmm....

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR TV

It croaked. I cut the power cord for whatever reason...

 

[Maguchi]

I was in a pinch a couple of years back & hard wired a speaker to my 6G2 combo amp. I used less than a foot of tv power cord because I didn't have any speaker cable. I soldered the wire to a Switchcraft 1/4" mono plug. It works fine, but i thought that perhaps I should reconsider???

The speaker is a 12" Rola, 8 ohm.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah I did that all the time growing up and it worked fine. I'd use whatever wire, speakers, transformers, old amplifiers from radios, hi-fis and TVs, parts of old electric and electronic discards to patch together stuff that worked for my purposes. The electric wire you used is probably copper and greater in diameter to typical speaker wire, so you should be fine.

 

[THX1139]

Good thing this isn't an audio board, there would be fistfights over gauge, how much resistance per foot, CCA vs. OFC, ad nauseum LOL

Yeah, post this question on gear sloots and stand back while the fur flies.

 

[THX1139]

If you paid big money for some fancy oxygen-free super-refined copper with solid gold connectors then you'll be able to hear the difference. If you don't have any emotional involvement with a speaker cable then you won't.

Your wallet will be having the emotional involvement.

 

[W.L.Weller]

Whenever I see an old vacuum cleaner sitting on the curb with someone's trash, I clip off the power cable and that goes into my wire stash. It's recycling.

It's GREEN!

I'm reducing my carbon footprints!

Came here to post the same thing, then remembered I've already expressed my fondness for that particular technique.

The next time you see a vacuum cleaner on the curb on trash day, cut off the cord and you'll be good on regular speaker cable for a while.

 

[Swirling Snow]

There is an audiophile with a large following that recommends old vacuum cleaner cords for speaker wire. He claims the wire is broken in.

 

[W.L.Weller]

There is an audiophile with a large following that recommends old vacuum cleaner cords for speaker wire. He claims the wire is broken in.

I'll cut them a phenomenal deal, only $50/ft.

"Broken in" I love it, as if the electrons of the copper atoms of a vacuum cleaner cord have been training in the off season.

 

[jimbo735]

A band that I was in in the late 80,s the singer own the PA system would run 50 feet of 18 gauge brown lamp cord stage right a 50 ft stage left to bass bins mid speakers and horns on top off of 2 peavey cs800,s cleanest clearest vocals I've ever heard.
It works great for amps!

 

[trev333]

ah, mannn.. vacuum cleaner cords only know how to suck.....

 

[GPoint]

Any kind of wire is ok for guitar loudspeaker connection. Even shielded . But I can suggest to twist wire(s) and to use a ferrite clip at the amp end of the wire to reduce EMI/RFI noise. Wire resistance is not important at all, even more - it is reducing the damping factor (minimally but like serial connection of loudspeakers) what is GOOD for electric guitar use, especially for the lead tones !