So a thought came to mind… Does it matter if the cables I buy are actually branded as speaker wire? Or can it be any solid copper (2 or 4 core) cable?
Just as some examples:
Examples are both so called “twisted/stranded” cables.
10AWG one is much thicker, could be used in car’s with between small amps and battery.
Solid core:
This type of cable uses one solid copper wire per conductor and is used for permanent infrastructure links between two wiring centres or between a wiring centre and a wall box. It has a lower attenuation and is less costly than stranded cable, however it is designed for horizontal and vertical structured cabling and it should not be flexed once installed.
House power cables.
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Would it matter if I used the former between a speaker amp and passive speakers if it isnt branded as a speaker wire?
Now this is the golden question. Depends who you ask.
It will work and sound will come out.
If the conversation goes to “sound quality” or “do cables” matter etc. Then you get plenty of different answers.
Usually solid core cables are not isolated, so they can easily pick up interference.
It’s a technical issue that can actually cause issues, depending on many other variables.
Would always look for isolated cables, in indoor setups.
Well, yeah. I mean if I got twisted, sheilded cables that I could confirm where still copper and not CCA, would it matter if I bought cables that where not branded as speaker wire?
I have used all kinds of wire in my speaker projects. Many not labeled “speaker”. I find no difference. I would not recommend solid core though as solid thick copper breaks easy. IE if you bend it one way, then bend it the opposite, good chance it will crack the solid core.
Edit: you can use, and I have, lamp cord as speaker wire. The shielding and guage is all that matters. And copper of course. CCA works fine as well for low amps, even high amps, just corrodes easier and has more resistance.
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How much does the guage matter? Could I go with too thick of a gage? Eg. if I jumped right in with 10 AWG cables for a home theater over say 14 or 16 AWG?
As for the copper, I specifically look for OFC
That’s fine. No such thing as to thick, only to thin. But for a short run, 12 or 14 guage is plenty unless your pushing like 400+ wpc.
Edit: I use 16 guage for the increased flexibility in the cord. I use less than 50wpc on all my setups though. Works fine. 16 guage is good for 20’ or less runs and 200wpc.
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there is a lot of data out there detailing the effectiveness of copper carrying a signal and how much is degrades over distance, and how much power it can handle.
edit: forgot to mention low impedance. if your speakers are 4ohm, use 14guage at least.
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