Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Speaker Cable Advice Needed Please

Hello All - I'd be happy to buy Axiom's own speaker cable product except for one issue. I need 1/4" spades at each end, and the Axiom's minimum length of that type is 18 feet. I need just 3 meters each for L, R, and C. While no expert, I'm quite sure it's a poor choice to use a cable twice the length needed. Some good alternatives appear to be Blue Jeans and Better Cables. Any experience with these products (particularly spade terminated versions)? Thanks.

While the extra ft. shouldn't have any adverse effect on sound there is no sense in paying for twice the length of what you need, I would get a few extra feet for wiggle room. Blue Jeans has excellent speaker wire as well as Monoprice.

I just learned that the 1/4 to 1/4 spade version is in fact sold in the 12' length, but it doesn't show online because it's out of stock. Suppose I'll just have to check back periodically. Still seems that BJC's 10 gauge product should be at least equal in performance and is lower priced.

I wouldn't stress on the performance aspect. You certainly don't need 10 gauge for 12 feet... even 14 would be just fine for that, probably even 16. It's all about what you're comfortable with, how you want it to look, and what kind of connectors you want to use.

10 gauge would be total overkill for the length... unless of course you want to be able to pull it out of the wall and use it as a weapon to scare off would-be intruders. In that case, it's a perfect application. Seriously, 14 or 16 would be fine with that short a run IMHO.

Jason

Whoa ... wouldn't 10 gauge be overkill for any application?

I would think so.

I guess that would depend on how long you were trying to run it. For most home apps, 10 gauge is over kill.

Extra length is fine and don't let some big box store tell you that they have to be the same length on each speaker either. Electricity travels at nearly the speed of light.

Check out your local Home Depot or equivalent for bulk speaker wire pricing. Then check out Monoprice's 12 guage. I have used both. Both will sound identical but the Monoprice is wayyy easier to work with as the home Depot stuff is annoyingly stiff and kind of ugly, if that matters. BlueJeans and Axiom both get great comments here as well for it's workability.

Don't worry about built in spade clips, you can buy them at your local Radio Shack for pennies a piece and crimp them on with just a pair of pliers. A proper crimper does a cleaner job, but as long as it is good and tight, you are absolutely fine. Throw some shrink wrap over it if you like to keep i t clean looking.

Murph speaks the truth.

I'm down to Axiom and BJC. Seems that oxygen free copper(OFC)in Axiom's product may account for the difference in price. Axiom's team must believe it has some value (corrosion resistance?). I trust them. For science/engineer types out there, what say you?

I'm virtually certain that OFC is used in Blue Jeans cables as well.

I'm pretty sure Blue Jeans is OFC as well and you're correct, it is to help it not oxidize.

Doing a quick scan of the thinking around OFC reveals that besides the corrosion issue (wonder how long it takes non-OFC speaker wire in a dry home to turn green?!), OFC's greater purity -- lacks iron for instance -- should result in less resistance. I don't know how much any of this makes a difference. I do trust that Axiom wouldn't market snake oil!

I have noted Axiom's speaker wire is one of the most pliable cord I have ever seen, certainly no snake oil here. I have extra little bits that I have set up for use with my multimeter and as jumper wires for testing circuits at work.

I suspect you're overthinking this.

True

as long as you're having fun. We've all been there.

Blu, no copper wire of the sort used in audio is entirely oxygen free. A minute quantity of oxygen is added in the manufacturing process to chemically bind with impurities and improve the properties of the wire. All the copper wire used in audio applications is better than 99.9% pure. Certain copper used in high temperature hydrogen-rich operating conditions has no oxygen added since it would combine with the hydrogen to form water in a rather undesirable explosive manner, destroying the connection.

Oxygen and moisture in the air, not bound up in the wire, can lead to corrosion. The "oxygen-free" language is fairly standard in today's audio terminology and can be disregarded when buying.

Another place to check out for budget high quality cable is Parts Express. I'll put a link to their speaker cable listing right here. The Dayton cable sounds like it's highly recommended and the price for a 6 ft pair of 14 gauge spaded cable is less than $35, $50 for 10 ft. The RCA cable looks great too. I'm giving this cable a buy myself soon to check out.