Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions On Wall Speaker Tee Brackets wiring

What is the minimum speaker wire size to use to get the clamping system to hold the wires? I have 16 gauge and it will not hold the wire when tightened. TIA

Strip the jacket further and double back on itself.

I use 16/4 and pair opposing conductors (yielding 13/2 in star quad cable config)

Works fine with T Brackets.

4th install with On Walls coming up. Love ‘em!

Thanks Trevor! I had to utilize the doubling back method on the front channels, when i installed them in January. Unfortunately last night with the rears it still wasn't holding tight in the connectors at all.

I haven't been able to find true star quad wiring at any electrical wholesaler in Ontario, looks like it has to be internet ordered and shipped from US. Canare 4S8 Star Quad 16AWG 4-Conductor Speaker Wire is the only Star Quad I can find.

The T clamp is finicky. You need to make sure that you are in the clamp by opening it up all the way and holding the wire near the screw when tightening. If you think the wire needs to be thicker, strip a bit more than twice the clamp depth, fold it, and twist the folded wires into a tight twist. That should bulk them up nicely.

Ironically i was going to post about this yesterday and ran out of time. I took a pic of the T clamp wire bar with its divot in the centre. The divot doesn't work for wire gauge smaller than 12. I found the same issue in the past couple of days as i finally got the new surrounds off of boxes and onto the walls. I was hoping for a bit more direction with the use of the T clamps in the speaker manual. I have 14ga wire and tried the double back method that Trevor mentioned but it wasn't always successful. I found the best way was as rrlev describes and to keep the wire pushed to one side closest to one of the screws while tightening down (DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN OR THE SCREW WILL STRIP).
Worst case you can still use the binding posts on the back if something happens with the T clamp screws.

Thanks everybody. I've managed to locate a cable that Trevor recommended here in the great white north.
Provo
They say their 16/4 wire is twisted, I'm pretty sure I've used it before in my HVAC BAS installs. I'm going to contact them on Monday.
I don't feel comfortable double backing the wire permanently, as that is not a usual practice in electrical connections. Odd that it requires such a large wire, do they use the same bracket on the M80OW? When wiring the other end to the receiver/amp should I expect any problem trying to fit in two 16 gauge wires to each post?

Gotta say I really am enjoying the QS-10's over the previous tiny satellites I had before, hearing more detail in the back channels. Dark Side of the Moon SACD in 5.1 surround sound, awesome! New rears sound like the music is playing in my head.

Hooray! Pair red-black and green-white.

I use red/black as - and green/white as +

Not that it matters as long as you are consistent.

Folding back has no negative impact as far as I’ve experienced. Even up to 600v. Just more meat at contact point. Lots of guys do it at breaker terminations with #14 wire.

P.S. it is great to work with. Just stiff enough for easy terminations without stray strands in AVRs but flexible for pulling through walls and bundling in rack.