Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Took the plunge. Now about the speaker cable.

I just took the plunge and finally ordered the following:

M60
VP150
2 x QS8
EP500

The gentleman who took my order was very courteous and helpful. One topic we discussed that want opinions on as is about the Speaker Wire I'm using for the 6ohm QS8's. I currently have spent a lot of time running the wire under carpet, and through wire molding on the baseboards, so I'd hate to have to undo it, BUT.......One wire run is 47 feet, and the other is 58 feet. With that said, I'm using the Monster XP Navajo White 16ga flat stuff. Do I need to go 12ga? I know w/lengths that long, it is recommended, but since we're talking about the surrounds, is it as critical? Even w/them being 6ohm? The gentleman I worked w/said at Axiom said I'm fine w/the current wire since it is for surrounds; however, I don't want to short change myself if the 12ga stuff would make a difference to the Qs8's.

Congrats Darth! Many around here share you main speaker setup...but many don't have and are curious about the EP500...so share all you can when you can!

In terms of the surrounding QS8s...I can't be of much help other than to say I use 12 gauge. I suppose you could go 14 gauge. I wouldn't go any lower than that. Sure, the surrounds may not get a lot of action like the fronts do, but they do have their moments where they need a good surge of juice, and the QS8s can sure take it.

Such a need would be especially evident in multichannel audio. Not necesarily DVD-A or SACD either, but just setting your receiver to 5 channel music will ask more out your QS8s than movies.

i think if the axiom rep said it would be fine i would believe him. because he has something to lose if it hurts performance of the speakers.

58 feet of 16 gauge is a little long, but within generally recommended limits. Crutchfield suggestions

You're aided by the big subwoofer that handles the bass, even for the surrounds. Bass consumes most of the power, so your surrounds (if set to "small") don't require that much.

If you were doing it over maybe 14 gauge would be a little better just for self confidence. But I think you're probably OK as is.

I recently switched my mains from 12 feet of 16 gauge to 12 gauge and I can't tell any difference. For my surrounds I use about 30 feet of Radio Shack 14 gauge flat under carpet speaker wire.

darthkringle,

The Monster XP Navajo White 16ga is more than fine. I used the same wire for my surround and also try it with Monster 12ga orange wire and I hear no difference.

-Jerry

Please - get your speaker wire from Home Depot, not Monster Price. Home Depot has bulk rolls and they will cut to to length for you . 12ga to 18ga. at .$25 - $.30 per foot. It's all just copper.

I purchased a 500' role of 12 guage, ox free, speaker cable off Ebay. The quality seems very vary good, and the positive line has a red stripe, which makes it a little easier not to make a mistake in polarity. Prices also seemed better than what I could find locally.

In reply to:

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500' role of 12 guage

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500 feet.. so, are you gonna wire your house, your parents house, your brothers and sisters house, your in-laws, your bosses house, and all your friends? geez, thats a lot of speaker wire.

bigjohn

I also just "re-up'd" and added to my M60 fronts and VP150 center. I now have 4 QS8s and an EP500 on the way. Ya baby! Can't wait!

I have a similar wiring problem, as we are on a slab on the first floor with finished rooms all around and above. My old wiring (18ga)was under the carpet and drove a pair of Klipsch Heresy's (4ohm) on stands for the old rear surrounds.

I installed crown molding to hide the new wires (which has sure helped the WAF...) with 5 way binding posts at all the proper places in the wall. I'm using 14ga wire from HD and banana plugs from GLS Audio. I don't have the new surrounds yet, but I do have the new wiring done and have hooked the 20 year old Heresy rears. The audio clarity difference is very obvious. 18ga to 14ga, but about twice the length plus 4 plugs. I didn't expect the wiring to help that much, but the surprise was a pleasant one!

My sub placement is somewhat limited, and must be located in the back of the room. I converted RCA plugs to RG6 and routed the RG6 up, around the crown and down too... Sure hope that works out. I've been told that it should be just fine by a number of DIYs.

--Pete

Well, if you bother to rewire it, I'd go with 12 gauge stuff so you never have to worry again. 14 would probably be sufficient, but if you're going to go through all the trouble of rewiring, I'd definitely just put 12 gauge down for those distances. I believe the standard recommendation is 12 gauge for runs longer than 25 feet.