Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Another interesting read on speaker wire

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I am looking at some Belden 5000 speaker cables, any opinions? If I buy it as bulk, is it difficult to get it into banana plugs DIY without any advanced tools?

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I just did exactly what you were describing and got my cable and connectors from Blue Jeans Cable. I decided to use the Canare 4S11 cable because I'm not planning to use the cables in-wall and because they are nice and thick and round which makes for an impressive looking cable. I also picked up some of the Locking Banana Plugs to terminate the wires. The plugs are of very nice quality and gold plated. Not like the garbage you can pick up at HD. I ran to my local Fry's to pick up some sleeving and heatshrink tubing. A couple hours later, this is what I came up with.





Since the Canare 4S11 cable has 4 conductors, and because I'm not a believer in bi-wiring, I opted to twist the two reds together and the two whites together to make for a nicer appearance once the heatshrink tubing was put on. The only tools I used were a utility knife, wire cutters, scissors, a small screwdriver, and a heat gun. I snagged the heat gun from my wife's craft closet (shhh... ) All told, I think these three cables cost me about $21 for the 5 foot cables and $28 for the 10 foot cable. A good value for 12 AWG cables with quality connectors and great eye appeal.

I'm new to this hobby, but diving in headfirst. I'm loving it so far and I haven't even ordered my speakers yet!! (Waiting for WAF on the speaker finish) Can someone tell DHL to hurry up with those samples?

Ken.