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Re: Which cables??
#111005 09/18/05 03:08 PM
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axiomite
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Note that Home Depot has two kinds of speaker wire in each gauge -- the stuff with the clear insulation on each wire, and an "in wall" version with thinner insulation on each wire and a coloured jacket covering the wires. I think the jacket is green for 12 gauge and yellow for 14 gauge. The in-wall stuff seems to be both cheaper and better looking IMO...

Anyways, take a look at both. You might prefer the look of the clear insulation...


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Re: Which cables??
#111006 09/18/05 04:52 PM
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Oh yeah, don't get fooled by the thickness of the out of wall Home Depot 14 gauge (clear). It's all plastic, and it's a pain to deal with.


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Re: Which cables??
#111007 09/18/05 04:59 PM
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axiomite
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In reply to:

Oh yeah, don't get fooled by the thickness of the out of wall Home Depot 14 gauge (clear). It's all plastic, and it's a pain to deal with.




I wonder if HD and Lowes both sell the same out-of-wall 14 ga wire? I got mine at Lowes and find it fairly easy to deal with.


Rick
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Re: Which cables??
#111008 09/18/05 05:05 PM
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Oh, you'd know if you got this stuff. The insulation is thicker than the cable, so the total cable diameter is 3x the size of the diameter of the wire alone. When I saw the spool, I went, "Ooh, thick cable!" but when I got it home I went, "Arg, how am I supposed to strip this crap!"


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Re: Which cables??
#111009 09/18/05 05:59 PM
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Beware of the AR Pro wire. I have it (AR PRO 12ga.) in my bedroom system for the surrounds. I bought it (about 5 yrs ago) off the reel at either Lowes or Home Depot (Home Depot most likely).

It has turned dark green and there is some sort of sticky substance imbeded within the strands inside the jacket. It is running under the carpet so I'm SOL unless I pull up the carpet or run new wire through the attic to replace it. I still get sound to the surround speakers but I'm really bummed about the wire.

The lettering on the jacket reads: "Acoustic Research Pro Series oxygen free speaker cable".



I live the life I love and I love the life I live.
Re: Which cables??
#111010 09/18/05 11:53 PM
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axiomite
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So far all the corrosion problems I have heard about with Home Depot speaker wire seem to have involved the clear thick insulation (ie out of wall), not the thin black insulation plus jacket (in wall).

Does this match what you guys are seeing ?


M60ti, VP180, QS8, M2ti, EP500, PC-Plus 20-39
M5HP, M40ti, Sierra-1
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Re: Which cables??
#111011 09/19/05 12:31 AM
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Yes. This crap was clear when I bought it. Now it is green because of the oxidized wire inside. It has a very thick and heavy plastic insulation and is somewhat squarish.


I live the life I love and I love the life I live.
Re: Which cables??
#111012 09/19/05 05:13 AM
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Mike, copper oxides are actually dark red to dark brown(e.g. an old penny). The green stuff apparently is a result of the polyvinyl chloride in the jacket breaking down and releasing chlorine gas, which reacted with the copper to form copper chlorides, which are green. Okay, so regardless of the chemistry involved it may still look crummy, but it shouldn't appreciably affect power transmission if you keep the stripped ends clean where they make contact with the terminals.


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: Which cables??
#111013 09/19/05 02:25 PM
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John,
Thanks for the chemistry clarification but somehow I still don't feel any better about this crap wire . There is no cleaning this stuff. It is gummy and is imbedded throughout the strands and there is lots of it. It runs the entire length of the cable so if I trim and strip the ends, it is still there. Curiously, the signal still gets through to the surround speakers.


I live the life I love and I love the life I live.
Re: Which cables??
#111014 10/04/05 04:54 PM
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I know this is too late, but I've had good success with PartsExpress' SoundKing cable. Look here.




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