Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Which cables to go with?

I've mentioned this before - I'll do it one more time. If you are really into saving some cash - make the interconnects yourself. It's not hard at all, and you can get longer lengths A LOT cheaper this way. Go to www.markertek.com and get some Canare star-quad cabling - it's great cable for interconnects, and it's only $.40/foot. Solder any type of connector you want onto it - whatever floats your boat.

Also, they all kinds of colors - if you are into that kind of thing...

Just a suggestion... but I personally LOVE to DIY where possible without an EE degree, just because it makes my system (and everything else I own) - more "me."

Good luck!

I used 12 gauge low voltage garden lighting copper wire to hook up my QS8s (sacrilege!). I experimented with it and 12 gauge monster cable "speaker wire" on my VP150 and couldn't tell the difference. Plus, it's black and blends well with my homemade speaker stands (I used some wire guides to tack the cabling to one of the uprights). I believe that stuff was $12.98 for 50' at Lowes.

12ga Monster? All the normal Monster is actually 16-18 ga with a [censored] load of insulation, I believe.

This subject has more hype to it than Herry Potter !?? haha
JohnK said it best, "your making it too complicated"..
Chess is right on with Home Depot/Lowes etc (inexpensive).. Ravi has the Oxygen Free Copper part down (prevents corrosion)..
And I LOVE BigWill's 'Garden Lighting' !! LOL.. You rock my friend.. I can just see the high-end gear guru's pulling out their hair !! hahaha
Save your hard earned green for speakers 'n amps 'n such, not for over rated needlessly expensive Super Duper speaker wire..
As for guage, since the cheap stuff is so cheap, we all tend to go a bit on the heavy side, but there is no harm in that.. That being said, 14 seems to be the most common, with 12 being the next favorite, as some systems have some pretty heavy hitting amps, and need the extra gauge to handle the load better.. I'm sure some are running 10 awg..
No harm in going with heavier wire, it's just that it starts to become unmanageable due to the thickness factor..
Ok, I'm outta hear.. I have to go check the ol' garage for some scrap zip line, for that new 1000 watt maga amp for my center channel.. Let's see, this 18 awg lamp cord, with the cracked and peeling chocolate plastic insulation should just do the trick..

Ok, my cousin works for Liberty Cables....I haven't heard of these cables but she said they make all kinds of cables from speaker wire to digital cables and says they are good quality. What you guys think of Liberty if you have heard of it? I'm guessing its better or just as good as other name brands such as Monster, etc but cheaper if I can get it through her.

JohnK is right (even down to the link I was just about to post); you can get away with less than 12 ga. wire. (Keep in mind that you're driving a 6 ohm load with the QS8s.) But given that you've taken the time and effort to post here, I'm assuming you're like the vast majority of us and don't want to be cutting it close to save a few bucks. 100' of the Sound King 16 ga. wire is $24.50 and 100' of their 16 ga. is $35.90 at Parts Express. I like to save money as much as the next guy, but franklyb with an $11 difference over 100' of wiring, I'd err on the side of caution. Go with the 12 ga. and you can rest assured that you'll be fine.

About two years ago I received a postcard from the AL & Ed's Store telling me to bring it in and receive $50 of free merchandise - no strings attached. When I got there I saw nothing I wanted so I had them peel off 50 bucks worth of their fattest monster cable.
When I made all of the connections for my new system, this wire appeared identical in size (wire only, not insulation) to the 12 gauge garden wire I'm using with my QS8s. Thus, I reckon it is 12 gauge.
When I bought my receiver at Tweeter's and they tried to sell me every bit of wire and interconnects they could, the manager said, "If you got that from Al & Ed's then it's for car audio and has delays built into the wire." I'm sure my mouth was hanging open. Snake oil salesmen in every store.

"Delays built into the wire"?

Now that's one i've never heard before.

Chess, your admission surprises me. The Tweeterman was apparently very knowledgeable concerning the cheap copper(less than 99.9999% pure)frequently palmed off on unsuspecting car audio buyers. The electrons having to fight their way through the impurities are obviously delayed and this causes a loss of quickness in the bass and smears the treble.

As a service to you and others I'll bring your attention to the audio products available here through this English source, knowledge of which has been concealed from North American purchasers.

The insanity of it all.
I guess i had better pick up some 100.0000000000000000000000000% pure copper wire soon lest my electrons be flowing in the wrong direction.