Soldering speaker cable extensions

[spindoctor]

I have just received my Creative Labs Gigaworks S750 7.1 speakers and found that a couple of wires are too short, namely the back ones. Hence I bought some more speaker cable of similar quality from maplin and thought I could tie them together.

Having read some material on the internet, the suggestions are that soldering is the best method to do this rather than tying.

Hence I am asking whether anyone out there can tell me what the best way to solder the cables together are. Should I tie the cables together and then solder over them? Or should I solder end to end?

I then intend to keep each of the wires apart using some duct tape to keep them apart. Hopefully they won't undergo any stresses or strains as I'm burying these joints under the carpet.

Cheers

[spindoctor]

Can I use tin or lead solder or do I have to go for silver?

[alexs2]

At the sort of price level you're dealing with(quality considered as well)ordinary solder will be just fine....silver solder is fine for high end stuff,but you really won't notice the difference with the CL speakers,and you'll save a fair few pounds.

Soldering will give a much more reliable and stable connection than tying,and a simple practical method is to braid them together first before soldering,and then cover the join with insulating tape.

Excellent speakers there I have them too. The sub can get really hot though so put some fans on it.