help with speaker cable

gordy80

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hi, I was wondering if someone can help me, I have a jvc mini system and the speaker cable thats attached is only about a meter long and where i want the speakers to go I will need 3m on each speaker. I was thinking of buying some cable and soldering and heatshrinking the joins, The cable that is there is 22awg cable but cant find that anywhere, just wondering if any gauge cable would be ok?
 
Any gauge will do, the thicker the better of course. Can you replace the whole thing? Different thickness etc might not look quite right.. You can get 2.5mm copper cable off eBay relatively cheaply.
 
Any gauge will do, the thicker the better of course. Can you replace the whole thing? Different thickness etc might not look quite right.. You can get 2.5mm copper cable off eBay relatively cheaply.


no had a look as i thought about replacing the whole lot, but the back of the speaker is sealed, thats great will go and have a look on ebaym not to bothered about the looks as cable will b hidden. am i right in thinkin the lower the number the thinker the cable?
 
The Common Wire Sizes are -

EU -
1.5mm²
2.5mm²

USA AWG Wire Gauge -
16ga (1.31mm²)
14ga (2.08mm²)

Though in your case, you might be able to go as low as 1.0mm² or 18ga (0.823mm²)

Here is what I would do in your situation, especially if you are not willing to take the speakers apart.

Get a terminal block like this -

25A 3 Positions Screw Terminal Strip Barrier Block

This is a THREE position, in your case, the middle connection would go unused. The gap of the middle unused screw connector separates the speaker wires and makes it much less likely for one wire to short out the other.

First attach the Barrier Strip to the back of the speaker. Then permanently connect the wires coming out of the speaker to the two outside connectors on the Barrier Strip. (Middle connection unused)

One of the wires should be marked, perhaps with a ridge or a stripe, be sure to locate the marked wire in the same position on both speakers. With a magic marker or a dab of paint or a paper label, marked the terminal strip position on both speakers that is attached to the marked wire.

Now, notice that the terminal screws are in pairs. You can attach external speaker wire to the other screw of the match pair of screws. You can use the marked wire as either Plus or Minus, as long as you do so consistently on both speakers. That is, the marked wire is ALWAYS Plus or it is ALWAYS Minus on both speakers.

That allows you to use any external wire you want with the speakers.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Last edited:
The Common Wire Sizes are -

EU -
1.5mm²
2.5mm²

USA AWG Wire Gauge -
16ga (1.31mm²)
14ga (2.08mm²)

Though in your case, you might be able to go as low as 1.0mm² or 18ga (0.823mm²)

Here is what I would do in your situation, especially if you are not willing to take the speakers apart.

Get a terminal block like this -

25A 3 Positions Screw Terminal Strip Barrier Block

This is a THREE position, in your case, the middle connection would go unused. The gap of the middle unused screw connector separates the speaker wires and makes it much less likely for one wire to short out the other.

First attach the Barrier Strip to the back of the speaker. Then permanently connect the wires coming out of the speaker to the two outside connectors on the Barrier Strip. (Middle connection unused)

One of the wires should be marked, perhaps with a ridge or a stripe, be sure to locate the marked wire in the same position on both speakers. With a magic marker or a dab of paint or a paper label, marked the terminal strip position on both speakers that is attached to the marked wire.

Now, notice that the terminal screws are in pairs. You can attach external speaker wire to the other screw of the match pair of screws. You can use the marked wire as either Plus or Minus, as long as you do so consistently on both speakers. That is, the marked wire is ALWAYS Plus or it is ALWAYS Minus on both speakers.

That allows you to use any external wire you want with the speakers.

Steve/bluewizard


thank u very much for the reply, that sounds a good way as if ever it needed longer it would make it easier, think i will try and get hold of a couple of those connector blocks .

Thanks

Gordon
 
They are called Barrier Strips or Barrier Terminal Blocks. The barrier aspect refers to a raised partition between each screw to prevent it from being shorted to the screw next to it.

These are actually very common, as well as getting them from Home or Building supply and Hardware stores, likely Radio Shack will have them.

Steve/bluewizard
 
They are called Barrier Strips or Barrier Terminal Blocks. The barrier aspect refers to a raised partition between each screw to prevent it from being shorted to the screw next to it.

These are actually very common, as well as getting them from Home or Building supply and Hardware stores, likely Radio Shack will have them.

Steve/bluewizard


thanks, does it matter what amp the block is?, i have seen 15 and 25
 
No, the current output of a 100w Stereo amp is about 4 amps to 8 ohms and about 5 amps to 4 ohms. So, any barrier strip will work just fine.

Steve/bluewizard
 

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