Question Subwoofer cable help

[Jake]

Can I use speaker cable to run a decent subwoofer?

I've read up that subwoofer cable makes a big difference in quality and I'm worried speaker cable is going to sound even worse.

I've run speaker cable in the walls and through the floors to my AV Rack on the other side of the house.

I've been a bit of an idiot and completely forgot the subwoofer cable is different to the normal speaker cables and it's going to be a lot of hard work to run a new one. Also it will have to be at least 15m so not sure if you can even get them that long.

QED QX16/2 LSZH 2 Core Speaker Cable 100m Box - By Brand - AudioVisual Online - Home Cinema and Hifi Specialists this is the speaker cable I have running to where the sub was meant to go.

Any advice would be highly appreciated.

 

[Dolus]

A subwoofer cable is a line level shielded cable to stop interference. There is no reason why you cannot connect phono plugs to the speaker cable and try it, but I suspect the cable will be too fat to fit the phono plug.

Some subwoofers have high level inputs to connect to the receivers speaker terminals with speaker cable, I assume yours does not.

 

[noiseboy72]

As it's a low level, unbalanced signal, anything more than a few meters can cause problems with buzz and hum. You can also get ground loops due to the distance between the AVR and the sub just to complicate things. Speaker cable will be really bad for this.

If you have a spare cat 5 run, you could use a pair of baluns to give audio over cat 5. 100m CAT5/6 Stereo Audio Extender - Phono - from LINDY UK

These work well and cure a lot of problems in terms of hums and buzzes, as they turn the signal into balanced, low impedance, which can travel miles without degrading. They are totally passive, so no delay or power required.

Another thought would be to find a sub with an amp you can remove and remote this in the amp rack, running speaker level to your now passive sub!

 

[Jake]

A subwoofer cable is a line level shielded cable to stop interference. There is no reason why you cannot connect phono plugs to the speaker cable and try it, but I suspect the cable will be too fat to fit the phono plug.

Some subwoofers have high level inputs to connect to the receivers speaker terminals with speaker cable, I assume yours does not.

I haven't actually got said subwoofer yet but I was basing it on my sub I had originally.

 

[Jake]

As it's a low level, unbalanced signal, anything more than a few meters can cause problems with buzz and hum. You can also get ground loops due to the distance between the AVR and the sub just to complicate things. Speaker cable will be really bad for this.

If you have a spare cat 5 run, you could use a pair of baluns to give audio over cat 5. 100m CAT5/6 Stereo Audio Extender - Phono - from LINDY UK

These work well and cure a lot of problems in terms of hums and buzzes, as they turn the signal into balanced, low impedance, which can travel miles without degrading. They are totally passive, so no delay or power required.

Another thought would be to find a sub with an amp you can remove and remote this in the amp rack, running speaker level to your now passive sub!

The thought of modifying a new subwoofer worries me tbh. I like the idea of running the cat5/6 , I currently have cat6 run from the av rack to the tv for Internet services.

Unfortunately my 15m hdmi lead broke and I had to use the cat 6 to send the hdmi signal instead.

But this will mean ripping up new carpets and floor boards to run the new cat 6 cables ( best wait till the mrs is out)

 

[Jake]

As it's a low level, unbalanced signal, anything more than a few meters can cause problems with buzz and hum. You can also get ground loops due to the distance between the AVR and the sub just to complicate things. Speaker cable will be really bad for this.

If you have a spare cat 5 run, you could use a pair of baluns to give audio over cat 5. 100m CAT5/6 Stereo Audio Extender - Phono - from LINDY UK

These work well and cure a lot of problems in terms of hums and buzzes, as they turn the signal into balanced, low impedance, which can travel miles without degrading. They are totally passive, so no delay or power required.

Another thought would be to find a sub with an amp you can remove and remote this in the amp rack, running speaker level to your now passive sub!

Would the baluns plug straight into the back of the sub? And would these work with any sub?

 

[noiseboy72]

Yes, they will and they should work with any sub. You do get a slight insertion loss, so you will need to re-calibrate your sub level.

 

[shotokan101]

....though you do need to be aware that you may get interference due to the lack of shielding....

 

[noiseboy72]

It's a low level signal, but it is balanced, so better than an unbalanced signal and more immune to hum loops.

@shotokan101 , I think you tried this with untwisted speaker cable? That won't work as well as cat5e, which is twisted and can also be shielded.

 

[Member 518284]

or you could do it properly

JL Audio JLink TRX Wireless Kit | Ideal AV Home Cinema

Allan

 

[shotokan101]

It's a low level signal, but it is balanced, so better than an unbalanced signal and more immune to hum loops.

@shotokan101 , I think you tried this with untwisted speaker cable? That won't work as well as cat5e, which is twisted and can also be shielded.

...yes but the OP is just using QED speaker cable - basic thick twin core so not twisted either or CAT "anything"