Tieing Speaker Wire Together...

[what2097]

I recently bought some QED speaker cable for the rears of my Canton 5.1 set-up.
However, the wires came up about 1m short for each speaker. I then found some old (probably cheaper) speaker cable, and tied it to the QED wire, and connected it to the speakers.
How bad is this?

 

[Dave]

It's not ideal to be honest.

If you have a soldering iron then solder the join, that would be much better.

 

[what2097]

Thanks for the reply.

How does the quality suffer? (And what's the reasoning/science behind it?)

 

[jackal]

I have joined two sections of Chord Carnival Silver Plus in order to move the rear back surround speakers in my system and I did it in the following way. I used Lindy BFA plugs at the end of the existing cable (crimped and added Van den Huls the solution) and then added a preterminated pair of the same cable this time with banana plugs. the combination of banana (male) and BFA (female) makes a very good connection and I have not noticed any deterioration in sound quality whatsover.

 

[lazymatt]

I would imagine the quality is now reduced to that of the older, cheaper cable you have tacked onto the end. Certainly you won't be getting the full benefit of the new, better cable.

I would get a couple of meters of matching cable and connect it properly to extend the run.

 

[Dave]

Thanks for the reply.

How does the quality suffer? (And what's the reasoning/science behind it?)

The quality suffers because of a few different factors.

When joining cable it's imperative to try and keep the resistance to an absolute minimum and twisting them together may increase the resistance.

This would lead to a harder path for the signal to follow so can result in a poorer sound quality. Soldering it will keep the resistance to a minimum and also stop the strands oxidising which again, increases resistance.

I'm a bit of a sceptic to be honest when it comes to expensive cables but when joining expensive or cheap cable it's always good to bear in mind that a crappy join can cause you problems.

As I said soldering is the best way but Jakal's method would also work well. Make sure the connections are clean and tight and it should be fine.

 

[hornydragon]

For gods sake (and your amps) make sure the bare wire doesnt touch in the join ie + and - never meet!

 

[Dave]

For gods sake (and your amps) make sure the bare wire doesnt touch in the join ie + and - never meet!

Indeed, insulation tape is your friend. Not to mention the fact that there ain't many things you can't fix with a good bit of insulation tape.

 

[Dom996]

Also bare in mind that many modern cables perform the way they do by not being 'fat', but by the quality of insulation.

Joining and covering with electrical tape will probably not have the same effect.

 

[dingwall]

"Bare" in mind is the right way of thinking...if you didn't strip the insulation off a cable, you wouldn't get any sound out of your speakers...

 

[jackal]

To the OP, just try the method I used, you won't be disappointed I promise.

 

[Nimby]

Some argue that ordinary soldering isn't a suitable method for joining cables.
Silver solder or whatever is best. Whatever.

I use as cheap screw terminal block of sufficient size to allow both bare ends to go through both sides from the same side when twisted together. Then screw both screws down tight with a decent screwdriver. Then wrap the screw block in insulation tape.

Think about it... do you solder your speaker cables to your speaker terminals? Nope. You screw then down. Unless you play about with Naim plugs which only suit certain speakers anyway.

I wish you lot would stop talking about bare bears.

The expression is bear in mind or bearing in mind!

Bear is an old fashioned word meaning to carry!

Bare means what you do in the privacy of your own home while playing with your speaker cables.

 

[dingwall]

Nimby your uptake appears to have slowed somewhat - "bare", "strip"? Get it? Oh dear

People do usually like the option of having their speaker cable detachable from the speakers, and of not having a screw block half-way along it! A bit of solder and heat shrink, job done nicely. A good electrician will have the bits and do a super job in 5 minutes for a few quid. That's what I did, no loss of sound quality whatsoever and nothing abnormal - how do you think the speaker terminals are linked to the drivers?

 

[Nimby]

Nimby your uptake appears to have slowed somewhat - "bare", "strip"? Get it? Oh dear

People do usually like the option of having their speaker cable detachable from the speakers, and of not having a screw block half-way along it! A bit of solder and heat shrink, job done nicely. A good electrician will have the bits and do a super job in 5 minutes for a few quid. That's what I did, no loss of sound quality whatsoever and nothing abnormal - how do you think the speaker terminals are linked to the drivers?

The subtlety of your semi-humorous play on words did not pass me by completely unnoticed. And don't call me; "dear"!

The thought of actually paying someone to solder my speaker cables makes me want to run screaming (and bare) through the snow.
To fetch and cuddle one of my many soldering irons to console myself that others are not so fortunate.

 

[HiFiRuss71]

I can't help thinking, that as long as it is electrically safe, soldering or screw block connectors are both acceptable. The OP's only talking about rear speakers after all.

Please bear in mind Nimby, that the thought of you baring yourself in the snow, is not one I needed just before lunch.

Russell

 

[jackal]

Bear in mind though Mr Pinky Nimby that cable block would not be suitable for thicker wires (such as mine which has a central insulation core). Not too expensive to use the proper plugs).

 

[Nimby]

Cable blocks come in all sizes. I have some with (probably) 3/16" holes.

Anything larger and you're no longer in serious speaker cable country.

(Unnecessary depletion of dwindling copper resources?)