RCA cables/speaker wire?

[aldive]

Do the high price "fancy" RCA cables make a noticable difference in sound? Or only in test data?

Also what size speaker wire should be used in an installation? Does different brands make any difference?

Thanks....

 

[nosaj122081]

Nope, most wires/cable are snake oil... Any decently shielded set of RCA's will do the job just fine. I personally can't here a difference between standard or twisted pair wires. I use Radio Shack's Gold series, cheap, shielded, and do the job more than adequate.

Speaker wire=lamp cord=whatever wire I have...
The gauge depends on how much power you're making, I use spare 10 gauge (overkill) power cable for my subs and 14 gauge for my components. Expensive speaker wire is a big waste, it makes no difference. Almost as bad as expensive power cable.

 

[TarHeel085]

i dont know about the RCA cables i has a friend get them wihile i was installing everything. just make sure you get like 18 ft at least. i used 12 gauge RF speaker wire and have in upwards of 500 watts going to the sub. no porblems with it.

 

[beavis195]

Originally posted by nosaj122081
Speaker wire=lamp cord=whatever wire I have...
Expensive speaker wire is a big waste, it makes no difference. Almost as bad as expensive power cable.

You're right there. I thought there'd be a difference between speaker wire and the primary wire I used before. The only thing the speaker wire did was make it easier to wire. That's it. No difference in sound quality.

 

[Kontrol-Trak]

Quality cables do make a difference in sound, but not usually worth the cost unless you are getting sponsored. They are alot of $$$

 

[expo5.0]

they do make a difference, but you can get away with cheap stuff in most cases. you need to run thick wire to subs if you are getting into the 1,000s or if you want to run a couple of amps off of one lead from the battery. but if you are just hooking up some door speakers with a good, but not extraordinary system, stay away from expensive wires. just my .02.

 

[leenjen]

the quality of the installation is more important than the speaker wires. if it's done right, it'll sound great.

 

[Brian's98XLT]

No it does not make a differance. The size of the wire can make a differance. If you are running a 1000 watts to a sub you need a wire big enough to carry the power. The twisted pairs is more for cancelling noise than it is for sound quality. I have replace cheap RCA in cars that have had noise from the cable picking it up from the cars wiring and replaced with twisted pairs and the noise goes away.