DIY Speaker cable (well, sorta....)

[Gazjam]

Hey all,

Ordered a set of speaker cables as recommended by our own Jerry and should be good when I get them.

Couple of things though - its colour scheme is hideous!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ARROW-Speaker-...ayphotohosting

I'm wanting to perhaps get some black sleeving for it and I wonder where a good source for this kind of stuff can be found.
Any pointers?

Also, these cables are to be the "Fit n forget" cables in my system, so I'm thinking properly soldered bananas heat shrinked etc would be the best way to go.
I'm pretty rubbish at soldering and haven;t soldered speaker cable before, but I dont want to pay a hifi shop Forty quid to do it, so I fancy a go myslef. Cant be that hard?
Any online guides anyone can suggest I check out?

I need to source some good banana plugs, heat shrinking etc too, not too expensive hopefully as I'm on a budget.

Thanks very much for any help!

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hey all,


I'm wanting to perhaps get some black sleeving for it and I wonder where a good source for this kind of stuff can be found.
Any pointers?

I'm pretty rubbish at soldering and haven;t soldered speaker cable before, but I dont want to pay a hifi shop Forty quid to do it, so I fancy a go myslef. Cant be that hard?
Any online guides anyone can suggest I check out?

I need to source some good banana plugs, heat shrinking etc too, not too expensive hopefully as I'm on a budget.

The sleeving problem has been addressed before, when
Marco wanted to cover some twin & earth for a project - Maplin & the like (I think Maplin only do grey, though).

Soldering bananas is about as simple as it can get. Make sure everything's clean, & be sure that the components' heat is causing the solder to flow and not the tip of the iron.

It's just like home brewing beer in that the most important things are being methodical, patient and clean. Oh, & be sparing with the ingredients!!

I don't know what the insulation is on these cables (too lazy too look at the link), but don't breathe the fumes if you touch the iron on it.

Good luck!

[Gazjam]

Thanks for that Chris!

I'll do a forum search on Marco's twin and earth jobbie

Cheers,
Gary.

[twelvebears]

I've found solding banana plugs, or similar chunky metal connectors (in my case the metal post section of some Cardas binding posts) to be a bit of a bugger previously, especially of the wire involved is quite heavy gauge.

I always found it hard to get the joint hot enough to solder properly, but have now got a fav method of doing it:

1. Use a gas, rather than electric iron (especially if the metal component is chunky).

2. Use the heat gun attachment rather than a soldering tip.

3. Hold the metal component with something heat proof (needle nose pliers or crocodile clip 'helping hands') as far from the joint area as possible.

4. Heat the joint area of the component directly until the solder will melt and flux when touched against the metal (not the heat source) and add as much solder as required.

5. Now insert the pre-tinned end of the wire, keep heating briefly to ensure the solder joint takes and then remove the heat source and allow to cool.

This should ensure you get a really good joint, even when the component and wire are quite chunky. The latent heat in the metal part will help keep the solder melted when the wire is introduced.

Also, to help prevent the problem of the wire insulation melting with conducted heat from the joint, just damp a wad of kitchen roll and wrap it round the wire insulation and clip with a clothes peg or similar.

[DaveK]

Hey all,

Ordered a set of speaker cables as recommended by our own Jerry and should be good when I get them.

Couple of things though - its colour scheme is hideous!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ARROW-Speaker-...ayphotohosting

Hi Gaz (permitted ?),
I saw the posting above and thought, "If it's good enough for Gazjam it's good enough for me !!" so I ordered 6m which arrived this morning. Looks the part, doesn't it, but the colour ..............ugh !!
I wondered if you had tried yours yet and, if so, what you thought of it. Mine will be bare wire connection as I never quite understand the logic of introducing a extra surface to surface contacts into the wiring, i.e. interposing a layer of solder between the speaker cable and banana plug and then banana plug to speaker post and amp output. As I understand it the main purpose of the solder is to anchor the connection mechanically, rather than improve it electrically and surely mechanical anchoring can be better, or at least satisfactorily, acheived by tightening the screw clamps on the output and input terminal posts ? This remark probably just confirms my naivete (again !!) in this forum so I would be interested in any justification that anyone might be prepared to educate me with.
Cheers,

[twelvebears]

It's an interesting one.

I theory this is true, but providing it is done properly, a good soldered joint is often more consistant over the long term than a potentially compromised mechanical one. We all know how dirt, corrosion and vibration can affect a mechanical connection over time, but a good soldered joint rarely causes problems in my experience.

That said, as the wire/banana plug/speaker terminal is just a series of connections, it's just about having as few of the most reliable one possible.

Bare wires into quality binding posts at both ends is probably best, as long as the wires aren't too prone to tarnishing/corrosion over time....

[alb]

Bare wires into quality binding posts at both ends is probably best, as long as the wires aren't too prone to tarnishing/corrosion over time

A light coating of petroleum jelly(can't remember the trade name.), should help.

[Gazjam]

Hi Gaz (permitted ?),
I saw the posting above and thought, "If it's good enough for Gazjam it's good enough for me !!" so I ordered 6m which arrived this morning. Looks the part, doesn't it, but the colour ..............ugh !!
I wondered if you had tried yours yet and, if so, what you thought of it. Mine will be bare wire connection as I never quite understand the logic of introducing a extra surface to surface contacts into the wiring, i.e. interposing a layer of solder between the speaker cable and banana plug and then banana plug to speaker post and amp output. As I understand it the main purpose of the solder is to anchor the connection mechanically, rather than improve it electrically and surely mechanical anchoring can be better, or at least satisfactorily, acheived by tightening the screw clamps on the output and input terminal posts ? This remark probably just confirms my naivete (again !!) in this forum so I would be interested in any justification that anyone might be prepared to educate me with.
Cheers,

Hey Dave,

Set up the cable this morning and had it streaming Napster Playlists all day.

Cable sounds SUPERB....really.

A big step up from the Gotham 4mm/ Van Damme Biwire arrangement I had previously.

Not ordered my Banana plugs n stuff yet, so fitted wire ends with solid good qty screw on Banana plugs in the mean time.

Sounds pretty amazing to these ears, even set up as they are.

The cables themselves are pretty thin, imagine 12 of the thin solid cores from DNM Reson bundled together.
Pretty stiff but easily pliable.

Thans for the soldering tips 12bears - pasted into a text file for nearer the time!

[leo]

Interesting thread Gaz, all the diy and faffing about with the electronics I do yet the speaker cable I use is real cheap shit too

Funny thing is I've borrowed a range of speaker cables ranging in price , never really found anything to suit yet

Anyway the cable is still something I need to properly sort out I guess so look forward to more impressions on this fugly looking stuff

[DaveK]

Hi again Gaz,
Thanks for your response. I spent an hour or so this morning baring the ends of the new cable and then swapping them in. They replace some DIY jobbies that I cobbled together from 3 plaited lengths of Cat 6 soild core ethernet cable, ex-Maplin's, which I was very happy with. I repaced one speaker lead at a time and spent some time listening, ear close to speakers, with one old and one new cable and couldn't notice any difference. I then replaced the second lead (now 2 new leads) and listened intently again, from various positions in the room. Again I was unable to notice any difference.
I decided to leave the new leads in place as, being much less bulky than my DIY cables, they are easier to hide.
As my wife is a complete 'nut' regarding Wimbledon (only 2 weeks every year), I gracefully withdrew (I'm like that ) and let her watch her tennis. Tonight, after tennis, I regained possession of the hi-fi kit and switched on again AND WAS GOBSMACKED !!
The improved sound I am hearing now is very noticeable, certainly at the bass end which is much taughter. Another thing I noticed was an apparent gradual increase in volume over the first half dozen or so tracks which continually had me reaching for the volume control. Any ideas as to what might be happening? - have you noticed anything similar?
Cheers,