Speakerwire question

[Dmax]

I was going to purchase some new monster cable speakerwire for my ht setup but a friend of mine says he has lots of 18 and 16 gauge speakerwire and he double twines them together at the ends to make thicker speakerwire and says its the same as monster cable.Could this be true and is it safe?

[Mark111867]

If I were in your shoes I would not intertwine any speaker cables together. Some other folks who are much more technically inclined than I am might jump in here. I could be wrong, but it just don't sound right......

[Pat D]

I was going to purchase some new monster cable speakerwire for my ht setup but a friend of mine says he has lots of 18 and 16 gauge speakerwire and he double twines them together at the ends to make thicker speakerwire and says its the same as monster cable.Could this be true and is it safe?There's nothing the matter with Monster Cable except that it costs more than zip cord.

What is your goal here? Are your cables so long that you need larger ones?

Doubling up speaker wire is equivalent to decreasing the gauge by 3. Thus, two 18 gauge wires have about the same resistance as 15 gauge wire.

Here is a link to a article by a real expert in audio matters, Roger Russell:

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

The answers to E-stats typical objections are that the laws of electronics haven't changed and neither have hearing thresholds.

[Florian]

I would personally take a very strong look at Anticables from Paul Speltz. Many of our Apogeeclub members have great success with them.

-Florian

[Peter Duminy]

Braiding the speaker cables can give reported improvements. It is worth a try if you have the time!

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/interconnects/images/clip_image010.jpg

More information in this article with results:

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/interconnects/DIYSpeakerCablesp1.html

I hope this helps! :)

[calegrant]

Don't bother with using doubled-up 18 guage. Head over to parts express and buy a 100ft roll of 14 guage, you'll get good cable and have plent left over if you change rooms.

[Dmax]

Thanx guys