is soldering speaker wires a good idea? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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ken_p_young
04-02-2004, 01:29 PM
Last night I upgraded my speaker wires from 16 guage to 14 guage and was wondering if soldering the ends of the wires on either or both ends is worth the trouble? I thought it might make a better connection??

JSE
04-02-2004, 01:46 PM
Last night I upgraded my speaker wires from 16 guage to 14 guage and was wondering if soldering the ends of the wires on either or both ends is worth the trouble? I thought it might make a better connection??

Probably wont make a better connection but it will fight oxidation and keep the ends from fraying (sp?). Although, I doubt a little oxidation would effect sound.

JSE

Rodzilla
04-02-2004, 02:15 PM
how do you mean?actually soldering the wires to the speakers/amp?or just tinning the ends of the wire?if the first,it's a bit farther than i would want to go...but it would definately be a good solid long term connection :)

if you mean,as i suspect just tinning the ends...i wouldn't.i've tried this in the past,firstly you're adding a needless layer of bad metal to the connection[tin/lead for the most part]..but mostly it becomes difficult to keep the connections tight,the tinned wire ends don't have any real "crush factor" to them anymore,you get less[minimal really]surface contact and it tends to come loose very easily...if you have those lousy "spring clip" connectors on your equipment this may not be so bad..thier connections are not great to start with and the spring will keep it reasonably tight..but for binding posts...i wouldn't recommend it,get some proper spade or banana connectors that fit the posts and crimp those to the wire instead,you'll get a more solid connection all around

Mash
04-02-2004, 04:49 PM
This question comes around repeatedly. In 1996 I generated a catfight by pointing out why soldering (tinning) was better for screw-down mechanical joints and the heat-without-light persisted until one chap conducted a comparison of mechanical wire joints made with tinned and un-tinned wires. The tinned wires won because the solder is softer than the CU wire so it flows under the tight screws and forms better contact. Bare wires simply tend to move out of the way.

There are a few points:
1. Use electronic/rosin core solder. Acid core solder is for plumbing.
2. Electronic solder comes alloyed to varying hardnesses. Select the softest solder.
3. Silver solder is great for strong joints, but it is hard.
4. Solder AL wires with AL solder. The lead-tin solder will not work on AL wire.

mtrycraft
04-02-2004, 08:45 PM
Last night I upgraded my speaker wires from 16 guage to 14 guage and was wondering if soldering the ends of the wires on either or both ends is worth the trouble? I thought it might make a better connection??


Go with mash's idea. Did you parallel those wires? You could have :)

Opeth_fan
04-07-2004, 01:14 PM
Mash (or anyone),

Would that apply to extending speaker wires as well?

Thanks

Mash
04-07-2004, 05:03 PM
Opeth-fan
If you mean that you want longer speaker wires for some reason (because you moved the speakers) I would simply cut a longer piece of 12 AWG from your spool of speaker wire. But yes, you could solder on extra wire for more length, if that is your question. Just twist the wires together in a neat linear splice, solder, and then tape the splices nicely to electrically seperate the + and - wires (as well as cover the splices) when done. A good solder splice should last as long as- or ever longer than- the wire.

mtrycraft
04-07-2004, 08:57 PM
] A good solder splice should last as long as- or ever longer than- the wire.


Yes, when the copper deteroates to dust, the solder will be left :)

garya
04-16-2004, 04:42 PM
Soldering a join is a good idea but tinning the ends for a screw or clip connection is not neccesarily good. I don't like the sound of the "experiment" that decided the earlier debate - it wouldn't convince me as described. Both copper and solder are soft enough but solder is more "liquid" and will, over a period of time, shift under pressure and the connection can become loose. The screw connection should have a small enough space that the copper has nowhere to go when squeezed by the screw, or conversely, the wire should be large enough to almost fill the space to clamp, hold and connect to it.