Speaker wire... cut it? Plugs?

I just bought this receiver..

https://www.shoponkyo.com/prod_image...e/TXSR503r.jpg

With these speakers..

http://www.partsexpress.com/imageslarge/302-016ii.jpg

Keep in mind I have no idea what I'm doing and am just kind of playing all of this by ear for the first time.

On eBay I bought two optical cables, since I assume that's what I need when my cable box/x360/dvd player say "optical out"... I also bought a set of component cables, so that I can run the video through the receiver as well. But what do I use for the speakers? When I search eBay for speaker wire, every result is 25'+... I hardly need 6'. Some spools of wire are 100'+! Are you supposed to cut it down to size? Using a utility knife or something? From the pictures it looks like speaker wire is nothing more than copper, yet prices vary immensely as does the guage.

Another quick question is about banana plugs. They seem pretty cheap, and a lot of users here have said they make things much easier, but what exactly do they do? From what I see in pictures it looks like you attach two wires to them to make it easier to put in your speaker. But, if your speaker/receiver uses those spring clips, I don't quite understand how it would work. Also, the picture of my receiver's inputs look different than the spring clips.

Forgive my ignorance

Ok, before you blow anything up....you may want to check out some online home theater setups and get a bit more aquainted with the basics. You could easily go out and get speaker wire from CC or BB if you want something like Monster. Otherwise you can go online and get speaker cables.....you will want to cut it down to the size that you need regardless of where you buy it. If you are looking for something a bit higher-end you may want to check out something like cobaltcable.com or bettercables.com just for some examples. You may want to set a budget first for what you are buying. Also, banana plugs are just one of the many types of connections that you can buy...they are easy to snap into your binding posts on your speakers and also help with the connection and keeping the signal flow. Banana plugs go straight into your binding post or receiver post through the hole in the rear, they do not go down through the slot.

The real genius is right, I was in your shoes 10 days ago. There so many choices out
there, it just comes down to budget issues. I junked my 8 year old starter system,
( sony "box" system) with a mid level system with a $1200 budget. For interconnects
and wire I could have spent half on just that. I took the advice from this forum, and made
my choices. On wire I used 14G from AR(4 banana plugs included), it comes in 50-100
foot rolls(you never have enough wire). Also according to pioneer and jbl(in my case)
all wire should be equal length, in other words if one front is 15ft, they both should be
same with the rears(if muli-channel). "Balance" and proper "phasing" are issues. Also
make sure the strands match, whichever one goes into the pos clip goes to the matching
receiver post etc. I'm told this can effect sound and harm the speakers. There is plenty
of wire out there marked -+. I set up my system for under $200, my interconnect limit.
No it's not "high end" and its not radio shack either. Shop around, and get all the info
you can here, these guys were and are a HUGE help...Good Luck

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Originally Posted by Koggit

I just bought this receiver..

https://www.shoponkyo.com/prod_image...e/TXSR503r.jpg

With these speakers..

http://www.partsexpress.com/imageslarge/302-016ii.jpg

Keep in mind I have no idea what I'm doing and am just kind of playing all of this by ear for the first time.

On eBay I bought two optical cables, since I assume that's what I need when my cable box/x360/dvd player say "optical out"... I also bought a set of component cables, so that I can run the video through the receiver as well. But what do I use for the speakers? When I search eBay for speaker wire, every result is 25'+... I hardly need 6'. Some spools of wire are 100'+! Are you supposed to cut it down to size? Using a utility knife or something? From the pictures it looks like speaker wire is nothing more than copper, yet prices vary immensely as does the guage.

Another quick question is about banana plugs. They seem pretty cheap, and a lot of users here have said they make things much easier, but what exactly do they do? From what I see in pictures it looks like you attach two wires to them to make it easier to put in your speaker. But, if your speaker/receiver uses those spring clips, I don't quite understand how it would work. Also, the picture of my receiver's inputs look different than the spring clips.

Forgive my ignorance

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I think bana plugs sre used becaues if used with just wire itself down the road could cause corrosion.Also you need not buy all that needless wire in bulk.There are web sites such as Musicdirect.com or AudioAdvisor.com. that will cut to the wire by the foot or in any arrangement you want.I personnally own the Audioquest type 2 speaker wire(bare) and found it made a significant change in the music reproduction.