YOUR Speaker Cables

[SlumpBuster]

I have a perplexing front pair. 14 guage RCA brand from Home Depot in 8 foot run with pin connectors. The perplexing part? They are bi-wired. Yes, bi-wired with "El Cheapo" Home Depot wire. I did it because, well... why not? That's why. Plus I think it looks kinda cool, which is a big part of the reason many of you have garden hose cable. You can talk about the sound properties all you want, but admit... It looks cool too, doesn't it?

My back surrounds are wired with solid conductor Romex wire left over from my basement remodelling. Its concealed in the walls, of course. If you don't know what Romex is, it is the same type of wire carrying the electricity to your light bulb. I'm not going to throw out perfectly good left over wire, not when I could use it to hook up some speakers.

[gjpham]

THanks all, I'm reading and analyzing each every comments of yours, including one with home electric Romex wire.
Q: On my Apr 2007 Stereophile mag, page 117, they commented on a RadioShack 18-gauge speaker wire:" You have to choose for yourself wheather space or twist a pair for best sound (or even wheather to double up the runs for less series impedance)."
Please explain what these terms mean, because high posibility that I may give it a try.
- Space:
- Twist a pair:
- Double up the runs: (I think I kinda get this one but wanna hear it from you guys.)
If your thought is diff from others, feel free to express it in your own way. I am open minded, and ev1 here too.

[JohnMichael]

THanks all, I'm reading and analyzing each every comments of yours, including one with home electric Romex wire.
Q: On my Apr 2007 Stereophile mag, page 117, they commented on a RadioShack 18-gauge speaker wire:" You have to choose for yourself wheather space or twist a pair for best sound (or even wheather to double up the runs for less series impedance)."
Please explain what these terms mean, because high posibility that I may give it a try.
- Space:
- Twist a pair:
- Double up the runs: (I think I kinda get this one but wanna hear it from you guys.)
If your thought is diff from others, feel free to express it in your own way. I am open minded, and ev1 here too.

The wire they are talking about is their 18 guage solid core hook up wire. You can buy a spool for very little money. It will not look like your average speaker wire. When last I purchased a spool the covering was a thin black plastic. I played around with it for awhile. Decide what length you want, for example 10 ft, and unroll 4 10 ft. lengths of wire. If you are going to twist the wire you will need to color the ends of the wire you will be using for the positive so after it is twisted together you will be able to hook your speakers up in phase. When I ran them spaced I just let them hang and from the back of the speakers and they stayed apart except for the occasional wire crossing. Then twist them and listen for any changes. If you liked them spaced it would be easier to buy a new spool then untwist the wires. At about $10 a spool it is cheap enough to try it many ways. As far as doubling up the runs instead of cutting four wires you cut eight. If you really want to get crazy you can buy the hookup wire in different guages. You could combine 2 18 guage wires a 20 guage and a 22 guage wire for an interesting cable.