Members greenglaze Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 HiI am hoping to make my own speakon speaker cables for a small pa.I've read in several places that short leads are best and to put the amps close to the speakers - presumably to lower the overall resistance of the cable.(1) However if the amps are behind the speakers say stage right and only require a 5 foot cable is it okay to run a 30 foot cable to the speakers stage left? Or should I keep cable lengths the same?(2) The amps are mostly c. 400 watts RMS running into speakers that are 400 watts RMS. I'm thinking of getting wire with surface area 1.5mm squared which is somewhere between AWG 14 and 15. Cable lengths will be between 5 and 30 feet. Any thoughts on this wire gauge? (3) I also have a subwoofer - 600 watts RMS powered by a 500 watt RMS amp (bridged). This only requires one lead. Would anyone reccomend any gauge other than 14/15? I can get cable somewhere btween AWG 10 and 11.(4) Here in the UK the cheapest 2 core flex also has an earth wire running through it. I wouldn't hook the earth up to anything but would it cause any problems?Finally I have the relevant equations but has anybody out there done a real live test of speaker leads with different wire gauges? How much difference did it really make?Any answers to any of the above - or observations - gratefully appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 You are fine w/ 1.5mm sq wire. No problem with different length, voltage drop is insignificant. For your application, the difference in gauges will be a non-issue, even if you went down 50%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted January 10, 2011 CMS Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 HiI am hoping to make my own speakon speaker cables for a small pa.I've read in several places that short leads are best and to put the amps close to the speakers - presumably to lower the overall resistance of the cable.(1) However if the amps are behind the speakers say stage right and only require a 5 foot cable is it okay to run a 30 foot cable to the speakers stage left? Or should I keep cable lengths the same?(2) The amps are mostly c. 400 watts RMS running into speakers that are 400 watts RMS. I'm thinking of getting wire with surface area 1.5mm squared which is somewhere between AWG 14 and 15. Cable lengths will be between 5 and 30 feet. Any thoughts on this wire gauge? (3) I also have a subwoofer - 600 watts RMS powered by a 500 watt RMS amp (bridged). This only requires one lead. Would anyone reccomend any gauge other than 14/15? I can get cable somewhere btween AWG 10 and 11.(4) Here in the UK the cheapest 2 core flex also has an earth wire running through it. I wouldn't hook the earth up to anything but would it cause any problems?Finally I have the relevant equations but has anybody out there done a real live test of speaker leads with different wire gauges? How much difference did it really make?Any answers to any of the above - or observations - gratefully appreciated. (1) Yes, it's fine to run different lengths among stage left and stage right. I've done this with 12ft and 40ft cables of 14AWG with 500w for tops and 1100w for subs, and there's no audible difference. I've informally tested using these vs 12AWG of 25ft length, and nobody I asked could tell which side had the bigger cable. (2) That sounds like a reasonable compromise of wire gauge and length for the power you're using. (3) If you use the larger cable, check to be sure the cable end clamp cups will fit it. Neutrik Speakons get rather difficult to insert when you get to about 12AWG, and I doubt you could fit 10AWG without losing strands. (4) Unused conductors won't cause any problem with speaker cables. I wouldn't want the extra expense or weight, so I'd look a bit harder to find something with only 2 conductors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 Finally I have the relevant equations but has anybody out there done a real live test of speaker leads with different wire gauges? How much difference did it really make?Any answers to any of the above - or observations - gratefully appreciated. The biggest problem with speaker cables is resistance, and that's a function of length, gauge and impedance of the speaker you're running to. There are tables out there that document the impedance added by cables of different gauges, lengths and loads. Google should help you find one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members greenglaze Posted January 10, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 Thanks for replies. Will go ahead as planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 Solid advice above. Just a reminder that if you are not at the "pro level" where you don't carry a lot of cabling (see above posters) you might consider equal standard lengths. That way you don't have to make and carry as many spares. Thirty feet (or fifty) is a good spare for monitors, and your far stack side, but six feet won't work for either. Not a big deal, just something to consider if price and space/weight are a consideration. Edit - what I'm really saying is go ahead and make your short runs, but make your spares standard long length - took the long way around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boomerweps Posted January 11, 2011 Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 I carry a lot of speaker cables and FEW of them are the same length, especially the long ones. I put my amp rack behind one side of speakers and use only the lengths needed to get from amp to spaeker. IF you are just using speakon connectors, you can connect 2 cables for extra length with Neutrik's NL4MM locking cable connector. Boomerweps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted January 11, 2011 Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 I carry a lot of speaker cables and FEW of them are the same length, especially the long ones. I put my amp rack behind one side of speakers and use only the lengths needed to get from amp to spaeker. IF you are just using speakon connectors, you can connect 2 cables for extra length with Neutrik's NL4MM locking cable connector. Boomerweps Not sure if this was a response to my ramblings, but yes "standard" equal lengths aren't necessary. What I was trying to say was IME it's always served me well to carry spares that can cover any potential use (50' or so), if I'm not carrying a lot of spares (and I don't). As for connectors and adaptors - my specialty is losing or misplacing them just when I need one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boomerweps Posted January 12, 2011 Members Share Posted January 12, 2011 As for connectors and adaptors - my specialty is losing or misplacing them just when I need one I follow that. That's why I leave the LOCKING connectors left LOCKED on a short speakon to TS speaker cable in the speaker cable box so I DON"T lose it ;>) Boomerweps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ptkbass Posted January 12, 2011 Members Share Posted January 12, 2011 Greetings All; I just bought the Carvin small PA package with the LM12's. Hooray for me. I got in before the price increase.... Anyway, back to the matter at hand. IMO, 50 feet is a lot of heavy spaghetti. And the mixer/amp is very seldom in the middle of the stage. I took one of the 50 ft. speaker cables that came in the package and split it 20 feet/30 feet, and marked the shorter one. So I like Greenglaze's unequal length proposition. If you must carry a 50 ft. spare, keep it in the car. My spare one is on craigslist, as are the damn microphones I didn't want...... Long lengths: I thought it was the capacitance in a long line that caused the signal degradation, not the resistance. For a cheaper source of wire, try regular old extension cords of the appropriate gauge. They can be found in two conductor configuration (at least in the states....). Ha! "Heavy Spaghetti"....A good name for a band..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boomerweps Posted January 12, 2011 Members Share Posted January 12, 2011 Greetings All;Anyway, back to the matter at hand. IMO, 50 feet is a lot of heavy spaghetti. And the mixer/amp is very seldom in the middle of the stage. I took one of the 50 ft. speaker cables that came in the package and split it 20 feet/30 feet, and marked the shorter one. So I like Greenglaze's unequal length proposition. If you must carry a 50 ft. spare, keep it in the car. My spare one is on craigslist, as are the damn microphones I didn't want......Long lengths: I thought it was the capacitance in a long line that caused the signal degradation, not the resistance.For a cheaper source of wire, try regular old extension cords of the appropriate gauge. They can be found in two conductor configuration (at least in the states....). Yes, wire is wire but MOST extension cords in appropriate size are 3 wires. Capacitance is a problem in long lengths of LOW voltage cables like line level or mic cable. Higher voltage cables, like speaker voltage, has resistance as the bigger problem. Cross stage cabling with the amp rack to one side, I usually use a 15 footer to the near side and a 35 to 50 footer to the other side. I'd save that 50 footer for outdoor or large indoor stages. Even indoors, if you want your amp rack at the rear of a medium to deep stage (like near a power source), getting cross stage will take a fair amount of cable. Boomerweps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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