Did u upgrade the speaker wires?

[Razzman]

AL, the wire on the factory install on my '07 is 16ga. That's really all you need, any bigger is a waste. It is decent wire and to test this i ran some 16ga oxy free to one of my Polks MoMo's on one side and tested it against the other side with factory wire. Imo it made no discernable difference throughout the range.

[brain_rinse]

The OEM speaker wires (on my 0 are plenty good. The quality difference between what's already there and what you'd buy aftermarket is almost entirely in the jacket, with the aftermarket wires being more flexible. In the case of my boat speakers, having the wire fairly rigid means you can get away with fewer wire ties to keep it off the floor.

[cab13367]

Guys,

Thanks for the good info, as usual.

Mike,

This is the cable I am thinking of running:

http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=1602

Home Depot sells it for $30 for a 100' reel. I think it's designed for home theater use and it doesn't say that it's made of oxygen free copper so I don't know if this really is good cable my application. Opinions, anyone?

Thanks for the offer on the 12 gauge cable - I'll take you up on that for my sub.

Al

[brain_rinse]

Guys,

Thanks for the good info, as usual.

Mike,

This is the cable I am thinking of running:

http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=1602

Home Depot sells it for $30 for a 100' reel. I think it's designed for home theater use and it doesn't say that it's made of oxygen free copper so I don't know if this really is good cable my application. Opinions, anyone?

Thanks for the offer on the 12 gauge cable - I'll take you up on that for my sub.

Al

There are cheaper options out there with the same quality but you aren't paying for the Monster Cable name, but for $30 I suppose it's not much to worry about. As for the oxygen free, on paper it's slightly better, but makes no difference in real world application.

[cab13367]

Brian,

I tried that route already. I bought 100' of OFC 16 gauge Hitron brand wire from sonicelectronix for $9 (see link below) and when I got it, I was disappointed in the size of the copper compared to some other 16 gauge wire that I already had. I just happen to have a micrometer so I decided to mic it. It mic'ed out at about 0.045" diameter whereas true 16 gauge is supposed to be 0.051". Not a big deal but I am surprised at how much disparity there is in wire thickness within the same gauge wire by different manufacturers. The copper in the $30 monster cable looks twice as thick by comparison.

I also ordered some of the 12 gauge Hitron wire and it was even worse - mic'ed out at about 0.061" instead of 0.081 like it's supposed to be. I am going to return both wires.

I'll try and take pics of both 16 gauge wires side by side and post it tonght. It's pretty dramatic.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...aker+Wire.html

[brain_rinse]

Brian,

I tried that route already. I bought 100' of OFC 16 gauge Hitron brand wire from sonicelectronix for $9 (see link below) and when I got it, I was disappointed in the size of the copper compared to some other 16 gauge wire that I already had. I just happen to have a micrometer so I decided to mic it. It mic'ed out at about 0.045" diameter whereas true 16 gauge is supposed to be 0.051". Not a big deal but I am surprised at how much disparity there is in wire thickness within the same gauge wire by different manufacturers. The copper in the $30 monster cable looks twice as thick by comparison.

I also ordered some of the 12 gauge Hitron wire and it was even worse - mic'ed out at about 0.061" instead of 0.081 like it's supposed to be. I am going to return both wires.

I'll try and take pics of both 16 gauge wires side by side and post it tonght. It's pretty dramatic.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...aker+Wire.html

Yeah, unfortunately there is plenty of cheap junk out there too. I buy a lot from monoprice.com and have never had an issue there.

[cab13367]

Yeah, unfortunately there is plenty of cheap junk out there too. I buy a lot from monoprice.com and have never had an issue there.

I just checked out monoprice and they seem to have good quality (judging from the reviews) at cheap prices. I'm going to order their speaker wire and RCA cables. Thanks for the tip!

[kaneboats]

I get all my home theater stuff from them. Great deals on adapters, HDMI cables, etc.

[cab13367]

Yeah, unfortunately there is plenty of cheap junk out there too. I buy a lot from monoprice.com and have never had an issue there.

brain,

I received my order from monoprice today and I am very please with their products and even more so with their prices. I bought 2 spools of 100' 16 gauge OFC speaker wire and they are true to gauge (actually, bigger than gauge - mic'd at 0.061" compared to 0.051" for true 16 AWG) and it only cost $11.22. I also bought a 12' long 3.5mm aux cable for $0.85! It is good quality and Radio Shack sells the same thing for $10. I also bought (3) high quality 6' RCA audio cables for the amp for $2.20 each. Also bought 100, 4" zip ties, the ones with a hole for a screw for 54 cents for 100! I am a customer for life!

Thanks again for the tip.

Al

[brain_rinse]

brain,

I received my order from monoprice today and I am very please with their products and even more so with their prices. I bought 2 spools of 100' 16 gauge OFC speaker wire and they are true to gauge (actually, bigger than gauge - mic'd at 0.061" compared to 0.051" for true 16 AWG) and it only cost $11.22. I also bought a 12' long 3.5mm aux cable for $0.85! It is good quality and Radio Shack sells the same thing for $10. I also bought (3) high quality 6' RCA audio cables for the amp for $2.20 each. Also bought 100, 4" zip ties, the ones with a hole for a screw for 54 cents for 100! I am a customer for life!

Thanks again for the tip.

Al

Good to hear! That place can save a ton of money on home theater too... HDMI cables get expensive real fast at consumer electronics stores, especially on longer lengths. I'll have to pick up some of those zip ties with my next order - good call!