Primary wire as speaker wire problem.

[viivo]

I bought a spool of 14ga primary wire, made of fairly stiff stranded copper, and so far I get the impression that it makes for terrible speaker wire, but I'm also asking in case its just my imagination.

2.1 system
Onkyo rc260
TimeWindows 1A (all caps and resistors upgraded, so it's not the speakers)
10" Titanic, 300w, sealed box.

My speakers seem much quieter, like the power isn't being fully transmitted. I have to set my sub at -6db and 1/3 gain so it doesn't overpower them. Even at high volumes they dont have the output they should. I dont currently have any other wire to try, so I'm asking if it's the primary wire or something else.

 

[frowertr]

I bought a spool of 14ga primary wire, made of fairly stiff stranded copper, and so far I get the impression that it makes for terrible speaker wire, but I'm also asking in case its just my imagination.

2.1 system
Onkyo rc260
TimeWindows 1A (all caps and resistors upgraded, so it's not the speakers)
10" Titanic, 300w, sealed box.

My speakers seem much quieter, like the power isn't being fully transmitted. I have to set my sub at -6db and 3/4 gain so it doesn't overpower them. Even at high volumes they dont have the output they should. I dont currently have any other wire to try, so I'm asking if it's the primary wire or something else.

Wire gauge is universal so 14 AWG of primary "should" be the same as 14 AWG speaker wire. Really, all it is is just stranded copper anyway, right? I'm no electrician but I can't image it makes any difference.

I'm curious. What is your frame of reference when you say "it makes for terrible speaker wire"? Versus what? How can you tell the wire is giving you issues if you have no other wire to compare it with?

 

[viivo]

Compared to the 16ga I was using before which I now wish I had not thrown away.

 

[Specop 007]

Compared to the 16ga I was using before which I now wish I had not thrown away.

Speakers in the same location as they were with the 16 gauge wire?

 

[frowertr]

Is the 14AWG run longer than the 16AWG run? What is the run distance anyway? Here is a handy chart (middle of the page) I have used in the past to determine the correct AWG vs the distance. Although now I just use 12AWG for everything and call it a day...

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/speaker-cable-gauge

 

[viivo]

Speakers are in the same position. The lengths are only 5ft for the mains, which I know 16ga was fine for, but I had planned to hook up the surrounds which would require much longer lengths and the OCD in me demanded that all speakers use the same wire.

I'll cut some more from the roll. There's like 6 thick strands in each wire and a really thin jacket, so maybe they got damaged. Would interference cause this?

I also spent a lot of time reading about strand size and count in speaker wire. The conclusion appears to be it doesn't matter.

 

[blackangst1]

Have you ran Audyssey?

I have to set my sub at -6db and 3/4 gain so it doesn't overpower them.

This is a problem. You may need to run Audessey a few times, but you want the end result to be 0db no more than =/- 1db, then adjust your gain on the sub from there. If you run it and it sets your sub -x, your gain is too hot. Turn it down a little and re-run. If Audyssey sets it at +x, its too lean. Turn up the gain a little and re-run. Do this until it sets it at 0db. With it set at -6db its not getting full signal.

 

[viivo]

Whoops, meant 1/3, not 3/4. I've never turned it past half.

I guess I should run Audessey again. I wouldn't be surprised if that is causing the volume issue.

 

[blackangst1]

Whoops, meant 1/3, not 3/4. I've never turned it past half.

I guess I should run Audessey again. I wouldn't be surprised if that is causing the volume issue.

Whether its 1/3 or 3/4 is irrelevant. The problem is it set your sub at -6db so its too hot. turn your gain down and re-run till you get 0db. And as mentioned above, increase or decrease gain ON THE SUB afterwards.

 

[viivo]

I ran audessey again, and this time in addition to setting the sub at -10 (gain was low), it set the left front at -9 and the right at +2. It was setup and run properly. Both channels are equal when set back to 0, so I have no idea unless the setup mic is defective.

I guess this is the fun of home audio. Hours of moving things and tinkering lay ahead.

 

[Howard]

Auto-EQ doesn't always work.

 

[blackangst1]

I ran audessey again, and this time in addition to setting the sub at -10 (gain was low), it set the left front at -9 and the right at +2. It was setup and run properly. Both channels are equal when set back to 0, so I have no idea unless the setup mic is defective.

I guess this is the fun of home audio. Hours of moving things and tinkering lay ahead.

Yah it sounds like your mic is fubared. If the gain on your sub was <25% and Audyssey set it at -10 (meaning: sub is too hot, need to turn signal down -10db to set at reference), and your left and right are that different...something's not right.

You might also try and factory reseting your receiver and re-run.

 

[vi edit]

Sounds to me like you have a faulty connection somewhere...a pair of wires touching somewhere. I know when I was working with my whole house audio system if I would let a "+" wire touch a "-" it would half the volume to the entire system.

You might be shorting it out somewhere... a rogue strand touching another wire or terminal.

 

[frowertr]

Sounds to me like you have a faulty connection somewhere...a pair of wires touching somewhere. I know when I was working with my whole house audio system if I would let a "+" wire touch a "-" it would half the volume to the entire system.

You might be shorting it out somewhere... a rogue strand touching another wire or terminal.

+1

I was thinking about this too. Sounds like you could have a short.

 

[viivo]

My wires are terminated with banana plugs and sleeves, but I'm thinking it might be the crossovers. They were a mess even before I changed components. Would leads in the crossovers touching also cause this? I've not noticed any other symptoms.

 

[viivo]

Crossovers look good, no cold joints or crossed wires. But I noticed I cannot place any of the tweeters, even with my ear against them. I know they have to be working, I listened to some Louie Armstrong and heard the full range of the trumpet loud and clear. The 6 1/2" drivers couldn't reproduce the highest octaves of a trumpet, could they? Is it normal to not be able to locate the sound when right up against them? They are less than half an inch from the drivers.

I listened to all four tweeters and it sounded like it was only coming from the drivers. Surely they all couldn't have blown.

 

[Howard]

Run some high-frequency test tones. See what happens when you play 12-15 kHz; you should not hear anything from the mids or woofers.

Alternatively, try listening to them again, but this time with some heavy cardboard deflecting the sound away from the mid so the tweeter is better isolated.

 

[Rifter]

Im using tinned marine grade primary wire for my speakers, you should be fine with any copper core wire.