What's wrong with using extension cords for my outdoor speakers wires?

[Cal Weldon]

I've been razzed on this one.

I understand the strands in the extension cord are coarser, but what's the overall effect and why shouldn't I use them?

They sure are durable, have extra shielding and are 1/4 the price of good 14 ga.

These are not used in my home!

Thanks
Cal

[SY]

Depends. If you remove the plugs and sockets and just use the wire, they'll work fine. If you decide to get cute and retain the plugs, it's only a matter of time until somebody accidently plugs the out put of your amp into the mains. Or does that with the speaker.

Don't worry about the razzing, enjoy the music.

[Cal Weldon]

Thanks Sy,

I needed to hear that.

Female end is cut off and wires go to crossover. Male is plugged into that and those wires go to the amp. So unless you have a male to male cord then the speakers should be safe.

And if I need the wires to be longer well I just head off to the hardware store for another extesion cord or two.

Cal

[Da5id4Vz]

I agree with most of what you've said, but WRT the "cable-is-cable and copper-is-cooper" view on speaker cables I would refer you to this article by Nelson Pass. He wrote it more than 20 years ago for Speaker Builder magazine.

__________________
Rodd Yamashita

http://www.passlabs.com/pdf/spkrcabl.pdf

[Cal Weldon]

Read it a second time before you reply my father told me. So I did.

The wires to the amp are taken out when the system is put away. The wires to the speakers are permanent.

Cal

[SY]

Cal, Da5 brings up a good point. I assumed from your post that you meant heavy duty extension cable- like 14 gauge or thicker (8-12 gauge if you're doing a longer run or your speakers are low impedance or highly inefficient). If you're thinking of lamp-cord type wires, they'll work but compromise the performance somewhat. Big, heavy, ugly orange stuff (like what we use for power tools) works fine; I use it in my indoor system and it gives me the same results as the fancy cables I've tried from time to time.

[Cal Weldon]

Yes they are 14 ga. The ground wire goes unused.

[SY]

If you want to get the cable guys gritting their teeth, hook the ground lead in parallel with one of the other two. It will decrease the loop resistance and won't "unbalance" anything, this being AC. You paid for the copper, may as well use it.

[Centauri]

I regulary use this sort of cable for Pro Audio without any problems, BUT for safety's sake DON'T use the originally fitted plugs/sockets for any non ac power usage - cut the plugs off and chuck 'em in the bin.

Cheers

[roddyama]

Originally posted by Centauri
...BUT for safety's sake DON'T use the originally fitted plugs/sockets for any non ac power usage - cut the plugs off and chuck 'em in the bin.

Cheers

Unless one day you would like to hear what 60Hz @ 150db sounds like for about 5 second. Oh, BTW have a fire extingusher handy.