Internal speaker wire

[steelyjoe]

:dunno
Hello,
I am 25% into my ProAc clone project and about to take on my first, dreaded crossover.
Please tell me..........
What is the best internal wire (i.e. guage, solid or braided, twist etc.) to use between:
a. terminal inputs to the crossover?
b. within the crossover itself?
c. crossover to woofer?
d. crossover to tweeter?
Any other tips?
Are there any particular screws made for mdf or is it a non-issue?
Thanks in advance!

 

[seangoesbonk]

Firstly, MDF screws... Yes! Unless you are the luckiest bastard in the world, using normal wood screws will end you up with a lot of "split" (delaminated?) MDF. You should always you a screw that has a non-tapered shank and big threads. (take a look at a deck screw)

As for speaker wire, (and I am not an expert)

a. terminal inputs to the crossover?
This wire should be a least as good as the wire you will run from your amp to your speaker. (makes sense?)

b. within the crossover itself?
You should try to solder the leads of the components together instead of connecting wires between them.

c. crossover to woofer? and d. crossover to tweeter?
I think it's safe to say that if you use the same wire as you used to connect the terminal to the XO, you should be okay. (I know someone will disagree...)

I used these screws for MDF and they worked great:

 

[roddyama]

Steely,

I don’t know if you want to take advice from a guy who has a smaller sub then his girlfriend. (kidding)

Seriously, there are only a few notes I would add to Sean’s list.

Pre-drill your screw holes.
I will always use at least 5-way binding posts for speaker input connectors (gold over brass or copper)
Within the crossover, you can take the component leads to a common solder terminal, and I always wire-tie (tie-wrap) the components to a board.
The majority of the esoteric properties of speaker cable are given on a “per-length” basis. For that reason, I will usually try to stick with a material property only for the crossover wiring. For example, if I ran 12ga silver Lutz wire from the amp (which I don’t), I would use, maybe a 16ga silver stranded for the xover hook-up. I do use old (80’s vintage) Mogami 12ga co-ax OFHC copper wire for my mid-treble and up, so I also use 16ga OHFC copper for my xover hook-up.

Rodd Yamashita

 

[seangoesbonk]

I don’t know if you want to take advice from a guy who has a smaller sub then his girlfriend. (kidding)

ARRRRGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I remember the good old days when 12" was enough...

Pre-drill your screw holes.

Never, ever, ever even LOOK at MDF without pre-drilling!!! (especially on "end-grain" butt joints) I can't believe I forgot to mention it...

 

[planet10]

I have, of late, been using Plenum grade Cat-5 ethernet wire for internal wiring.

dave

 

[roddyama]

I have, of late, been using Plenum grade Cat-5 ethernet wire for internal wiring.

dave

Dave,

Plenum grade Cat-5? Isn’t this multi-twisted pair cable? How do you split the pairs or do you?

Rodd Yamashita

 

[planet10]

Plenum grade Cat-5? Isn’t this multi-twisted pair cable? How do you split the pairs or do you?

4 pr twisted runs per cable. I will either connect a pr of wires for each +/- or split a twisted pr and run a single wire for each +/- depending on how efficient the speakers are. For subs i'll run more (one cable with the strips for - and the colors for + is the lazy man method).

Some will strip the outher cover and twist together many-many prs.

It is an excellent source for cheap, very high purity solid core copper wire with teflon insulation.

I also use it for amp wiring when i can't be bothered with the 30 g stuff.

dave

 

[roddyama]

Thanks Dave.

I went surfing and this is something I found.
http://www.duxcw.com/faq/network/audio.htm

Interesting. I must absorb for a while.

Rodd Yamashita

 

[planet10]

http://www.duxcw.com/faq/network/audio.htm

Looks like a good starting off point. There are quite a few DIY sites with Cat5 stuff including Gomer Cable and a little study a friend did on it.

dave