2. cables
  3. 188176-4976

Are there any issues with connecting speaker wire in this manner?

I'm considering purchasing some 14 awg solid core wire to use as speaker cable.  I will be doubling this up to make 11 awg speaker cable. My amplifiers, Red Dragon S-500, have binding posts which DO NOT have a hole drilled in the center of the shaft for inserting wire (they are hollowed out for banana plugs but that's not what I am referring to here nor do I need).  I'll be connecting the speaker wire without attachments, no spades, bananas, nor pins.  To get a good connection, it would be ideal if I could take the wire and, at the half way point, wrap it around the amplifier binding post, then run the two ends out to the speakers.  Will this work or will connecting the wire in this manner be problematic?  Do I need to cut the wire into 2 runs?  Thanks!

lcherepkai
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,219 posts
 

Why can’t you just start out with using 11- or 10-gauge wire?

If you must use 2 separate wires, twist them together but leave enough length on each to run one on one side of the lug and the other on the other side and then tighten the ends together outside of the lug.

Then tighten the nut down or lug fastener.

ozzy

jtcf's avatar
jtcf
1,589 posts
 

14 gage romex is easy to work with.10 gage not so much.

lcherepkai OP
277 posts
 

Ozzy---the largest diameter niobium wire I found is 14 gauge.  I was planning on getting runs twice the length I need and wrapping the amp binding post with the mid-point and then running both ends out to the speakers.  I don't want to use separate wires at the amp end as I'm concerned about stripping the threads on the amp binding posts.  I did this already once and don't want a repeat.

bpoletti
1,529 posts
 

Better to use 12GA stranded copper, single conductor for each polarity. Go to Lowes or Home Deport and get 12GA stranded copper THHN from Smithwire. Cheap and pretty darn good.

bassdude
461 posts
 

The advantage of banana plugs (as others have suggested) is that they are much easier to manage and connect to the terminals... and... eliminate the possibility of damaging the terminal connection inside the amp (if the terminals rotate as you tighten them - which I've done before).  I switched to banana plugs to avoid damaging the terminal connections inside the amp by overtightening the lugs on the outside as I fastened spades or wire to them.  

The other caution is that you can very easily short out / damage your speakers if you accidently touch the positive and negative wires together when you are fastening the cable to the the speakers, or amp - if you attempt to connect them while the amp is on... or... if a strand of wire from one side touches the other wire or terminal.  Of course, making sure the amp is off when you make your connections and that you have no stray strands touching the other wire / terminal, helps to avoid this.  And, using bananas is much easier to make the connections and avoid any shorts.  

You also may want to "tin" the end of the wires for each channel with solder, which can also make the wires easier to connect and help to avoid "stray strands."    

More to discover