hi.. my name is engineerfriend.. i have a bigger e-penis than you do. I also love Bose.

OK,

I've been reading these threads for a while and I have to get in here. I have no doubt that Engineer Friend has a lot of knowledge well earned over a long time of scientific study... but I detect some bitterness. Could it be that the personality exhibited here carries over in real life and turns clients off? Could it be that this incredible knowledge is wielded like a club and business is repeatedly lost to those of us who "don't know s--t but have a way of relating to clients? Is this the place to bash those people because competing with them in the business arena is repeatedly kicking his ass?

By the way, EF... if you run zip cord up here in Washington you'll have an inspector telling you to pull it right back out and replace it with the proper rated cable. Kr8z1... check with your local jurisdiction and make sure you run the type of wire they require and stick to the formula you specified... the wire is not expensive.

I'm a former retail guy that left 9 years ago to do custom. I've been through all of the Monster training anyone can endure and the most expensive speaker wire I now run retails for no more than 60 cents a foot. I have a lot of trusting clients who would probably buy anything I told them to but I see no reason to sell "directional speaker cabling", "Monster Z-Series" (which by the way is not in-wall rated), etc. Lowering the budget here means a better projector, higher powered amp or nicer speakers.

By the way... and I'm sure Engineer Friend will rip on me for this for the fact that my knowledge isn't as deep into the oscilloscope as his is... an "engineer friend" of mine explained that the thicker speaker wire simply carries more current. Don't ask me to translate this into sound qualities or "deeper bass" or etc. but according to this gal, whose knowledge is also greater than most of ours, higher powered amps need more copper to send that power to a speaker. If this is not true than why is 12 gauge specd for 20A circuits and 6G for Hot Tub 220? Or should they send that big zap of power to the tub of water that you're in through some zip cord?

I think that as a customer... I would rather deal with someone who I feel can pull off my project... not someone who runs in telling me he is the only one who really knows anything and starts spouting off in a different "read engineering" language. Socially, this turns a lot of people off... including this one.

UH OH, I sense I have gone too far. Just trying to shake things up and challenge your intellects a little bit. As I have said before, I am just tired of all the mis-information out there and feel that the people on this forum should be better informed than the average consumer.

I've upped my standards, so up yours.

P.S. Roddy, you started it.

Hey kr8z1, are you using impedance matching volume controls? In my experience if you use 14 (or even 16) you will be fine, the bigger wire tends to be more dificult to connect to some volume controls, it is really designed for 16 gauge. But the larger wire will not pose any threat to your amp, it will provide a lower impedance over the long run so it can hurt. If a really really long run is made try to go with the larger gauge as it will keep the amp a lil cooler.

Man for a second I thought we were gona have a geek fight! A pocket protector "Throwdown" if you will.

My 2 cents

I typically look for at least 95% OFC (Oxygen Free Copper) cable. Avdude's cabling pratices are as good as anybodys, they're solid, work and make sense, 14g for the fronts and 16g for the rears for the vast majority of the home theatre installations. Again the gauge of the cable is dependant on the length of the cable run, this is physics and not an opinion.

The other characteristic that you should/could look for in an audio cable is the strand count. I believe that the ideal number in a 14g gauge 105 strands (I've seen quality zip cord with 105 strands and 95% OFC, is this really zip cord?). Quality 16 gauge typically seems to have slighly lower strand count. The cable jackets are more of a local building code issue especially if you're running it in the walls.

After this the rest is noise.

Cheers

I chose slide rules at dawn.

Engineer Friend, you're freakin old !!!

Slide rulers, I think I saw those in a museum.

lamp wire. home depot. 250 foot spool $22.00. Be done with it. move on. enjoy.

Why so grouchy fellas?

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Sorry, my Jedi friend, but that's an incorrect statement; electrical theory says that a larger-gauge wire will actually make the amp run warmer due to an overall reduction in the circuit's impedance, which results in a higher current. Of course, the wire itself will be cooler.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Too far, you could say that.

Today, as we popped holes in the drywall of a beautifully remodeled home here on the California coast. Routing our 14g 2 conductor & RG6 to their appropriate locations, because the previous installer tried the Cat 5 theory that I noted how much I did not care for. The system sounded like crap, the owner fired the previous installer so we could fix things up.

$45k later, an expensive learning experience I was passing on.

From experience I spoke!


Roddy

yes, but chicks still dig me!

I was planning on using RatShack 100W volume controls...I expect they will work fine.
[Link: radioshack.com]

They will work but there is a difference in sound compared to others, niles,speakercraft, sonance,russound. and others.
These speakers will mostly be for background music anyway, (outside maybe not if you entertain alot).
Anything will sound better than what you have now (nothing) you can always upgrade.
CB1

Yes, I'd like better sound on the patio. So if I step out of the $30 knob I metioned, what might I expect to pay for a better quality vc? Any online recommendations?

so...you see how diverse even the simplest question can become young obi-wan?

Decisions you now must make...

any of the VC's CB1 mentions above are going to be a upgrade from the ratshack ones...and will assuredly handle more power in real life...

foolish as this may sound, I was once one VC short on a job, and drove 100 miles back to the office, then returned to the jobsite the next day, ONLY for that one VC, because I didn't want to risk a ratshcak VC (radioshack was ten blocks away) blowing up and needing to make another trip....

try your local install shop, crutchfield or partsexpress.com

avdude