Best place to get bulk speaker cable

[Floyd Eye]

We seem to be going through the junk "Musicians gear" 1/4" speaker cables pretty fast. The ends are junk and wind up getting bent up. So I thought I'd buy some bulk speaker cable and a bunch of Switchcraft ends. Where do you DIY guys go for this stuff?

 

[ba614]

I get my bulk speaker cable off of vacuum cleaners people put out for the garbage service to pick up.

It's free!

Works as well as any you could buy.

 

[Sam Sherry]

Hardware store -- use lamp cord

 

[Floyd Eye]

I am referring to speaker cable used for the PA system. You are seriously suggesting lamp cord? Never considered it. It is safe and reliable?

How about a source for Switchcraft jacks?

 

[Rex Anderson]

Redco


http://www.redco.com/shopdisplaycategories.asp?id=80&cat=Speaker+Cable

 

[wolf9309]

yeah lamp cord works great. Perfectly safe and reliable.

Personally though, I don't like the way it sits in most 1/4" connectors so I usually use Redco ^as linked above. Good, cheap cable.

 

[Floyd Eye]

Thanks for the link Rex.

 

['58Bassman]

I am referring to speaker cable used for the PA system. You are seriously suggesting lamp cord? Never considered it. It is safe and reliable?

How about a source for Switchcraft jacks?

If it's OK for running a motor on 120VAC, it will be fine for an amp & speaker. The voltage and current between an amp and speaker are a fraction of what a motor sees and can draw.

You won't hear a difference, either.

Parts Express has plugs, jacks, etc.

 

[Ruraltom]

Radio Shack

 

[Tonesmiths]

www.monoprice.com

 

[shg]

I just use extension cord. You can get that stuff at Home Depot or equivalent by the metre for close to nothing.

 

[chervokas]

I use Canare Quad 4S8, a 4-conductor cable that's 13AWG when wired for coax speaker cable. You can buy it in bulk any number of places, from $0.65 to $0.80/foot. Especially for longer runs that you might use in a PA application you'll probably hear better control of speaker excursion with tighter and firmer bass with the 13 ga cable v. the 16 or 18 ga lamp cord, better yet for that application may be the Canare 4S11.

For very short runs of cable you probably won't hear much if any difference between these cables as 16 AWG lamp cord, but with longer runs the lower the resistance of the speaker cable the higher the damping factor, the better the amp can control speaker excursion. And for a PA application that probably will become more of an issue than with, say, a 3-6 foot head to cab cable.

 

[RCM78]

I just bought 200' of Redco brand speaker cable and a bunch of neutrik speakons.

Crown recomends 14-2 for 50' or less and 12-2 for over 50'.

I played it safe and went with 12-2 for our mains at 50' each, and 14-2 for the monitors at 25' each...

Saved about $150 by buying in bulk and building the cables myself...

 

[FlyingVBlues]

I get Switchcraft connectors from Mouser

www.mouser.com/switchcraft

 

[lankyloo]

Definitely another vote for Redco. Also good for instrument cable for pedal boards.

 

[spamsponge]

Radio Shack

Only if there's nothing else.
Their 1/4 jack materials are truly of < Walmart quality.

 

[robare99]

Home depot. Buy bulk wire, 50' or 100' lengths, then pick up sine speakon connectors, cut to length and put it together. If you need 1/4" get Neutrik ends