Where to get speaker wire cheap?

[darylbowden]

I know some of you guys are more audiophillic than I, so I'm hoping one of you has a good spot to get speaker wire (kinda like newegg is for computer stuff).  I need about 50ft of 14 gauge wire, I don't give a shit the brand name (as long as it isn't shit wire).  So, if you know a place, hook a geek up!

[x136]

Home Depot. Speaker wire by the foot. There are some who swear by lamp cord, but I think the stuff that actually looks like speaker wire costs the same.

Also, monoprice.com has unbelievable prices on cables in general. I rewired my entire stereo system with high-quality cables for about $70 total.

[NAKID]

Radio Shack...

[bigiain]

Home Depot. Speaker wire by the foot. There are some who swear by lamp cord, but I think the stuff that actually looks like speaker wire costs the same.

Good advice - the only reason you'd pay any more for "speaker wire" than lamp cord of the same copper cross section is if you value the transparent insulation and visible copper because of the "look". At audio frequencies there is _no_ difference.

There was a great blog post a few months back about a guy who set up a blind test between some ludicrously expensive Monster Cable and some coathangers, the alleged "golden eared" subjects couldn't tell the difference in any statistically significant way...

'course there's kudos to be had for using "Monster" branded cables in the shed 

big

[Monsterlover]

Parts Express is the shizzle for stuff like that!

[pnut]

try www.monoprice.com  I bought HDMI cables from them and they have the best prices around. 

[rgramjet]

Parts Express is the shizzle for stuff like that!

+1

Stay away from Monster Cable speaker wire if you plan on pulling it any distance through framing.  It has a very soft/pliable outer jacket and has a huge tendency to kink.  Pro Flex is my favorite, its cheap, plenum rated and doesnt kink. 

If the wire is going inside walls/floors/ceilings, make sure your its "plenum rated" meaning it wont act as a fuse bringing a fire from stud bay to stud bay.

Good Luck!

[OwnyTony]

my friend who is some what of an audiophile recommended me to go http://bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm for my wire needs.

I dont know your needs but this place is suppose to have the most bang for your buck.  Maybe the grade of wire you get is overkill from them?  I dont know what you want to do.  What are you trying to hook up?

[Ash]

i second bluejeans... i've bought HDMI cables and speaker wire from them. 

only caveat is check the wire strand count for speaker wire... the stuff i got is very inflexible.

"high end" speaker wire is pure snake oil... the only thing i maybe subscribe to is "good" interconnects.  but even then this stupid kimber cable level stuff is just ludicrous (monster's got nothing on the boutique stuff).

speakers are not amplified past their inputs, so speaker wire only needs to carry the signal through with minimal reactance.  as big said, that's not hard to do at frequencies less than 20khz.

[KnightofNi]

apparently you can find good speaker wire at the following people's houses

x136
bigian
Ash

a few drinks, some tylenol PM, and some cable pulling later and you have what you need pretty cheap!

[XiaoNio]

I'll third bluejeanscable.com.

If you're slightly more DIY, you can pretty much use a good extension cord, cut off the ends, cap the grounds and run with that.  It's heavy, very well insulated, usually big gauge and sounds pretty good.  The guy that taught me the trick swears by one specific type of cord, but I've found any with good insulation and copper wiring sounds just about the same.

[faolan01]

http://www.cablestogo.com is another one to check out.

[somegirl]

a few drinks, some tylenol PM, and some cable pulling later and you have what you need pretty cheap!

[COWBOY]

Home depot by the foot is best for in wall.   For in room runs you can get a 50 ft roll of 12 ga wire from any car audio place for much less (30-40% less) than you'll find it at box stores or home audio sites.

bluejeans does good cables as well.
parts express is a great resource.

[darylbowden]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, this is great.  FTR, this is gonna be in-room, not in-wall (I rent). 

ANother quick question for those in the know, I have B&W 602s for my front speakers and I just run wire into them, is there any benefit to using banana plugs?  What do you guys think about connectors?