speaker wire for speakers...?

Q. Alright so I have heard that speaker wire does make a big difference in the quality of the sound.

I have also heard that the thicker the speaker wire is and the more copper wires it has inside it the better it is. This made me think, could you have a speaker wire that is too good and doesn't work or preform correctly.

I have some 25-90 watt 8 ohms speakers and a amplifier that can do 6-16ohms. (not sure is this is useful or not) what sort of wire should I have

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge

Answer
A 16 gauge speaker wire will be more than sufficient for your system. If you own very high end audio gear then you would spend more money for cables. It is like having a Honda Civic and using Premium gas for it or having a Ferrari and using regular gas. Hope this will help you out.

I need help with home theater system fast??? Please?????

Q. Hi i recently bought a home theater system that didn't bring the amplifier. it's a expensive system. it's call paramax p-7 here is link: http://paramaxaudio.com/hometheater7.html
what im wondering is what's a good receiver to use to bring my system to it's full potential. thank you in advance for your help.

Answer
Yeah, I agree with the Australian sounding guy that said they are crap. They are. Paramax is a White Van name (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam) if I remember correctly. They are Bose knockoffs. And why anyone would want to make knockoffs of those junkboxes is beyond me. No matter what you hook them up to they are going to sound like garbage. Get a top of the line $3,000.00 B&K or a $99.00 Sherwood from Walmart and there will be virtually no difference when hooked to these speakers. Sorry, if this sounds harsh but sometimes the truth is. Either get decent speakers or just get the cheapest receiver you can find.

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What are the speakers that look like a cone that are UNBELIEVABLY loud?

What are the speakers that look like a hollow cone that are UNBELIEVABLY loud?...i think they are called trumpets or something not quiet sure. i know that you can hook them up to a car audio system..

Answer
horn drivers?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_speaker

now there are really cheap ones, visit radio shack, less then 50.00 a pair, or high end ones like usd or a hand full of others that cost much money.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.usdaudio.com/usd/product/b-82-sm.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.usdaudio.com/products/wg-sets.php&usg=__YPVZG4GIk_Wa8Kqe_D_3OjdcJaA=&h=228&w=256&sz=25&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=DrlT_v6hMPSSEM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dusd%2Baudio%2Bwaveguide%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

the cheapo radio shacks are often added to a Subwoofer box, it gives sub bass and rear fill and can give plenty of mid range and high frequencies, i had a bax like that with a passive radiator, this set up is ultra efficient and a smallish amp like 20 or 40 watts can handle the job.

the higher end ones can cost from 500.00 to 2000.00 a pair.
the idea is they are ultra efficient and take the place of a mid range driver and tweeter, so you just add a pair of mid bass drivers and you have a system that plays from say 90hz. to 20k. hz.

the problem is they need proper equalization, other wise they may sound like a dentists drill, some people can tune and never get rid of the shrill sound,
however if you can get it right they sound awesome, they go under the dash and give you a correct sound-stage, and imaging something that is hard to achieve, those that compete and pull it off get trophy for sound quality.

both styles boast well over 100 dbs. at 1 watt at one meter where most speakers start at 89 dbs.

in the past i wanted to experiment with the cheap ones cause i heard mine do some amazing sounds at low volume and at high volumes just sing.

either way a sub is needed, a ported box that can play to 150hz. at least or a sub system and a pair of mid bass in the front.

i am surprised they were not improved on for the masses, but all ways comes back to having an equalizer.

anyway check out radio shack for horn drivers and just have some fun goggling.

all so check out pro audio for horn drivers, they are used by bands most often for live music for their cheap prices and efficient power consumption.

all so google the images.

What brand of speakers have the longest life or best quality (least likely to fail)?

JoffreM

I'm currently thinking about Bose, not trying to go all out and spend a grand on speaker system. I just want a solid 5.1 speaker system that will last me awhile.

Answer
Bose speakers are the speakers most likely to have the shortest life of any speaker at any price.

This is because Bose uses the cheapest lowest quality components in their products to maximize their profits.

With the exception of $20 boom-boxes, Bose is the only company that uses untreated paper cones in their speakers. The one & only reason Bose uses untreated paper cones is to literally save pennies, it doesn't cost that much more to build your cones with treated paper. There's nothing wrong with using paper cones in a speaker if it's treated paper.

Untreated paper is very sensitive humidity & it also dries out easily. Wet paper isn't stiff & dry paper becomes brittle.

http://www.firstadopter.com/fa/archives/001749.html

"Popularity of a name brand doesn't equate to quality. Bose mystique feeds off of its well-targeted audience: the ignorant, ill-informed, mass-market consumers who search for simplified hifi audio solutions in 'all-in-one' chain stores.. Audio newbies often throw out the 'But I heard that Bose is good!' defense, to which I respond 'From who?' Was it a sound engineer, electrical engineer, materials scientist, studio engineer, sound producer, recording professional, musician, Mark Levinson? Ray Dolby? George Lucas? Anyone credible? Or was it your neighbor with the GoldStar walkman, Teac boom box, Funai mini-system, and Sylvania receiver? Perhaps the ubiquitous Bose Ads that they find in completely irrelevant magazines such as Popular Science, Times, Playboy, GQ, People, Astronomy, etc, had some sort of subliminal effect against the better of their judgment?"

The most durable speakers you can buy are JBL speakers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JBL

"While Harman International does not break out the sales figures of their individual brands, it is believed that JBL is one of the largest, if not the largest selling loudspeaker brand in the world."

"JBL gained a reputation as being second to none in the quality of their home loudspeakers."

"By the end of the decade, recording studios in the United States used more of JBLâs monitors than all other brandsâ monitors combined."

"They greatly expanded their presence in the professional field to become the largest professional sound company in the world. JBL became the dominant supplier to the tour sound industry, with their loudspeakers being employed by the largest touring rock acts and music festivals. JBL products were the basis for the development of THX loudspeaker standard which resulted in JBL becoming the premier cinema loudspeaker manufacturer."

"In the home market, they produce a full range of products, from low cost iPod accessories to $30,000/pr statement loudspeakers."

There are other great speakers that are also durable, but JBL is the most durable speaker you can buy.

-edit
"some affordable speakers that will last AT LEAST five or ten years (maybe twice as long at that):"
- Jefferson

FIVE YEARS! Good lord I should hope so. lol Even my Bose 901 speakers I bought back in the 1970s lasted longer than that. It took about 7 years before I had to replace the cones.

With the materials they use to build speakers today, good modern speakers should last you a lifetime. I know if I was building a house & installing in-wall or in-ceiling speakers I wouldn't want to ever have to replace them.

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I need help with home theater system fast??? Please?????

medina_yun

Hi i recently bought a home theater system that didn't bring the amplifier. it's a expensive system. it's call paramax p-7 here is link: http://paramaxaudio.com/hometheater7.html
what im wondering is what's a good receiver to use to bring my system to it's full potential. thank you in advance for your help.

Answer
Yeah, I agree with the Australian sounding guy that said they are crap. They are. Paramax is a White Van name (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam) if I remember correctly. They are Bose knockoffs. And why anyone would want to make knockoffs of those junkboxes is beyond me. No matter what you hook them up to they are going to sound like garbage. Get a top of the line $3,000.00 B&K or a $99.00 Sherwood from Walmart and there will be virtually no difference when hooked to these speakers. Sorry, if this sounds harsh but sometimes the truth is. Either get decent speakers or just get the cheapest receiver you can find.

How to build speakers from scratch?

Hallie_Mae

I am doing a school project. I was wondering how to build speakers from scratch. Will you guys give me any ideas?

Answer
Well as it is a school project I assume that you are going to attempt to build a driver - the actual transducer from scratch, to understand the electromagnetic principles involved. Not a finished speaker system that one would put into use in their living room.
You should do some of the research yourself for a better learning experience. Here is the Wikipedia site for loudspeakers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker
There is a lot there but the basic concept is well explained in "Driver Design."
Given that, your main concern is what materials to use and how to find them.
First you will need a magnet. A refrigerator magnet will not do. It's just too weak. If you can take apart an old hard drive you will find an extremely powerful rare Earth magnet. Barring that you can purchase inexpensive ceramic magnets at Radio Shack. If you can find a strong magnet laying around the house or if you teacher can provide one, so much the better.
The diaphragm or "cone" is the business end. It need not be cone shaped - we aren't building a high fidelity speaker here. The key factors are rigidity - stiffness - and light weight. The stiffer and lighter it is, the better it will perform. You need not use paper. Thin Styrofoam makes a good flat plate diaphragm. Craft stores sometimes stock it. The larger it is the more sound it will transfer to the air.
The voice coil is the electrical part. In a conventional speaker it is a coil of thin wire wound on a bobbin. The bobbin is cylindrical and surrounds the core of the magnet separated by a tiny space. This space is called the "magnetic gap" and is the area where the magnetic field is strongest. However you need not do it that way. If you get a coil of wire within the magnet's field it will respond. However the stronger the field the better. You can make a flat coil of wire and get it as close as possible without touching. Important things to consider are the thickness and length of the wire. The type of wire commonly used is called "armature wire." It is copper (usually) and is covered with enamel insulation. If you can get some that is the best stuff to use. Radio Shack may sell it as well. However any thin gauge insulated wire (I'd recommend no thicker than 26 gauge) will work. The total length of the coiled up wire is important because that will determine the speaker's electrical impedance. This is important because you will have to drive that speaker with some kind of amplifier. Amplifiers are designed to drive speakers within a given impedance range, usually between 4 Ohms and 16 Ohms. Connecting a speaker of 2 Ohms, for example, will cause such an amplifier to overheat and destroy itself or trigger a protection circuit. You will need to measure the coil's impedance with an Ohm meter. Your teacher should provide one. If he / she doesn't, inexpensive multi-meters (which will measure impedance) can be had at home improvement stores and radio Shack. They are really handy to have around and are a good investment. Given this, you will need to know what kind of amplifier the speaker will be driven by and what impedance it will tolerate. Between 6 and 10 Ohms is usually a safe bet.
The speaker will need some kind of frame to hold the diaphragm - voice coil - magnet assembly in their proper positions. This can be made, for your purposes, out of virtually anything that is strong enough. You may be able to cobble something together out of wood, plastic, metal and glue it together with hot glue, epoxy or any appropriate glue. If you have a parent or someone who has tools like drills, saws and possibly even welding equipment it would be of great advantage. The frame must hold the diaphragm only by it's edges. In conventional speakers the intermediate structure between the diaphragm and frame is called the "surround" and is flexible while holding the diaphragm centered. You really don't need a surround for your purposes as they are really only used to allow the diaphragm to move around a lot for bass response. I'm guessing that you aren't too concerned about that.
Last but not least is the enclosure. This is gone over in AVDADDY's link. However for your purposes you can get by by mounting your finished speaker on a flat panel or even in a shoe box. Again we aren't going for hi-fi here. The enclosure will give the sound it produces a little more fullness by containing the sound wave coming off the back of the diaphragm which, without some kind of enclosure, will cancel the wave coming from the front. This cancellation is more pronounced at lower frequencies.
Good luck. Hope you get an A.

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How to build speakers from scratch?

Hallie_Mae

I am doing a school project. I was wondering how to build speakers from scratch. Will you guys give me any ideas?

Answer
Well as it is a school project I assume that you are going to attempt to build a driver - the actual transducer from scratch, to understand the electromagnetic principles involved. Not a finished speaker system that one would put into use in their living room.
You should do some of the research yourself for a better learning experience. Here is the Wikipedia site for loudspeakers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker
There is a lot there but the basic concept is well explained in "Driver Design."
Given that, your main concern is what materials to use and how to find them.
First you will need a magnet. A refrigerator magnet will not do. It's just too weak. If you can take apart an old hard drive you will find an extremely powerful rare Earth magnet. Barring that you can purchase inexpensive ceramic magnets at Radio Shack. If you can find a strong magnet laying around the house or if you teacher can provide one, so much the better.
The diaphragm or "cone" is the business end. It need not be cone shaped - we aren't building a high fidelity speaker here. The key factors are rigidity - stiffness - and light weight. The stiffer and lighter it is, the better it will perform. You need not use paper. Thin Styrofoam makes a good flat plate diaphragm. Craft stores sometimes stock it. The larger it is the more sound it will transfer to the air.
The voice coil is the electrical part. In a conventional speaker it is a coil of thin wire wound on a bobbin. The bobbin is cylindrical and surrounds the core of the magnet separated by a tiny space. This space is called the "magnetic gap" and is the area where the magnetic field is strongest. However you need not do it that way. If you get a coil of wire within the magnet's field it will respond. However the stronger the field the better. You can make a flat coil of wire and get it as close as possible without touching. Important things to consider are the thickness and length of the wire. The type of wire commonly used is called "armature wire." It is copper (usually) and is covered with enamel insulation. If you can get some that is the best stuff to use. Radio Shack may sell it as well. However any thin gauge insulated wire (I'd recommend no thicker than 26 gauge) will work. The total length of the coiled up wire is important because that will determine the speaker's electrical impedance. This is important because you will have to drive that speaker with some kind of amplifier. Amplifiers are designed to drive speakers within a given impedance range, usually between 4 Ohms and 16 Ohms. Connecting a speaker of 2 Ohms, for example, will cause such an amplifier to overheat and destroy itself or trigger a protection circuit. You will need to measure the coil's impedance with an Ohm meter. Your teacher should provide one. If he / she doesn't, inexpensive multi-meters (which will measure impedance) can be had at home improvement stores and radio Shack. They are really handy to have around and are a good investment. Given this, you will need to know what kind of amplifier the speaker will be driven by and what impedance it will tolerate. Between 6 and 10 Ohms is usually a safe bet.
The speaker will need some kind of frame to hold the diaphragm - voice coil - magnet assembly in their proper positions. This can be made, for your purposes, out of virtually anything that is strong enough. You may be able to cobble something together out of wood, plastic, metal and glue it together with hot glue, epoxy or any appropriate glue. If you have a parent or someone who has tools like drills, saws and possibly even welding equipment it would be of great advantage. The frame must hold the diaphragm only by it's edges. In conventional speakers the intermediate structure between the diaphragm and frame is called the "surround" and is flexible while holding the diaphragm centered. You really don't need a surround for your purposes as they are really only used to allow the diaphragm to move around a lot for bass response. I'm guessing that you aren't too concerned about that.
Last but not least is the enclosure. This is gone over in AVDADDY's link. However for your purposes you can get by by mounting your finished speaker on a flat panel or even in a shoe box. Again we aren't going for hi-fi here. The enclosure will give the sound it produces a little more fullness by containing the sound wave coming off the back of the diaphragm which, without some kind of enclosure, will cancel the wave coming from the front. This cancellation is more pronounced at lower frequencies.
Good luck. Hope you get an A.

Difference between active and passive speakers?

lwk362393

I'm a musician and just usually use amps, but as gigs get bigger I need to start adding monitors and speakers, but I don't know much about them.

Answer
Copied and pasted straight from WikiAnswers (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_a_passive_and_active_speaker_system): "An active system has amplifiers and electronic crossover built in to the cabinet.
A passive system has just the speakers and possibly a passive crossover (made up of capacitors and inductors) inside the cabinet. A passive system requires external amplifier(s) to work."

From http://www.mediacollege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1918: "Very simple, passive speakers need an amplifier for them to be useful, while active speakers have a built-in amplifier that requires electrical power and an audio signal."

And here is much more info that I don't understand (thought I didn't even try that hard): http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_4/feature-article-active-speakers-12-2002.html

Good luck!

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What is the typical amprage in speaker wire when listening to music?

speaker system wiki image

hydroref

Assume 8 ohms,100W stereo system, and volume at comfort level. What about car stereo near pain level?

Answer
There is no amperage involved in speakers signal, we talk more of resistance, the thinner the wire the less it is resistant, thus it will take precious power to be delivered to the speaker's coil, and will give bad earing results.

Have a look at this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohm_%28unit%29

It might help you understand the fact.

The best wires are those containing copper and gold.

What brand of speakers have the longest life or best quality (least likely to fail)?

JoffreM

I'm currently thinking about Bose, not trying to go all out and spend a grand on speaker system. I just want a solid 5.1 speaker system that will last me awhile.

Answer
Bose speakers are the speakers most likely to have the shortest life of any speaker at any price.

This is because Bose uses the cheapest lowest quality components in their products to maximize their profits.

With the exception of $20 boom-boxes, Bose is the only company that uses untreated paper cones in their speakers. The one & only reason Bose uses untreated paper cones is to literally save pennies, it doesn't cost that much more to build your cones with treated paper. There's nothing wrong with using paper cones in a speaker if it's treated paper.

Untreated paper is very sensitive humidity & it also dries out easily. Wet paper isn't stiff & dry paper becomes brittle.

http://www.firstadopter.com/fa/archives/001749.html

"Popularity of a name brand doesn't equate to quality. Bose mystique feeds off of its well-targeted audience: the ignorant, ill-informed, mass-market consumers who search for simplified hifi audio solutions in 'all-in-one' chain stores.. Audio newbies often throw out the 'But I heard that Bose is good!' defense, to which I respond 'From who?' Was it a sound engineer, electrical engineer, materials scientist, studio engineer, sound producer, recording professional, musician, Mark Levinson? Ray Dolby? George Lucas? Anyone credible? Or was it your neighbor with the GoldStar walkman, Teac boom box, Funai mini-system, and Sylvania receiver? Perhaps the ubiquitous Bose Ads that they find in completely irrelevant magazines such as Popular Science, Times, Playboy, GQ, People, Astronomy, etc, had some sort of subliminal effect against the better of their judgment?"

The most durable speakers you can buy are JBL speakers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JBL

"While Harman International does not break out the sales figures of their individual brands, it is believed that JBL is one of the largest, if not the largest selling loudspeaker brand in the world."

"JBL gained a reputation as being second to none in the quality of their home loudspeakers."

"By the end of the decade, recording studios in the United States used more of JBLâs monitors than all other brandsâ monitors combined."

"They greatly expanded their presence in the professional field to become the largest professional sound company in the world. JBL became the dominant supplier to the tour sound industry, with their loudspeakers being employed by the largest touring rock acts and music festivals. JBL products were the basis for the development of THX loudspeaker standard which resulted in JBL becoming the premier cinema loudspeaker manufacturer."

"In the home market, they produce a full range of products, from low cost iPod accessories to $30,000/pr statement loudspeakers."

There are other great speakers that are also durable, but JBL is the most durable speaker you can buy.

-edit
"some affordable speakers that will last AT LEAST five or ten years (maybe twice as long at that):"
- Jefferson

FIVE YEARS! Good lord I should hope so. lol Even my Bose 901 speakers I bought back in the 1970s lasted longer than that. It took about 7 years before I had to replace the cones.

With the materials they use to build speakers today, good modern speakers should last you a lifetime. I know if I was building a house & installing in-wall or in-ceiling speakers I wouldn't want to ever have to replace them.

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What is a crossover in a car stereo system?

speaker system wiki image

tolkien_ru

I've been looking to upgrade my car stereo system for a while now, but have very little knowledge of whats required. Basically, I just want to add 4 new speakers, new wiring, and a new head unit now, and then over the next year or so add an amp and 1-2 12" subwoofers.

I've been looking on Craigslist for parts and see people selling Crossover's. What are these for? Would I need one for my setup? Thanks!

Answer
see this link


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_crossover

How would you wire a cable to convert XLR Out to 2 Wire Speakers from a Mixer?

Ramen Junk

I have a Mackie Mixer Board that has XLR Outs on it for the main out. I was wondering if there is a way to wire these directly to a pair of 2 wire speaker terminals or if I need some other piece of equipment in between them for this to work properly.

Answer
3-pin XLR connectors have long been the preferred choice of audio equipment manufacturers, most often in pro sound applications, whenever balanced (or AES3 digital) audio interconnections are desired for LINE-LEVEL audio signals. Depending on whether your loudspeakers are active or passive designs will dictate how you will be able to connect them to your audio equipment. For example you CANNOT directly connect passive loudspeakers (which appears to be what youâre using,) to a line-level audio output, such as the XLR outputs on your Mackie mixing console, nor can you connect the line-level input on an active loudspeaker to the high-level output on an audio power amplifier.

If you wish to connect a passive loudspeaker system to the 600⦠balanced (XLR) LINE OUT on your mixing console you will need an audio power amplifier with 600⦠balanced (XLR) line inputs (which are very common on pro sound audio power amplifiers,) in order to power your loudspeakers. However if the power amplifier you wish to use is equipped with unbalanced 1/4" (RCA phone-jack) line inputsâsans 600⦠balanced (XLR) line inputsâyou will need to use an impedance matching balun - assuming your Mackie mixing console lacks unbalanced 1/4" (phone-jack) line outputs.

For high performance pro sound and studio applications you will often see a variety of (line-level) digital loudspeaker management controllers/systems within the audio signal path between the mixing console and the audio power amplifiers that power your loudspeaker system. Such controllers are typically interconnected through XLR audio connectors - either 600⦠balanced analog audio or 110⦠(AES/EBU) AES3-compliant digital audio connections.

################## RESOURCES ##################

Balanced audio - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_audio
XLR connector - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLR_connector

Audio Connectors
http://www.nullmodem.com/Audio.htm

Rane Reference Library
http://www.rane.com/library.html
Sound System Interconnection
http://www.rane.com/note110.html
[PDF] Sound System Interconnection
http://www.rane.com/pdf/ranenotes/Sound%20System%20Interconnection.pdf
Grounding and Shielding Audio Devices
http://www.rane.com/note151.html
[PDF] Grounding and Shielding Audio Devices
http://www.rane.com/pdf/ranenotes/Grounding%20and%20Shielding%20Audio%20Devices.pdf

Audio Engineering Society Sound Path Labs
[PDF] First Basic Audio Workshop 1992
http://www.drewdaniels.com/BINDER.pdf
 

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