how many of you use compressers ?

[cccolvin]

Lonman, I was trying to say not to use 1/4" signal wires for speaker wires. That is a rookie mistake that I have witnessed more than a few times. XLR or balanced or unbalanced signal wires are fine for what they are made for. They are not made to be used as speaker wires UNLESS they are going to a powered speaker. That was my point. Signal wires are not of a high enough gauge to handle the wattage output of ANY amp. Speaker wires should be of 10-16 gauge. 12 and 14 being the norm. Not 24-28 gauge signal wire. As far as Lamp cord wire, there are not nearly enough strands in that type of wire to carry a full spectrum of sound without internal reflection of sound waves. It is also not the correct impedance. Just because it is copper, doesn't make it the same. It has a different metallurgy mix of nickel, silver, copper etc. Take a close look at both and it is easy to tell the difference. I was not clear in my previous post when I said to use XLR for the speakers. I meant to say XLR between the DriveRack and amps. Yes 1/4" is fine for that. However, the DriveRack only uses XLR connections. I simply prefer XLR. I also prefer Speakon connectors between my amps and speakers. Once again, 1/4" is fine as long as they are speaker wires. This happens because at the store, 50' speaker wire is $50.00 and 50' signal wire is $30.00.

[Lonman]

Originally Posted by cccolvin

Lonman, I was trying to say not to use 1/4" signal wires for speaker wires.

Sorry I missed that part. Yes I've seen that as well.

Speaker wires should be of 10-16 gauge. 12 and 14 being the norm. Not 24-28 gauge signal wire. As far as Lamp cord wire, there are not nearly enough strands in that type of wire to carry a full spectrum of sound without internal reflection of sound waves.

I will still go back & forth on this one. Depends on the wattage of the system for one. Of course regular speaker cable will do better overall, but the audible loss is not going to be noticed in most typical karaoke systems that's I've heard.

[cccolvin]

Correct. Once you get into higher wattage PA amps, you should use speaker wire. Resonance occurs at these higher wattages that could theoretically damage a system. Newer amps of today that are 2 ohm stable are less likely to have an issue. Home consumer amps usually are not. When pushed to high wattages, they can fail because of the wire type. Because of the silver & platinum content in speaker wire, it has less resistance than regular copper wire. It is the higher resistance combined with resonance that causes the problem. It draws too many amps and overheats possibly causing damage.