Bulk cable for 40 ft. runs


I am currently using Monster cable for my rear speakers in my HT set up, but would like to get something better. I can't afford to buy any finished cables because the runs are so long. I am guestimating that they are about 40 ft long, as I need to run the cables around the edges of my room to keep them out of the way.

Is the Canare or Kimber Kable bulk wire better than the Monster, or are all bulk wires about the same? I have seen the threads about using wire from Home Depot, but I want something a bit prettier I guess. I will solder on terminations myself (I think my very basic soldering skills are up to this task. :-) )

Holly
oakiris
Readster - I notice you don't have any Monster cables in your set up... (j/k)

I still use some Monster optical and component cables, and will keep these in my HT set up, so I meant no insult to my fellow Monster cable users.

Holly
monster cable are definately NOT poor quality, quite the contrary, monster makes some very good cables.
Thank you for all of your suggestions. I ended up going to Blue Jeans Cable and getting a couple of 45 ft. terminated cables. Cheap enough (though the Canare Star Quad would have been cheaper.) I'm not expecting to have much of a sonic improvement - some folks would say lamp cord does just as well as exotic audio wires - but just wanted to have something decent. Besides, I've bought into the hype that Monster cables are all poor quality snake oil. :-)

Holly
i only paid .69/ft for the canare star quad in 14 awg. 50 ft minimum at haveinc.com. Pretty decent cable for $.
So should I just stick with the Monster cable I already have? I'm not sure what gauge it is...

Maybe a trip to Home Depot is in order after all!

Holly

I'm a big fan of the Canare 4s11 and 4s8, especially for long runs where the StarQuad geometry has some at least theoretical advantages but I'm not sure how much difference you'd be able to hear on rear surrounds, or if it matters enough to spend the money on that rather than on more music or movies. It's visually unobtrusive, though, very flexible and available in either gray or black.
I would go w/a 12ga generic cable for long runs -- no need to pay for Kimber/Canare etc. in an application like this.