Philips Spooled Speaker Wire - 100ft - 16 gauge
by Philips Peripherals and Accessories
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Philips Spooled Speaker Wire - 100ft - 16 gauge
Customer Review: No excuse for indistinguishable strands.
Summary: 1 Stars
Speaker wires come with two strands. The strand going to the + or - pole on the receiver MUST go to the same pole (+ or -) on the speaker, which means that you MUST be able to identify each strand at each end. This is the way speaker wiring has worked for well over 50 years (since the inception of stereo).
So how on earth can a company be lazy/stupid/careless/sloppy enough to market a 100' long spool of "speaker wire" with no way of distinguishing the two strands at each end? That's what I got when I ordered this product. The picture on the spool I received actually shows the two strands as being different colors - one dark and one light - but they were not.
If you do not happen to own an Ohm meter, you must first cut the wire to length, split the strands into two at each end, wrap one wire/strand with tape, then manually track that strand all the way (as much as 100') to the other end and mark it with tape so that you can be sure of connecting your speakers in phase (assuming you didn't miss a twist in the wire somewhere along the line).
Since the quality of wire has to be pretty much the same in different brands' plain rolls of basic 16-guage speaker wire, I have to downgrade this to 1 star for this inexcusable omission. I agree with the person who said to buy from Home Depot or Lowes so that you can see what you are getting.
Customer Review: Wire Gauge Vs. Speaker Wattage
Summary: 5 Stars
It seems like a LOT of people (including me) over spent on speaker wire because they listened to others and simply didn't know better.
Here is a VERY simple table to help you potentially save quite a few $$ and buy the right speaker wire that fits your speakers. Wire gauge ties directly into the wattage it can handle. Amazing what a little research turns up instead of listening to "know-it-all" salesmen.
Use 16 gauge for 50-100W speakers
Use 14 Gauge for 100-150W speakers
Use 12 Guage for 150W+ speakers
I don't know anyone running 150W+ per speaker in their how, so save a few bucks and buy what you need (which for those of us who'd like to have hearing when we're 60), would probably suit quite well with 16 gauge.
As you can imagine there's nothing special about Monster speaker cable. Copper is copper. Slap on a branding and great marketing and it's no wonder they screw over thousands of stupid people with a 3-10x markup on cables, wires, connectors, etc...
Customer Review: I find these reviews to be funny
Summary: 4 Stars
First in response to the one guys buying guide on gauge, gauge should be decided more on the distance of the run than the wattage you use so his guide is totally wrong. 16 gauge on short runs will handle any wattage that is going to be used in a house.
If you are going to run speakers farther than 15' each speaker I would suggest 14 gauge or in wall I would suggest 14 or 12 gauge. If wire is going to be ran under carpets and walked on I would use a heavier gauge also. 12-14
As far as there being no difference between no names and big names there is a difference but it doesn't matter to most. Some styles of Monster have a special way the outer wire is wrapped which reduces interference. They also have a little tougher housing. Is it worth the difference in price to home users? Not really... For the most part most humans can not tell any difference when compared head to head and who cares what a meter can hear if you can't tell a difference with your ears?
Customer Review: Good stuff.
Summary: 5 Stars
It's speaker wire, what else needs to be said? Well, there's speaker wire, then there's serious cable, and this falls in the latter category. 14 gauge stranded copper -- if you can't visualize that, think "lamp cord", only higher quality. You probably have appliances with power cords thinner than this stuff.
Cut it, tin the ends, and you have a nice, solid speaker cable that should outlast the rest of your system. I don't know what kind of loads 14 gauge is rated for, but I sure don't have enough power to cause any problems. If you have other uses in mind, it wicks up solder very nicely and is very easy to work with. The insulation will burn like any other, but it's not too excessive if you are halfway decent at soldering.
Just taking it out of the box, I knew I had some quality cable when I dropped it from the unexpected weight. It reminded me most of the solid copper heatsink from my now dead Athlon machine. This cable is well worth the money.
Customer Review: Good wire, bad marking
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought 5 spools of this wire in 3 separate purchases, so obviously I think it's worth the cost. The wire is braided and both are copper (as noted in other reviews here).
My main complaint is that the markings that should show which line is which (the white stripe that should go along one of sheaths) is either very hard to see, or non-existant. 4/5 of mine had a very light white line, the other one had no marking whatsoever.
Yeah, seemed weird to me too.
A suggestion: If you're running several of these lines alongside one another (in a conduit/wall/raceway etc), look into buying some IDEAL Yellow 77 Plus Wire Pulling Lubricant - Wire pulling lubricant. It makes things go a _whole_ lot smoother. (Pun intended. ;))
In all, very happy with this wire.