Replacing home cinema speaker cable

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I have a new 5.1 speaker and AV receiver package, and I want to replace
the very basic speaker cable that was supplied.

I am able to replace the 5 small speaker cables, because they are
detachable, but the sub woofer speaker cable is not detachable - it is
kind of "glued" in to the woofer unit itself.

Is it OK/safe to go ahead and replace the other 5 speaker cables? Will
the AV receiver unit & speakers be "happy" with this difference in
cabling?

Thanks, regards, dnw.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

<dotnw@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1120819743.188439.25130@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com

> I have a new 5.1 speaker and AV receiver package, and I
want
> to replace the very basic speaker cable that was supplied.

> I am able to replace the 5 small speaker cables, because
they
> are detachable, but the sub woofer speaker cable is not
> detachable - it is kind of "glued" in to the woofer unit
> itself.

Usually the subwoofer in systems like this has its own power
amp, and its cable is not really speaker cable.

> Is it OK/safe to go ahead and replace the other 5 speaker
> cables?

Sure. There are reasonable reasons to do this, such as to
get the convenience of longer cables. If you try to improve
the sound quality of the system by *upgrading* the speaker
cable, your efforts will probably be futile.

> Will the AV receiver unit & speakers be "happy" with
> this difference in cabling?

As long as your connections are good and especially if you
don't short things out or hook some speakers up with their
polarity inverted.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Review past posts for much flamage about this. If you insist on wasting
money we can't stop you.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

dotnw wrote ...
>I have a new 5.1 speaker and AV receiver package, and I want
> to replace the very basic speaker cable that was supplied.
>
> I am able to replace the 5 small speaker cables, because they
> are detachable, but the sub woofer speaker cable is not detachable -
> it is kind of "glued" in to the woofer unit itself.
>
> Is it OK/safe to go ahead and replace the other 5 speaker
> cables? Will the AV receiver unit & speakers be "happy"
> with this difference in cabling?

It is quite likely "safe" and the equipment will be "happy".
Assumes you are very careful about avoiding shorts (from
those fine pieces of stranded wire) and get the polarity re-
connected properly. And don't mess with the subwoofer
cable if it is captive at one end.

On the other hand, "OK" is dubious. Unless you have quite
unusual equipment, it is unlikely that you will hear any
significant difference in performance. You'd be as well
off trying to just imagine that you had replaced the cables.
The effect is mostly psychological.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

On 8 Jul 2005 03:49:03 -0700, dotnw@hotmail.com wrote:

>I have a new 5.1 speaker and AV receiver package, and I want to replace
>the very basic speaker cable that was supplied.
>
>I am able to replace the 5 small speaker cables, because they are
>detachable, but the sub woofer speaker cable is not detachable - it is
>kind of "glued" in to the woofer unit itself.
>
>Is it OK/safe to go ahead and replace the other 5 speaker cables? Will
>the AV receiver unit & speakers be "happy" with this difference in
>cabling?

It's perfectly safe, as long as you make sure your replacement cable
provides the same electrical connections and isn't stupidly small.

If you're looking to extend cables for practical reasons, sure, go for
it. If you're hoping to improve the sound, forget it. Magic speaker
cables are one of the classic audiophile scams. If you pick cables
with extreme electrical characteristics (capacitance etc.) you might
succeed in slightly degrading the sound. But there's a lot of cheaper
ways of seeing what a bit of capacitance in the speaker circuit does
than buying overpriced cables :-)

The overwhelming factor in getting quality sound is choosing quality
program. Next important is speaker quality and speaker location in
the room. This last is where you can make a real difference. Don't
put them where they look tidy, put them where they sound good!
Cabling comes nowhere. Forget about expensive rip-offs and buy some
more music instead.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

In article <1120819743.188439.25130@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
dotnw@hotmail.com says...
>I have a new 5.1 speaker and AV receiver package, and I want to replace
>the very basic speaker cable that was supplied.
>I am able to replace the 5 small speaker cables, because they are
>detachable, but the sub woofer speaker cable is not detachable - it is
>kind of "glued" in to the woofer unit itself.
>Is it OK/safe to go ahead and replace the other 5 speaker cables? Will
>the AV receiver unit & speakers be "happy" with this difference in
>cabling?

Sure, not a problem.
--------------
Alex