How to make Your own HiFi Speaker Wire

Ever wanted really nice speaker wire, but didn't want to spend the big money? Well in this video I will show you how to make your very own high fidelity speaker wire. The best part, is you can customize the wires to any length and or color you want. So if you want some awesome cables for your next competition, or just want them for your house, check out this video.
Support the channel: www.patreon.co...
Free Plans on my website: toidsdiyaudio.com
If you found this helpful, feel free to tip the creator: bit.ly/morefree...
Parts Used on Amazon:
Tech Flex: amzn.to/2KL2yxj
Cable Pants: amzn.to/2MeyXkP
Banana Plugs (were discontinued) - equivalent - amzn.to/3fPNVxW
Speaker Wire: amzn.to/2AZQl8m
My Favorite Speaker Wire: bit.ly/3p2SINw
Parts Used from Parts Express: Get 5% 0ff with the code TOID
Tech Flex - carbon - parts-express....
Cable Pants - parts-express....
Banana Plugs (were discontinued) - equivalent - parts-express.... or amzn.to/3fPNVxW
12ga speaker wire 2C CL2 - parts-express....
🔥 Where to Buy Speaker Parts and Kits:
US and Canada: parts-express.... get 5% off with code TOID
UK and Abroad: bit.ly/3skOGRJ
Worldwide: Amazon: amzn.to/3aPhKYD
Car Speakers/ Home Audio and electronics: howl.me/cg5oP9...
🏠Get Whole House Audio:
Arylic: bit.ly/2wFUUQ4
🍿Theater Seating
Valencia Theater Seating: bit.ly/3Jbagjm
📄Speaker Plans: toidsdiyaudio....
🎙️Sound Advice Podcast: anchor.fm/soun...
🎧Buy Audiophile Headphones: howl.me/cg6GDj...
🆓Get it with Prime - Free for your first 30 days: amzn.to/326cZqe
FREE Audio Books for 30 days from Audible: amzn.to/3a7lBS9
👋Connect with Me:
www.toidsdiyaudio.com/forums
🤝 Support:
Patreon: / 123toid
Disclosure: This channel is viewer-supported. When you buy through links on my site, I may earn an affiliate commission. I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own.

[@Toid]

Parts Used on Amazon: Tech Flex: amzn.to/2KL2yxj Cable Pants: amzn.to/2MeyXkP Banana Plugs (were discontinued) - equivalent - amzn.to/2qCIQME Speaker Wire: amzn.to/2AZQl8m Parts Used from Parts Express: 3/8" Tech Flex - carbon - bit.ly/2Dk9qBi 8mm Cable Pants - bit.ly/2RCBBnG Banana Plugs (were discontinued) - equivalent - bit.ly/2T1H6cx or amzn.to/2qCIQME 14ga speaker wire 2C CL2 - bit.ly/2sys9mm

[@Keith-hz9zd]

I need 10 gauge two sets 20 feet and 10 gauge 4 set 4 feet can you make them for me and how much

[@Keith-hz9zd]

My number is 757 371 4445

[@vainparasite]

I liked the thumb cover trick at 8:14 😁👍

[@culinarypro]

I recently just got into hifi, very fun hobby! culturally I would say from my perspective there are those who love the science and then the snobs that based the performance off the money invested. what I love about this is there is no one best product and it's driven off what works best for you and your ear. I like to investigate claims and then also listen to the debates when it comes to the science. I.E. cables and hi res audio digital tracks. That's a great solution for the hobbyist that wants to upgrade cabling on a budget.

[@Toid]

It is such a great hobby! I'm so glad to hear that you go into it. Stay tuned, I always have free build plans if you ever want to try some. I also try my hardest to teach the most I can to help people get into this hobby.

[@RJ_331]

Looks good and definitely beats having to buying overpriced cables just for the looks. Great work!

[@NickkaDUB]

You can vjazzle them too.

[@papo1515]

OK, for all those who are hating on dude here for making 10.00 speaker wire look like 300.00 cable...…..what's wrong with that? I'm of the mindset that if you're going to do something do it right make it look good and enjoy, yeah, you can hear your music through a lamp cord if you like, but that's not the point, the point is to do the shit right and make it look nice, I can't wait to start on my cables, I've got nice equipment and I'm hooking them up with good wire that looks as good as my stuff.

[@arcturusbbqsausagemaking2435]

I agree bro ...Some people just don't get it

[@esquiremoderator32]

Because $300 speaker cable is not the same as adding a sleeve over $10.00 this wire. He's just polishing a turd. He could have saved the money he spent on decorating cheap cable and bought better cable instead. If you only care about looks and fooling your friends and you don't care how your stereo sounds, then it's a great idea. Look, I don't believe in spending $700 for 12 feet of wire either, but there are some accepted minimum standards for hifi stereo cable that have nothing to do with looks. For starters, 12AWG is the standard thickness for good cable and he should have spent his money on thicker cable instead of looks. He also wasted money on buying cable rated for in-wall construction. That rating is for fire protection regulations and is not good for sound. You want low resistance wire, which is accomplished with pure copper 12 AWG or thicker. Again, he chose that for looks, but it is more expensive than wire that isn't rated for fire or underground burial. He probably could have bought proper 12AWG copper for the same price has he paid for the crappy wire's costume and makeup. If his system is so shitty that the cable doesn't matter, then it's going to look silly having "high-end" cable on a cheap system. Like driving around on $6,000 rims on a $2,000 20-year old Honda Accord, with a top of the line K&N "Cold AIr Intake" air filter.

[@kworx1]

WOW, You as dumb as the maker of this video! The quality of cable is NOT in the looks, you IDIOT!

[@pierrelailvaux9544]

@@kworx1 He's not an idiot. You ever heard of nul testers? There is no measurable difference between cables. It's all in your mind, put there by advertising and lying hype. You persuade yourself you're going to hear something and you hear it. There's an English guy called Peter Kay who has a hilarious comedy routine doing just that with song lyrics. The principle is exactly the same. You hear what he tells you you'll hear, just as you apparently hear what you expect to hear with speaker cables. The only time you'll hear a legitimate difference is if your wires are corroded and you replace them with fresh copper connection. I'm afraid it's really as simple as that. Speaker cables are a giant con, a con that you unfortunately fell for.

[@pierrelailvaux9544]

@@esquiremoderator32 Sorry man you're wrong. Nul testing has demonstrated that there is no audible difference between cables except in your imagination (which by the way is powerful). You'll hear what you want to hear every time. The brain is a really powerful thing that way.

[@RobertKohut]

Nice job at making "normal" in-wall wire look like high end speaker cable!! The audiophiles would be impressed as long as you didn't tell them it's just in-wall 14 gauge....LOL...LOL. Great job!

[@roofjumper90]

Absolutely right !!!!!!

[@marcelsmeets4162]

Until you hear the sound of your system.😓😓

[@jensharbers6702]

@@marcelsmeets4162 Why? With the 14 gauge standard wire it MUST sound the same, other things aren't electrical possible.

[@marcelsmeets4162]

@@jensharbers6702 I used to be a really non believing physics Phd...If you cannot measure it, it is not there.....right? Therefore before breaking the bank on speaker wire I have tried to make my own. Checkout TNTaudio they have a great website on diy speakercables. I was blown away with the difference to normal speakerwire..compared with the braided ethernet cable.. And the Kimber12tc was even a step up from that. And yes we did blind tests and I picked them out of 3, every time again.

[@wicomms]

Robert ... explain... should we use 12awg...or is there a different wire to use...

[@soundmixerporter]

Nice looking cables, and great demo. I actually think I prefer the cheaper banana plugs because of the way they clamp to the wire. Set screws and stranded wire can fail sometimes (I usually solder the strands together for those types of connections)

[@kelvinham8576]

in the end, for speakers, you just need low resistance. Remember, speakers are low impedance, typically between 4 to 8 ohms. Keep the cables as short as possible. Use good quality connectors. I think the example shown is a good example on how to make low cost good quality cables

[@arcturusbbqsausagemaking2435]

Bam !!! At least one person on here is actually using that lump thats two foot above their ass....... Thank you

[@Coralbit]

@@arcturusbbqsausagemaking2435 He used his neck ? :D

[@jjcale2288]

@Club Soda in the beginning, yes, it was. Nowadays even the future is not what it used to be!

[@MrSlickmonster6973]

I want to do these for my home theater but my rear speakers are about 15 feet from the receiver. Will doing this work?

[@theheadsn]

the longer you go the higher gauge you need. If you use 12, or even 10 gauge youll be able to run any length youll ever need

[@charlieturner5485]

I will just add a little fuel to the fire here and say that an old friend back in the '70s had a rack mounted stereo in one of his bedrooms (3 racks, several Crown reel to reel tape recorders, etc, and a Crown DC300a driving a pair of Bozak Concert Grands in his living room. He wired those up to the DC300a with (brace yourselves, get ready for it!) 12-2 w/ground Romex!!!! It sounded great! I loved the way music sounded through his system. As good as anyone else's high dollar wires sounded with their system. But this brings me back to a basic question, why would anyone want to listen to their stereo system. I would rather listen to music. Finally, I remember a couple of old sayings that might apply here: Definition of an audiophile: someone who spends more and more on his hardware to improve it to the point that he is able to prove that all software (music) is defective, and P.T. Barnum was right, a fool and his money are soon parted. If you can't hear it in a double blind test, it's not there.

[@Dug6666666]

I looked up a pair of cables for $3600 and that was just the first find. Its the magic pixie dust they sprinkle on them that costs so much. Now if you could do a video on making that, think of he money we could save.

[@practicalguy973]

Nice work. The only thing I don't like is that extra white PVC jacket that comes on the monoprice wire. I'd prefer the most physical flexibility by just using the tech flex and 2 wires. I also have had some bad experiences with buying bulk speaker wire that claimed to be 99.999% o2 free and its actually really weak and made of tinned aluminum! I just use lamp cord now. That way it has be be 99.999% copper legally approved for use with electrical. I can bend the strands back and forth a lot and they dont break off easy.

[@esquiremoderator32]

That PVC jacket is there because that particular cable is approved for in-wall use, which the building code requires for fire protection. That is one of the reasons I criticized the guy making the video, because he spent extra money on fire rating that has nothing to do with sound.

[@seaslyd]

I'm Japanese. I have expensive cable and inexpensive cable too. I love both. By the way I'm high educated ... lol(^^♪ Western electric 12AWG wire is ultra nice. High-end cable is not superstition, but only one cheap OP-AMP changes your sound more.

[@luisacevedo324]

I Find that if you add a peice of paper.wrap it around the tech flex. push the boot enough to just start and pull paper out... Helps the boot slide on..

[@PrinceFluffy]

Nicely hidden with your thumb at 8:11

[@63RYX]

:"D I see that too...

[@funkrusher]

Agreed. Learning opportunity missed. Show the common mistake and how to fix rather than hiding it.

[@FeeLtheHertZ]

@@funkrusher Man shut the fuck up. You paranoid audio freaks are all conspiracists aren't ya. It's all out to GET YA!

[@brodiehaward]

I have a little trick that would make it easier to put the boots on. If you put some heatshrink over the techflex, and just melt it on the end slightly it will melt the techflex over the cable so the techflex will stay put when you slide the boot over.

[@Toid]

Brodie Haward great tip!

[@32toddv]

Very nice, like the the version with the Sewell bannanas.

[@johnbrender7635]

Excellent "How to vid" for the average and everyday audiophiles like most of us. Parts are within reason and affordable...Look great! Thanks Man!

[@Toid]

You're welcome

[@paulevans4334]

I made my own back in early 2000 before maplin went rubbish. I used shark OFC cable 6 meters long for each and gold plated banana plugs. I made four pairs as my system is quadraphonic. They sound like £1600 speaker wire but only cost me around £60 for everything. It's well worth doing.

[@vusstoppyv4612]

I've done this build before but 13ga wire with black jacket. Only thing I did differently was used a cement silicon glue for flexibility under flex hose and jacket. Only reason I wanted to be secured enough cause I plug and unplug a lot and didn't want anything to be undone. Great video

[@thecman26]

Call me crazy but I prefer to solder my cable into the banana plug. Makes me feel better and never question the connection.

[@Windycitysmokers]

If the wire has a mechanical connection this is what provides a good connection. Soldier just holds a mechanical connection and doesn’t provide any better connection. So solder is not ideal in this situation

[@4130aykut]

Why not. I also would solder them to have best results:-)

[@septimuspretorius250]

Me too!

[@nathanjimbob7885]

Solder can make a great connection. However, it can also make wire brittle over time with repeated flexing. As with all things, there are pluses and minuses.

[@Rossithebull87]

Would you use a speaker cable made of solder metal? Your signal is only as good as it's termination.. I believe soldering only hurts signal. If you use good terminals, there's already going to be an excellent connection!

[@whozaskin3639]

I'm sure a lot of musicians question audiophiles, considering the overwhelming use of sm58 mics, old tube guitar amps, and the fact mogami is good enough wire for pro recording studios.

[@jjcale2288]

Who Zaskin you should have never mentioned that! You f'ked up my day....😢

[@csj9619]

I like to glue the techflex to the speaker cable at the ends to prevent it from pulling out of the boot.

[@crztrn1]

thank you for all the videos . by the way, nice slight of had on the banana clip and exposed wire.

[@Toid]

Haha! Thanks 😁

[@ericmacey1026]

Cut Tech Flex with a hot soldering iron, this stops it fraying. Makes a neater job. Watch out for the fumes though

[@Toid]

Great tip

[@RojasTKD7]

All though I disagree with those saying, "this isn't $330 cables this is a cheap $10 cable made to look like $300 cables... bla bla bla". I'm highly skeptical of the legitimacy of expensive cables and their superior audio quality, at least in any significantly audible way. But honestly It seems like a lot of hassle (and additional expense), when I can just get the same Monoprice speaker wire and add banana plugs and be done with it. As long as I can keep it out of sight, I just don't care. But that's just me. I understand some people are into the looks.

[@Vidar.m]

I have some expensive cables totaly useles crap, i cut the plugs off and turns out the wire is super tin...

[@FeeLtheHertZ]

There's no difference.

[@francisraesacramento]

Good video on "how to". Made it look simple and straight forward.

[@MrSgtskip]

Loved the Video. I will re-do all my stuff now. Only thing was to Tape the Kek-Flex ends... Great instructions

[@nunyabiz2016]

"You can use these very nice banana plugs...OR you can use these cheap ass ones [pulls out the ones I bought]" O_O

[@theHeartlessNooB]

hahaha same

[@69novaguy91]

@@theHeartlessNooB I am not sure but wouldnt the better banana plugs be prone to shorting out if they were to touch each other since they are all Brass or Aluminium or whatever they are made of since they are made from a conductive material .... Like I said though I am not sure exactly how those ends work ..... never ever used one before .... just looks to me like the whole thing would conduct electrical flow .... I always thought the outside jacket would be better out of a non conductive material like those ones he says are cheap ones .... Fill me in on how those good ones work .... they sure look nice though

[@josephkool8411]

The ones you just bought sound just just as good

[@joshua43214]

Reading the comment section here reminds me of why I detest audiophiles so much...

[@LeRoi81]

Yeah, that makes me angry too!

[@paulwisdom5383]

Let's be honest these are pretty enough for the average Joe who can't justify £300 on 1m speaker cables, but wants a perfect length good looking cable that does it's bloody job. You'd think they were counting every goddamn millivolt and if not every single one makes it through the product is completely unnaceptable. Some of just want some cool looking shit that works on a budget.

[@MrGorpm]

Then why are you watching content that is aimed at "audiophiles" on a budget. Why can't you accept the fact that sound quality can be altered significantly by altering the properties of the system; that includes cables. Would you agree that using different components in an amplifier influences the sound? If so then you cannot disagree that different materials in cables have an effect also (better or worse).

[@kworx1]

@@LeRoi81 You fuckers are dumber than each other! Maybe you would not be so angry if you were not so damn stupid!

[@joshua43214]

@@kworx1 You make my point perfectly. Not enough to say you disagree, you have to turn into a massive asshole in the process. Cables do make a difference. These will be good cables, very few people own systems revealing enough to hear any improvement over these - in other words, they a fine for discriminating ears with modest systems. See how easy that is? I can say they are not the best, and still say something nice in the process.

[@Kyouske_42]

I rather prefer a crimped connection with rings or forks to put under the screw terminal of the speaker. But banana plug works fine as well. Looks stunning too ^^

[@Rattletrap-xs8il]

I'm not a fan of crimp connections, but I would have tinned the wires before setting that screw. You can get a much tighter connection without crushing the copper.

[@lorcro2000]

@@Rattletrap-xs8il Yeah I'm not wild about the screw type, but they should work fine. I would kind of prefer soldered, but of course you need to know what you're doing. But at the very least I'd pick up banana plugs that have two set screws. Just to foolproof the connectivity. Kind of hard to fail to get it right with two separate screws.

[@coldginuk1]

@@lorcro2000 I prefer the twin screw system. The bottom screw I use to hold the jacket in place but I remove the top one and solder through the hole. It's a bit tricky and you need to use a bit of flux but it does work.

[@chemicallust77]

Wrap a bit of tape around the end where the tech flex is and the cable pants will slide right over it

[@towlie911]

If you want the best sound just make them as short as possible. Shorter = less resistance

[@ericschulze5641]

& who told you that

[@CubeRepublic]

If you heat the tex flex with a lighter it won't fray.

[@Toid]

CubeRepublic that is a great point. I usually don't worry about it if I'm putting the boots on. But fantastic point

[@heathwascom9413]

Parts express conecter looked better to me also, thanks for the video very informative!

[@jazzman1626]

I got twice the length of 12 awg wire needed because I couldn’t get 4 core 12awg wire. I’m putting the 2 core wire together and I’ve twisted them for one of the wires in a drill so far but putting the TexFlex on the 4 cores is really tight and difficult to put on. It’s easier to put the wire on a table while putting on the braiding. The braiding I got is a lovely blue with gold stripes and it looks great already. I might just leave the other wires untwisted to see if they’ll make braiding it easier. Total cost is only £52.50.

[@mikegoddard7354]

I am definitely not hating on anybody, but you really care what your speaker cable looks like. Personally just find that funny, I actually came in here and watched this entire thing thinking something intricate was going to go down lol. I just think a lot of other people thought the same thing and that's probably why they started hating. But I do appreciate the advice, not being sarcastic, something to keep in mind when I get some crack head audiophiles at my house. Buy some designer labeled cable pants while im at it and fully pull it off XD I mean if youre going to go that far, might as well put the icing on the cake.

[@fransferreira8307]

Nothing can beat a solder joint. Snake oil optional. Cable $30.00. Snake oil $3000.00

[@stanleymkunene7022]

Simple and neat thanks bro

[@MFRiley]

These look sick man. Will be making myself some

[@ficho1234]

Finish (burn) the ends of tex flex with a lighter then super glue ends to cable insulation, makes job 1000% easier.

[@Toid]

Good call 👍

[@jaxmg]

What devices can the hifi cable be plugged in/...in kinda new to speaker building

[@poppawasarollinstoneboom9396]

Great video man forgot the haters

[@luke9822]

Religion, politics, and cables: the three things that get people going. I don't understand why this is still an argument in the year 2019. If there is a marketed difference between a high-end and average speaker cables, there would be a number of properly designed, peer-reviewed studies supporting it.

[@wellab.5212]

I love the banana plugs with screw

[@swinde]

For home audio, go to your hardware store and buy 18 gauge lamp cord wire. Unless your speakers are more than 60 feet apart, it will work as well or better than various "Monster" type speaker wires. Many of the exotic speaker wires introduce unwanted capacitance to the load.

[@mcplutt]

LOL

[@treiber671988]

I'd like to know how big I would need tech flex wise if I use either 8ga or 12ga speaker wire.

[@jolkraeremeark6949]

Yes, me too! I would like to know specifically the brand and model of 12AWG and the tech flex used. Thank you!

[@dannyl6507]

Keep in mind the wire coming from the circuit board to the banana terminals inside the amp are probably not "high end" wire and may be much lower gauge than the wire you are connecting to your speakers.

[@esquiremoderator32]

Not on a quality amp. Good amps are filled with 6, 8 or 10AWG. High end speaker wire is for high-end equipment. If you have a $50 chinese amp, then you don't need to worry about nice speaker wire.

[@freezboss492]

That doesn’t matter because this cable would be in series with the one in the amp so the resistent of the cable will just add to the one from the amp, so low gauge still improves it

[@carloslarard]

The newer version of sewel, has improve a lot of things, like better finish and short pipe to avoid bent and loose as well. especially long length banana suffer to bend over time and get loose.

[@aawcy]

bare speaker wire without any banana/spade is the BEST!

[@Thereznap]

this is the nicest tutorial i've seen. thank you for sharing... love the Y shape cable jackets. something i haven't seen from other folks in DIY videos . great work.. just wondering if you like to use OCC cables for better sound quality ?.

[@markcaruso815]

Wow great explanation. Straightforward thank you made my life a lot easier

[@brentcollins9727]

What if you don’t feel like bothering with the connectors? Can you slip the jackets and boots on, strip the wire and clamp the bare wire down with your screw on speaker and amp posts? Any audible difference?

[@clintonelliott9133]

What size tech flex did you use?

[@greggramig910]

The connectors will improve connection and it does look nice. However I fail to see any mitigation design to address RF noise. Using 3-6 pair braided and high quality copper cable will address that.

[@markedwards6165]

14 ga. dead soft pure silver wire, (clean oxidation off wire with 4# steelwool) teflon jacket slightly larger than wire. Add connectors (pins or bannanas) if you want (I prefer bare ends) and you are done. Silver is around $17.00 an ounce right now. Made mine when it was $35.00 an ounce. Cost about $100.00 for a 10' pair. I've seen similar cables sell on-line for as much as $100.00 a foot. Be sure to twist the insulated conductors together. No need for outer jacket as the teflon insulator is pretty tough and besides they look great with the silver shining through the translucent teflon. Huge improvement in sound. For interconnect cables I use 28 ga. pure silver wire and appropriate sized teflon jacket. Get the best RCA plugs you can afford (I like the Cardas silver RCAs as they are well made and reasonably priced at $50.00 a pair, and they look great with the silver wire). So, given the cheap silver prices right now, about $60.00 for a 10' pair of speaker cables and $60.00 a piece for 2 meter interconects. These will perform as well as the ultra highend cables, some of which run into the thousands of dollars. Best money I've ever spent on my system by a long shot.

[@permanentwave]

If u put a safety pin on the white wire u can pull it thru easier

[@MrHeHim]

I have expensive cables for my main tower speakers in my living room. 6ft 12 gauge and cost $250 new.. I picked them up used in like new condition for $60. Did some tests and they where definitely better than 14 gauge monster cable I used before at high volumes with heavy bass. Then some years ago I got some monitor speakers for my computer setup and ordered with them a "pair" of 14 guadge speaker cables for $40. Turned out it was just a single channels worth of cables.. Then I got annoyed and wanted to make my own, did some research and came to the conclusion that it might not make any difference as long as you have good contact and the wire isn't too thin. So I started experimenting, first thing I thought to use was stranded electrical conduit wire for a standard 15amp outlet. Made sure the posts on the speakers where very clean and same with the class D Pioneer Elite stereo amp. There was no difference at all between the two at all. So then tested them on my floor standing infinity speakers in my living room with the "$250" cables and same, no difference. I tried the 14 gauge $40 "pair" I just ordered on the bigger speakers and there was clear deformation in the bass and highs. The lesson learned; oxygen free just means the copper is true to the gauge it claims. You can just use thicker gauge wire, heavier strands or solid cable is best if nothing is going to be moved around. Stranded cable's only benefit/purpose is for flexibility and movement. And gold plating is for best contact on limited surface area but if you make sure the wire and posts are clean (very clean) then tighten down the wire enough to crush it well there's never a reason to have gold plated anything. Messed up part is that was a kid (like 12 y/o) I had a Technics receiver and some Fisher speakers, I would upgrade RCA cables and speaker cables then take apart everything for curiosity. Found the speakers had heavier gauge inside the individual speakers than on the wiring so I replaced it all with monster cable and didn't have confidence in the little connectors so I soldered them in place. Replaced the swollen caps with identical ones I pulled off a broken amp. And installed a good 5 way binding post. Holy shit did that transform those old Fisher speakers (3-way floor standing, the ones with the 12" white foam woofer).

[@MrHeHim]

Want to save much more money? use home AC stranded 14 gauge cable from your local hardware store for 16 gauge applications, make sure the contacts are as clean as possible on both ends and use a screw down terminal on the speaker and amp to smash the copper for best connectivity. For the life of me i can't tell the difference between that and high end cables i have on my Infinity floor standing speakers connected to a Denon receiver (good one with Japanese parts inside) or on my desktop setup with a Pioneer Elite A-35R paired to some basic (but nice) Pioneer SP-BS22-LRs. I did that one day because i ordered just one set of "oxygen free 16 gauge cable with gold plated banana plugs" for the desktop setup to find out it was just one "set" for one speaker then sat there thinking too much. I dove deep into all the nerd stuff (again, again, again, etc) about audio cables, copper and electricity and the physics of it. Came to realize it marketing B.S. that many of these companies actually believe, just like I'm sure your local trusty palm reader does. Basically bro science that Monster injected into the audio industry for the most part many years ago.

[@lorcro2000]

Yep, any cable with sufficiently thick copper conductors will work just as well as any other. Literally the only pitfall is having too narrow a gauge, as that can constrain the current flow. Once you get to a sufficient thickness, you're laughing. The only reason to buy a pricier type of cable may be because you can get a softer and more flexible type, for example, which just feels nicer to handle.

[@FreshtexBlackman]

@8:13 the wire was exposed so you blocked your mistake with your thumb & redid it, yes we saw that!

[@Toid]

Lol, I thought I could sneak it by you ;) I wish I could get it perfect first time every time. I guess I am just not that good...yet :)

[@joseluisruiz3789]

So i should use 14 gauge instead of 12 gauge. I guess it does make sense. I to want to cover my cables like you did here. The first plugs you showed look awesome and very premium. 👌

[@kaedeschulz5422]

I would solder it into the connector.

[@kennethkenneth-zc8gz]

There are 2 things to consider when buying cables. 1. Is the cable made out of pure copper or not? Cheap cables probably have some alluminium or some cheaper materials in them. 2. Is the surround of the cable good. It may pick up less noice from outside interferance. Most of the speaker cable used in the profesional audio industry uses good cables like this. These cables have to be capable of transfering a signal over long distances. So in this industry you will need the best conducting cables. And you can get all of this for a far better price than specific hifi cables. For €/$2 per meter (3 feet) you will find these type of cables. I use Cordial cables. I'm not sure if you can get that everywhere. But my advise would be to go to some profesional audio forums and find a brand that is trusted in your region. You might even find something cheaper than my cordial cables! It's not as cheap as monoprice but it's proven quality and still no €300 for a 2 meter (6 feet) cable.

[@kennethkenneth-zc8gz]

Ofcourse if you just do this for the looks and don't care about sound improvements just go with monoprice. Its cheaper and still not bad. It's an upgrade from those typical thin black and red cables that most people have. But if you are searching for beter improvements please consider the advise for profesional cables.

[@kixxoff928]

@@kennethkenneth-zc8gz do you have any brand suggestions (Europe), besides Cordial? Do you think Monoproce is a bad quality (bad copper) cable?

[@kennethkenneth-zc8gz]

@@kixxoff928 maybe tasker cable. Cordial is one of the biggest supliers in europe (i live in the Netherlands). I only work with cordial so i dont have any experience with other prof brands. But as far as i know in comparison to your typical hifi cable cordial is just better and available in the e.u. you can find it in the Thoman webshop. monoprice is just to cheap to guarantee a fully copper cable.

[@kennytieu7579]

Great video, thank you!

[@kennytieu7579]

Hello, do you have any videos about how to make bi-wire speaker cable?...Thanks!

[@petres5866]

Even tho it looks like banana plugs are ubiquitous now in hi-end audio, they can short really easily and create damage. The professional industry standards like speakon seems more practical (and able to carry a lot of power), but good luck convincing audiophiles those are better.

[@bfstudios9163]

so nice

[@kennethfaron5486]

As of July 22, 2021 some of these parts are discontinued or the pages cannot be found.

[@permanentwave]

I want to remove the great speakers to a dead organ and make them usable for my electric piano jack need to build a box and create a wire and connection ?

[@TuiCatNZ]

I would personally go as thick of a wire as the plugs can accommodate. 14awg is a bit gutless. Also i would also insulate the conductive plug jackets with heat srink for peice of mind.

[@russmaleartist]

I like the finished work of the Parts Express ends. I guess the proof is in the sound -- how do they sound?

[@ElectoneGuy]

Audioquest probably disliked this video...

[@JagySounds]

Great video dude! I may do this in the near future lol

[@micktuna27]

Thanks, great video. You just saved me a fortune!!

[@RTI_MD]

Now put a magnet on it and sell it for 5k. I bet audiophiles would appreciate "the sound" it makes.

[@MrGorpm]

There's no need to be facetious as you already know that there are differences in the sound of cables.

[@jensharbers6702]

@@MrGorpm I hope it is ironic, when not: Gather education, FAST. What matters in frequencies in the audio range? Low resistance when you want to drive high load speakers to pass the current trough. The rest of the wanky shit they tell isn't true. It might be right when you were transferring frequencies in the range of MHz, then the skin effect applies and you need another cable. But in distances low as 1-2m per side 1mm² cable would do the job nicely. 4mm² is better, because a smidge lower resistance, but doesn't matter. Only if you had for the right speaker 1m length of cable, for the left 200m of cable. Then you would hear that the left one is just quieter, nothing more, nothing less.

[@MrGorpm]

@@jensharbers6702 If you do not perceive any differences - good for you! I wish you well on your musical journey. I, however, will continue to listen with my ears and not your test equipment, as your test meters do not hear timbre, sound-stage and rhythm.

[@jensharbers6702]

@@MrGorpm You don't get it. The ONLY thing that matters, are the acoustics. The speakers, the part that transforms the current into soundwaves. It doesn't matter what cables you use. They should conduct, they should be a proper wire diameter, but that's it. Nothing fancy going on. NOTHING. I'm not an Audiophile, but it is IMPOSSIBLE that a friggin piece of plain ol' copper changes the signal on the cable. Dang dude, get some proper education and don't trust those wanky woo woo sellers which are claiming bullshit. And I only trust measuring devices when it comes to electrical signal-forms, because they can't get Biased as hell. You ARE describing acoustics, not the electrical influence of a cable to Low frequency stuff.

[@jjcale2288]

@@MrGorpm well, if your cables modifies the timbre you really have a problem, to say nothing about the...rhythm, yes, and about sound stage

[@WlatvanGroningen]

Thanks, very instuctive video! Is the tech flex just for cosmetic purpose? Or is there another reason to use this?

[@soundmixerporter]

Strictly cosmetic. I don't like to use it because it limits flexibility.

[@beagle7622]

What about spikes on speakers, & cheap vibration rings. The second can make a huge difference to systems with turntables. Because I want to chase the best sound for my system.I am descibed an idiot & even told I imagine often significant improvements from doing this. Speaker cables are generally out of site, the outside sleeve hear functionally is a waste of time . My cable is light blue looks a bit cheap fitted & is with good quality plugs. What does it do to my system opens up all frequencies, why I don’t know but it does, & all the people who have heard them in comparison to my old cable agree with that . There is one caveat, people who don’t have good hearing generally don’t hear much of the improvement.

[@GoofylookinHippy]

Good job! Good video. Just remember: no self-respecting Audiophile would ever defile themselves in such a way as to double-blind test their Pure Unobtainium Liquid Sound™ speaker cables against these abominations!

[@Toid]

Hahaha, nice

[@esquiremoderator32]

Too bad, Snotty McJealous. Audiophiles AND people who use generic wire can tell the difference in blind tests: www.stereophile.com/content/minnesota-audio-society-conducts-cable-comparison-tests-0

[@paposaar3161]

@@esquiremoderator32 you really think that test results of around 15% preference over the cheaper cable are really that much? This shows nothing... That's just plain random hahaha.

[@esquiremoderator32]

@@paposaar3161No. Your math is fucked and you don't understand stats. 50 people in a blind test and the "best" cable never lost in head to head tests and the "worst" cable never won. That's not random - that is conclusive proof that people can tell the difference between cables. If you can't hear it, fine, use a coat hanger. I guess if you were in the test, you are saying that you are the only person out of 50 that can't hear the difference. In that case, the problem is your poor hearing. Why bother arguing something you clearly know nothing about?

[@juanofarc3007]

Esquire Moderator don’t bother with these guys, they get their photography tips from blind people too, and jogging pointers from quadraplegics. They base their authority on hearsay, not a single one of them has ever actually experimented with cables. I’ve seen plenty of people go from being cable skeptics to actually realizing that no, zip cord isn’t a good cable, but never the opposite.

[@maulerrw]

The arguments have slowed! I'm just here to say copper is copper, no amount of gold plating, silver solder, OFC or the insulation used will make a grain of different in sound quality in speaker level cables. Feel free to argue again.

[@esquiremoderator32]

Nobody made those arguments. Gold plating is for corrosion resistance, not sound quality. Plus, it's on everything now, even the cheap connectors.

[@coldginuk1]

Just make sure it is copper and not aluminium strands coated in copper. Watch out when buying from Fleabay there's plenty of that sh*t being sold direct from China. If it's cheap it's probably aluminium. General rule of thumb.

[@chucklemberg4968]

@@esquiremoderator32 The same holds true for OFC (oxygen free copper) - prevents corrosion.

[@kixxoff928]

Looks like this Monoprice wire is quite flexible. Any idea if Monoprice Nimbus wire (black jacket) is as flexible as this one? I'm thinking about Monoprice Nimbus Series 14AWG 4-Conductor wire.

[@sebukun2]

Thanks a lot for this video, what size of sleeve and pants for 2x4mm (12Gauge)?

[@billyorston1]

The cable pants listed will not work with 12 Gauge wire, you can heat it to no avail. will not slip over 12 awg! I ordered some 10 mm and will try that.

[@xplaur]

Really cool stuff! Congrats man!

[@ynstyne]

great post, thanks!

[@Atum_Ra]

When you add the Tech Flex onto a CL3 rated wire will it still pass fire code?

[@user-eu5fg3pn8d]

How are you sure of red and blue wires direction; Red should go electric signal and blue returns. Sound isnt good if rwo wires have the same direction - i hope understand what i mean.

[@jasombeeman1955]

Use conduit?

[@user-go9fm5bw1r]

Electro voice is best !

[@EirkenElite]

Great video

[@raj102945]

Lots of talk about twisted pairs. I dont think my Chord Anthems are twisted inside but what they do have is an additional heavy duty outer jacket with heavy shielding. The actual conductors are quite thick too making the cables quite heavy. They did cost a fair amount, but 10 years on they still perform so no real gripes at all. I really dont know how they would compare with something like this though. Maybe there will be little or no difference, or lots of difference. The Hi Fi industry is full of hype alot of the times, but the Anthems build quality does justify the reasonable price charged. Banana plugs make no difference for sure and bare wire cleaned every six months is fine. Super expensive cables are just silly. But each to their own. If someone wants to spend £3k for a two metre pair, its their money.

[@Toid]

Raj102945, well stated

[@ppdan]

I also have no problem with people wanting to spend a lot of money on good cables as long as the price is not proportional to the bullshit.

[@grahamsquared]

With respect, these are speaker cables, not wires. Wires make a cable. Also, try a comparative test between these and mains (110v in your region) cables and see if you hear a difference.

[@gildragon]

what size techflex would I need for 12/2 CL2 speaker wire

[@Toobula]

Just shoot me. 14-gauge "lamp cord" type speaker wire will work flawlessly in almost any home application, right up to the high-end system. You want low resistance, but 14-gauge wire is only .0025 ohms per foot. You'd need 500 feet before you started pulling your amp down. As for interference - you'd have a hard time inducing interference into a 4/8 ohm circuit. Shielding is for high-frequency, like 75-ohm cable TV wire. Same for twisting e.g. CAT-6, which is only done to prevent high-frequency interference between adjacent cables ("cross-talk"). Shielding or twisting speaker wire, or a guitar lead for that matter, does nothing. I'll put my lamp cord against anything you got in a blind test and you will not be able to hear the difference. It's all BS.

[@StringerNews1]

Toobula, there is such a thing as EMI at audio frequencies. It's just not an issue _after_ the last amplifier stage. The series resistance of wire can affect damping factor, so it _may_ make some sense to use a larger gauge wire with an amplifier of high output impedance and speakers with low self-damping. Keeping reactive components to a minimum is also a good idea. To that end, zip cord is as good as you can get. But audio snobs hate simplicity, they worship the arcane.

[@bradleysmith681]

Exactly.. The key for speaker cable is resistance.. This is why car battery jumper cables worked the best in one blind test done by the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE)...

[@StringerNews1]

Well, I don't think that the connectors on car jumper cables are compatible with many speakers, but the gauge of cable used is more than enough. One of my favorites is to use standard solid (not stranded) insulated copper wire that you'd use for home wiring. Audiophools with their ridiculous class system just can't bear to admit that copper is copper, and that copper sold to carry only 60 Hz could possibly be made to carry other frequencies, but the copper just plain doesn't care. :D

[@bradleysmith681]

StringerNews1 Exactly.. The purpose of the car jumper cables test was to show that resistance is the key.. I agree with the rest of your comments..

[@robertkat]

Bullshit baffles brains, you audiophiles need to get some electronic education and electrical!!!

[@Vidar.m]

Just use thick gauge speaker cables. You dont need expensive cables.

[@ssgeek4515]

The BBC used thick mains cable which is fine though at high frequencies basic mains wire can attenuate (limit) the high end sparkle from the amplifier. Solid wire core would be better but who has cables set at right angles.No one really

[@djsebism]

Really good job 👍

[@Satellitenowllc]

I'm using 12awg in wall wire so should I get the next size up tech flex and cable pants? Or will what you're using fit 12awg?

[@CantPickTheNameIwant]

You got to long black cable on the first banana plug, it was sticking out;-)

[@DavidKowalski]

HiFi refers to high fidelity -- reproducing recorded sound in the most lifelike manner. This video is not about high-fidelity wire but impressive-looking wire. Neither the tech flex nor the banana plugs contribute to higher fidelity. The tech flex is obviously just a cosmetic touch meant to impress others with the outward appearance of the wire. The banana plugs look nice but only add one more element between the speaker wire and the terminals. It could be argued that if one solders the wire to the banana plugs they end up with a slightly better connection at that point but soldering is not discussed in the video. It is true that 14 AWG OFC wire will work quite well in a system and that Monoprice sells good cables. There is no need to pay for snake-oil products OR merely cosmetic changes to the outward appearance of one's speaker wire if what one is really seeking is high fidelity. Why should any of us care what impresses the ignorant people who will be wowed by tech flex and banana plugs? Informed audiophiles will be more impressed by our savvy in not paying for these kinds of irrelevant things.

[@jolkraeremeark6949]

Sure, and all hifi audio components should just be the raw color of the material they're constructed of......ok then.

[@MrLogic85]

Do you use a binaural microphone? I could hear you moving behind me.

[@jonathanevans7127]

what size of cable pant for 12AWG - 8mm still?

[@mariobross1420]

Why do you need tech flex? Just for look or it does something?

[@Toid]

It's for the look, but also adds a layer of protection.

[@jorgesalas8003]

If I have 16 gauge speaker wire in wall, can I use 14 gauge speaker wire from the amp to the wall plate and 16 from the plate to the speakers?

[@Toid]

Yes

[@liketodraw14]

good video

[@Toid]

Austin Hurst thank you