3
SPEAKER WIRE PREPARATION
Before attempting to make any connections it
is best to look at the situation, get all the
necessary materials together, and then make
all the connections at once.
First, look at the back of your amplifier or
receiver to determine what options it offers for
making connections. Amplifiers and receivers
typically employ either 5-way binding posts,
spring-loaded terminals, or push terminals for
the speaker connections.
A 5-way binding post can accept bare speaker
wire, spade plugs, pin plugs, and banana
plugs, while spring loaded terminals and push
terminals can accept either bare speaker wire
or pin plugs. Refer to the documentation that
came with your amplifier or receiver to
determine the maximum size/gauge speaker
wire the speaker terminals can accept.
The in-ceiling speakers feature push terminals,
which can accept pin plugs or bare wire up to
14AWG. The in-wall speakers feature blade
connectors. You should use .250" 16-14AWG
crimp style blue female disconnects (not
included) on the speaker end of the speaker
wire.
If your amplifier can accept it, you should use
14AWG speaker wire. Using pin plugs is highly
recommended for several reasons. Plugs are
easier to connect, don't run the risk of stray
wire strands shorting the connections, allow for
use of heavier gauge speaker wire in most
cases, and it is much easier to identify the
polarity from a color coded ring on a plug then
from a subtle marking along the length of a
wire.
Because the speaker wires will necessarily be
run through your walls, you must use in-wall
rated wire. This is required by fire safety codes
and ensures that the wire jacket will not act as
an accelerant in the event of a fire.
Rather than using fixed length speaker wires, it
is best to get a roll and cut the wires to the
length you will need them. This ensures that
there is a minimum amount of excess wire.
However, even if your amplifier is off-center,
the lengths of wire used for each speaker pair
should be identical. This keeps the impedance
on each channel the same, which ensures that
the volume levels, frequency ranges, and
tonalities are identical. Any excess wire should
be snaked back and forth, not coiled, to avoid
creating an inductor/antenna for stray radio
signals.
Before making the actual connections, cut
each length of wire to size. Note the markings
on the wire that differentiate between each
conductor. Sometimes the marking clearly
identifies a positive and negative side. Some
common clearly positive and negative
markings or identifiers are:
In many cases, the mark is a single stripe on
the jacket of one of the connectors. In this case
the side with the stripe is generally considered
the positive side, but it really does not matter
as long as you are consistent and always using
the stripe as positive or always using it as
negative.
When you are ready to prepare your speaker
wires, first separate about 4" of wire, then strip
about 1/4" (6mm) insulation from the end and
twist it to prevent stray strands. If you plan to
use banana or pin plugs (highly recommend-
ed), install the plugs on the wire.
