| Can I use any cable for my speakers? |
Speaker cable is different from other types of cable because it carries current to power the speakers. This means the cable must be thick enough to carry that current. Also other types of cable require shielding; speaker cable does not have shielding as it is not prone to interference because of the high voltages that is being transferred from amplifier to speakers. So people make the mistake of assuming a cable is for speakers just because it has a jack connector (or any other connector) at the end, however, this is not the case. It is possible to have jack, speakon, XLR or bare-wire to connect amplifiers to speakers. In the core of the speaker cable, there are only two cables (or 4 cables in 2-way speaker cable - but this is quite rare).
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| What is the difference between signal, speaker and data cable? |
Speaker cable is used to carry current to power the speakers. Signal cable only carries line-level signal so needs to be shielded. Data cable needs a different impedance (resistance) compared to other cable and also needs to be twisted to avoid interference.
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| What is the difference between balanced and unbalanced (non-balanced)? |
Balanced signal cable (sometimes called microphone cable, although it has many more uses that just microphones) has two cores and a ground. The two cores are called hot and cold and carry the exact same signal but the cold signals phase is inverted. The reason for balanced cable is for longer cable runs without loss of signal and no interference. The process takes the signal from a source (e.g. a mixer) and transmits the exact same signal down two cores (the cold signals phase is inverted) to a receiving device (e.g. an active speaker). When the signal reaches the receiving device, it inverts the cold signal and merges the two signals from the two cores into one mono balanced signal. If there is any interference that takes place along the cable, it will affect both cores and when they are merged, the interference is cancelled out and you are left with the original signal.
Unbalanced signal cable (sometimes called instrument cable, but can be used for many other functions too) is different in the fact that it will have one core and a ground. This means that it is more prone to interference and therefore it is not advisable to use on long cable runs. Where possible you should always use balanced signal cable as you are more likely to get a better quality signal for your audio.
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| What is the difference between mono and stereo? |
Mono signal cable can be balanced or unbalanced (see above) and carries one audio signal. Whereas stereo signal cable can also be balanced or unbalanced but can carry two audio signals. Things like microphones nearly always are mono signal but CD players are nearly always stereo. A jack connector can be mono or stereo (mono has two connection points and one black ring, stereo has three connection points and two black rings). Phono (RCA) connections are always mono and unbalanced. XLR are always mono and nearly always balanced (if it is connected to a mono jack connector or RCA, it is unbalanced).
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| What is the maximum length of balanced cable that I can run? |
This is a question that has so many factors that it is very difficult to answer. You must take into consideration the source, the receiving device, the quality of the cable, the impedance of the circuitry. Usually, unbalanced signals should be no longer than 5-6 meters (16-20 feet). Balanced signal can usually run for 10's if not 100's of meters depending on the above factors. If you are doing cable runs of 50 meters or more, please call us for advise on whether you need any addition equipment to boost the signal so that you can do longer cable runs.
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| Is it better to use cables with adaptors, or cables with the correct connectors for my use? |
Where possible, you should always use the correct connector to connect your equipment. This is because every time you use an adaptor, you loose signal quality and increase the chances of something going wrong. The analogy of weights on a chain explains this well. If you increase the number of chain links the weight is hanging on, the more possibility of a link breaking and the chain failing. This is the same in audio signal transfer and you should make sure you use least amount of connections as possible by using the correct connectors.
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| How thick should the wire be to connect my speakers and amplifier? |
Speaker cable carries fairly low impedance signal, therefore the cable does have to be thicker than normal signal cable. The more powerful the speakers, the thicker the cable.
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| What cables should I use to connect my active speakers? |
Active speakers take a line-signal level, this means the impedance is high and therefore you do not need special speaker cable. The majority of active speakers take XLR connections and these are better as they carry balanced signals. You can use any XLR-XLR cable to connect active speakers.
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| What is the maximum length of cable that I can use to connect my speakers and amplifier? |
This is another 'how long is a piece of string' question. As a general rule, keep your cable runs as low as possible, but you should be able to go for 20 meters (~65 feet) without any problems. If you need to run a speaker cable from your amplifier longer than this, please give us a call for some advice.
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