powered speaker cables

Posted by: mikey_maestro

powered speaker cables - 02/28/08 05:48 AM

has anyone used dual cables for their powered speakers?

I know pro-co makes a combo power/speaker cable that eliminates the need for running extension cords.

They are pricey though!!

any other easy alternatives?

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God Bless,
Mikey

www.mikeymaestro.com
www.balloonanimal.com
www.1000colorcards.com
Posted by: travlin'easy

Re: powered speaker cables - 02/28/08 06:15 AM

Mickey,

Are you talking about a dual cable that runs both the audio and AC power through the same harness? If this is the case you can make them yourself very inexpensively, or you can cable wrap the individual wires into a single harness using Cable Wrap, which can be purchased at any Radio Shack and most electronics stores.

Gary

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Travlin' Easy
Posted by: mikey_maestro

Re: powered speaker cables - 02/28/08 07:10 AM

yes, gary

is it difficult though to prevent noise due to lack of shielding? I'd hate to go through buyinging all the materials and then having noise problems.

I'm new at building stuff like this?

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God Bless,
Mikey

www.mikeymaestro.com
www.balloonanimal.com
www.1000colorcards.com
Posted by: korg4god

Re: powered speaker cables - 02/28/08 07:24 AM

Tell you what I do is put the cords together then I use the little plastic zip ties you can get at Walmart. Just put one on every 4-5" and trim off the excess. Seems to work really well.

Also, I recently (last few months) purchased some of those hose rollers on wheels when they went on sale at Walmart. I got three of them, one for mic cords, one for extension cords and one for speaker cords. I can now use those and mic cables and extension cords just hook into each other end to end. Rolls/unrolls fast, no more tangles and is easy to manage. The speaker cables I just found some velcro straps in the craft section. Works great!!!

just my $.02.

Jeff
Posted by: travlin'easy

Re: powered speaker cables - 02/28/08 08:28 AM

Mickey,

The only way to keep the AC interference to a minimum is to use heavy-gauge, shielded cables. Standard speaker cables are usually not sheilded, but you can purchase heavy-gauge, sheilded, instrument cable at most of the better music stores. Then it's just a matter of soldering the 1/4-inch connectors at both ends and making sure the shield is grounded to the sleeve. The heavier gauge wire helps reduce the loss in signal strength, which essentially improves the signal to noise ratio. The shielding is icing on the cake.

For the AC line cable, always use the heaviest gauge wire possible--it really makes a big difference. And, in my case, I use a surge protector that has a ground-fault detector/indicator light built in. Most noise problems, especially 60 Hz hum, usually orriginates from poor or non-existant ground systems.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy