Joining speaker cables?

[nightrider1470]

My cables are to short by about 9ft. I could, as a last resort, pull them at a shorter distance from the ceiling, but that would be messy!

Is there much loss in quality adding a connector, so I can add more lenght on to each cable?

Thanks

 

[Dr.EM]

If you can solder the wires together and heatshrink to insulate this is the best join you can make.

Alternatively you could buy some binding posts and bind the cables together in one post to make joins, or if you can find a large enough one (30A?) a screw terminal block achieves a similar effect though I dislike how small the pressure point is in those, it doesn't really prevent tarnishing down the line.

Third option is an in-line splice, this can be very decent but needs a good ratchet tool and the splice crimps themselves vary a lot, the ones from automotive stores tend to be total rubbish, electronics retailers stock good ones but often in 100+ quantity.

 

[nightrider1470]

So is twisting them together not good?

 

[lucid]

The risk with twisting them together is that it doesn't take much to pull the joint apart. That's not so much of a problem if the cable is laying on the floor, but it's a major PITA if the cable is inside a wall or ceiling. You also have the concern about what happens if the cables short out after the joint is broken. So in summary, twisting them together is a crap join.

If you want a simple, instant, permanent and insulated joint then use an electricians butt joint crimp tool and crimps. LINK The red or blue tubes are the crimps you want. Red does cables from 0.5mm-1.5mm, blue for 1.5mm-2.5mm. Choose appropriate to the CSA of the cable you've run. The full solution is less than £20.