How to fix a speaker cable.....

Visage · 22 Mar 2006 at 12:04

(Dons: I know this is a bout speaker cable, but its more of a general wirting question, so i think GD is the best place for it.....)

ANyways, I'm redecorating the study at the moment, and my darling wife decided she'd help by chopping up the carpet witha stanley knife to make it easier to get rid of.

Very sharp knife + very thin carpet + speaker cables running underneath.....you get the idea.

So ive got a cut cable, with a speaker at one end and an RCA plug at the other.

I could strip some insulation off the cut ends and splice them together with some insulation tape etc, but is there a better way?

My original thought was to replace the cable completely, but the cable goes into the speaker, which is a moulded all-in-one construction...

Any thoughts?

Borris · 22 Mar 2006 at 12:06

Strip it, splice it, add a little solder, then cover - try heatshrink rather than insulating tape.

We all know what needs to be done to your wife.

Tesla · 22 Mar 2006 at 12:06

Ideally you would replace the entire run but you can get away with heatshrinking and soldering.

Don't twist and electrical tape them though as thats a bit poor.

Then make the misses pay for her mistake.

G|mp · 22 Mar 2006 at 12:07

Aye what Borris says

Although i did bodge a speaker cable together once by splicing them and
then covering with insulation tape

Still going strong to this day !

Sic · 22 Mar 2006 at 12:10

i'd heat shrink the 2 individual bits of cable then heatshrink the lot...but that's because i'm a bit anal about that kind of thing

*wonders how the word "anal" will be used against him later*

Visage · 22 Mar 2006 at 12:13

Sic said:
i'd heat shrink the 2 individual bits of cable then heatshrink the lot...but that's because i'm a bit anal about that kind of thing

*wonders how the word "anal" will be used against him later*

HAHAHAHA BUTTSECX

Seriously though, thanks for the advice guys.

Dave M · 22 Mar 2006 at 12:34

My thoughts - it can't be that fantastic a setup if it a moulded cable going into the speaker.

As it's not proper hi-fi, and I bet the cable is cheap and thin anyway, just twist and tape - you won't notice.

Redrum · 22 Mar 2006 at 13:21

Telescopi said:
My thoughts - it can't be that fantastic a setup if it a moulded cable going into the speaker.

As it's not proper hi-fi, and I bet the cable is cheap and thin anyway, just twist and tape - you won't notice.

True but soldering and heat shrinking is not just better for sound quality, its also not likely to ever break, whereas unsoldered taped wires can come apart after time. I say solder it.

Sputnik II · 22 Mar 2006 at 13:29

Borris said:
We all know what needs to be done to your wife.

Strip it, splice it, add a little solder? lol.

Sputnik II · 22 Mar 2006 at 13:34

Redrum said:
True but soldering and heat shrinking is not just better for sound quality, its also not likely to ever break, whereas unsoldered taped wires can come apart after time. I say solder it.

I'd say that soldering it was mechanically better but, I'd disagree that its better for sound quality.

Redrum · 22 Mar 2006 at 13:47

Sputnik II said:
I'd say that soldering it was mechanically better but, I'd disagree that its better for sound quality.

Well I always thought that having a better connection on audio cables is supposed to make a difference, hence why you get gold plated connectors on expensive cables. But i'm no hi-fi expert.

Visage · 22 Mar 2006 at 13:59

Telescopi said:
My thoughts - it can't be that fantastic a setup if it a moulded cable going into the speaker.

As it's not proper hi-fi, and I bet the cable is cheap and thin anyway, just twist and tape - you won't notice.

I bought them from OcUk.....i'll go to someone better next time

Raymond Lin · 22 Mar 2006 at 14:04

Must be really thin cable to be able to slice it in 1 go, just twist and wrap it with insulated tape will do the job.

singist · 22 Mar 2006 at 14:08

Best to solder and insulate but you could use electrical connecting blocks if you have room to hide 'em.

Borris · 22 Mar 2006 at 14:09

Raymond Lin said:
slice it in 1 go

Beren · 22 Mar 2006 at 14:14

Chocolate box is the way to go ;o)

Before I went to nice quad wired speakers I had dodgy bell wire running all my systems... Was great for picking up taxi's on a firday night though!

You shouldnt notice any difference on that kind of setup wether you just wind them together and tape them or splice and solder... But if its running under the carpet I would Suggest solder and then popping some extra shielding over it to make sure that is it can be trodden on you dont damage the repair... if it cant get trod on insulating tape and just wind the ends together ;o)