A av speaker wire question

[bullitt]

This might seem like a daft question, given I've had my setup for about 13 years.

I have Silver anniversary XT wire for my 5.1 and whilst preparing to make space for new TV and stand I can't recall how I identified the negative / positive on the speakers connections as both wires are the same colour! The av is fine those are banana plugs

Also with my wire being that old would I need to upgrade or just make a fresh cut at the speaker end ?

Thanks

 

[Messiah]

The cable should still be good and not need replacing. If the ends are discoloured I would just trim back.

I’m assuming you have already disconnected the cable? Are the no markings/ridges on the cable at all? If there is no way to discern one side from the other then you may have to just resort to following the cable from end to the other and mark/tape the end so you know which is which.

 

[Gray]

....I can't recall how I identified the negative / positive on the speakers connections as both wires are the same colour!

There's a surefire way of identifying if you've got:
A multimeter
A battery
A willing helper

With both ends of the cable disconnected:
Keep the speaker end pair isolated.
Get the helper to hold the banana plugs onto the battery (obviously red plug to +).

With meter probes correctly connected, DC volt range will display when your red probe is on the + wire....mark that one as +.

Assuming the speaker can't take bananas??? have a fresh bareback of the cable - but bananas are always a better option....not least due to their colouring!!

 

[jjbomber]

I have Silver anniversary XT wire for my 5.1 and whilst preparing to make space for new TV and stand I can't recall how I identified the negative / positive on the speakers connections as both wires are the same colour! The av is fine those are banana plugs

Also with my wire being that old would I need to upgrade or just make a fresh cut at the speaker end ?

Thanks

Plug them in. If it sounds out of phase, they're the wrong way around. Only one way around will sound crisp and clear.

The ends can oxidize over time, so it may be worth cutting the ends off.

 

[Gray]

Plug them in. If it sounds out of phase, they're the wrong way around. Only one way around will sound crisp and clear.

Would it sound so obvious if it was a rear speaker?
(I'm not saying it is a rear speaker in this case).

I suppose you could test in 4-speaker music mode?
I'm only into the A and not the V in AV, I only know that any sound I've ever heard from rears.....be buggered if I could tell if they were out of phase by listening.

 

[bullitt]

Would it sound so obvious if it was a rear speaker?
(I'm not saying it is a rear speaker in this case).

I suppose you could test in 4-speaker music mode?
I'm only into the A and not the V in AV, I only know that any sound I've ever heard from rears.....be buggered if I could tell if they were out of phase by listening.

It's always sounded fine but because I was dismantling in preparation for new gear I was stumped as to how I did it when I set it up 15 years ago actually not 13 - I can't count apparently either 😂

I finally worked out how I must have identified negative and positive for rears ( no banana plug option btw on speakers) , I noticed the Negative wire has the Silver anniversary writing on it, whilst the positive doesn't, I double checked this with the fronts and centre speaker , it checked out ! Apart from that it's always sounded great.

So it wasn't that there was a suspected fault, just being prepared to set it back up again when I get my new TV and unit.

Thanks guys

 

[bullitt]

So today I dug out some old guides from when I bought my gear and yep I was right, the writing on one part of the cable means red positive