Noobs questions about cables

Cloodie

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Jul 11, 2020
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I know there's various threads about cables on here but as a complete noob to all this I'm hoping someone can answer some very basic (probably stupid) questions.

I've bought some Dali Spektor 2 speakers and although the seller has chucked in some speaker cable it's not long enough so I'll need to buy some instead. The manual unsurprisingly recommends buying Dali cables but my usual sources don't seem to stock it. Also, whenever I'm looking at cables a lot of them seem to have connections on them rather than just being the bare wire. Looking at the connectors in the speakers there is a hole there, would connectors plug into this? If so, is there any advantage to using connectors rather than the bare wires?
 
D

Deleted member 188516

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Controversial subject (as you've no doubt noticed).
My advice would be to choose some pure copper cable with a minimum conducter cross sectional area of 2.5mm.
4mm banana plugs fit those holes, some reasonably priced gold plated ones are all you need (or spade connectors).
You can you use bare wire if you want. I wouldn't.

here something like this :-


or if your feeling flush...
 
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Simon 13th note

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Adam at futureshop is good and can do all the terminations. Always best soldered rather than screwed on. 4mm z plugs or banana plug type, but you can get cables on there of all prices. I wouldn’t spend much. I did but I got given loads of free cables so I don’t need to bother anymore.
 
Most modern speakers have terminals which will accept at least three popular types of connection - spades, bare wire, or banana plugs. The bananas are easiest for most purposes, but if you’re not likely to swap speakers then using bare wire will save a few quid.
Most amplifiers are equally versatile, though you’ve not said what model you’re using.
When measuring for your longer lengths, allow for any extra you might need to route the cable neatly, and not be under any tension when connected. A bit extra can be handy if you need to rearrange slightly.
You don’t need Dali’s own brand just because you have their speakers. The Van Damme mentioned above is a good product at a fair price.
 
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OP - We use speaker cables which are in the main all terminated with 4mm banana plugs because it’s quicker and easier when changing amplifiers and loudspeakers several times a day. I take it that this is something you’re not going to be doing. If so and if the cable is manageable then using bare wire will be fine. Fwiw, I am using basic 79 strand speaker cables @ £1/m bare wired with the components as listed in my signature.

Btw, i’ll recommend popping along to your local electrical store or dealer and picking up basic 79 strand speaker cables as I believe these will be more than good enough for your loudspeakers.
 
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Deleted member 188516

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IME a decent copper cable is ideal for most set-ups.

I found the best upgrade last year: Cleaned all the terminals, inputs/outputs, cable ends (all cables) with white spirit and it was like I had more expensive set of spaghetti.

here is a decent copper cable with plugs :-

here is something to clean the plugs with :-
 
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Cloodie

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Jul 11, 2020
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Actually I've just got round to looking at the back of the amp (it's actually a mini hifi) and it doen't look as though you can connect to it using anything other than bare wire. It's a Denon CEOL N11.

Here's a list of the inputs/ outputs

f4fce15a33a1724bf951d62a8b9a5cbf.png
 

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