Internal cab wire

[lapideusvir]

Hi folks,
do you think that changing the wires inside a (passive) cab could change the tone?

best,
lapis

[Sam Sherry]

Do you think that changing the wires inside a (passive) cab could change the tone?

No **


** Assuming the existing wire is at least 18 gauge and properly connected

[sgosnell]

It depends on what you mean by "change the wires" and the cabinet. If you have a cabinet with multiple speakers, you can change the sound somewhat by wiring the drivers in series or parallel, or change the polarity of one set. If you wire multiple speakers in opposite phases, you will change the sound, but it won't be in a good way. If you mean just a standard one-speaker cabinet, then the wiring polarity has no effect, so assuming the wires are of the correct size and in good shape, then neither changing the phase nor replacing with different wire will have any effect. Not even replacing the wiring with silver, gold, or wires of any other element, will be audible.

[Cunamara]

Right on sgnosell. Blind tests have debunked many myths about speaker wire material. Despite confirmation bias, which is part of human nature, very expensive speaker wire sounds no better than inexpensive speaker wire.

[213Cobra]

In high end hifi, I refer to speakers cables as "fixed parametric equalizers." There's no question that in hifi, especially for complex weave, exotic, mixed materials cables that they all sound different. The differences are often arrestingly immediate. Determining which is/are actually sonically neutral is difficult to land on. Even different dielectric materials in insulation affect sound. Not to mention substantial differences in capacitance and how that affects amp outputs. HOWEVER, in a guitar cab, not only is the amp > driver cable very short, but electric guitars and guitar amp speakers have very little frequency content above 5kHz, often not much above 4kHz, and next to nothing below 80Hz. So, while I choose guitar cables (which are longer) for that "fixed parametric EQ" quality, it's still subtle and the cable within a combo amp or a short one between head and cab are both by far the least of your worries, sonically, and the scantest area of opportunity for improvement in your gear chain.

Phil

[Sigmund451]

Wires inside a cab are short. As long as they are decent you are good to go. A lot of cable info out there is intended to reach into your wallet. As long as you stick to standard quality and no excessive runs it really doesnt matter much. I wouldnt wire a speaker with phone wire but as long as its the right gauge you are good.

If you want to change the sound a good eq unit is a better place to spend your money but most amps have tone control. If not wire isnt gonna do it for you.

[lapideusvir]

thanks for your advice!

[lapideusvir]

BTW, does the cable gauge make a difference? say 16 or 18?

[JCat]

There are two kinds of speaker wire; The ones (single lead) that connect the speakers in series or parallel inside a multi speaker cab. And then there's the speaker cable (pair) that connects the speakers to the amp.

Does it matter? yes, but possibly for other reasons than you think.

The speaker cable (pair):
If the amp is a head unit, it may be placed a distance from the speaker cab. This is when you like thicker than average wire gauge. Other than that, a common lamp chord will do (18 AWG). Do not use an instrument cable (shielded).

If the amp is a combo that has a "speaker out jack" (amp output to speaker); Some thick speaker cables come with larger than average plugs that may not fit inside a tight space combo. Sometimes you'll find that an angled plug is better, other times a straight plug is better.

(Some "balanced" speaker cables use XLR connectors, but these are not common on traditional tube amps.)

If the cab is an external, stand alone cab, you'll need a speaker cable with plugs in both ends. If the speaker cable is going to be hooked up with internal combo speakers, this is where you need to pay attention:

You'll have to decide if the internal speaker cable is to be soldered to the speaker tabs or if you're going to use quick connect "spade connectors". There are pros and cons, but if you opt for the latter, note that you require spade connectors of the exact right dimension to fit onto the speaker tabs and that those would not fit with the cable if the wire gauge is too thick. (You'll also have to decide if the spade connectors are to be crimped onto the wire or if you would prefer to solder them)

The internal wire (single lead): Ideally use the same wire gauge as the speaker cable and note that unless you're going to solder it to the speaker tabs, the gauge must comply with the spade connectors.

Note: It's very important that the spade connectors are tight enough on the speaker terminal tabs (but not so tight that you can't remove them without causing damage to the speaker terminal. Use a small flat screw driver to enlarge them just a little if needed).

[sgosnell]

Longer cables can require larger gauges, but if we're talking bedroom use, then almost any will be thick enough. Either 16 or 18 gauge will be plenty, and perhaps even slightly smaller. Very long cables carrying very high signal levels may need somewhat larger wires, but not that much. Either can carry a lot of current, far more than what will be on a speaker cable less than 10' long, at bedroom volumes, or even gig volumes.