Speaker Vs Instrument (Guitar) cables

[WooferHound]

A Speaker cable and an Instrument cable can not be used interchangeably.

Instrument/Mic cable carries signals that are millivolts and do not need heavy conductors. They need to be shielded to keep out electrical interference. They need to be flexible because instruments and mics move around a lot.

Speaker cables carry High Voltage and High Current and need to be a thick heavy gauge wire. Amplifiers have a Damping Factor which controls the speaker from ringing or over extending the cone. This damping works by using Low resistance and the wiring needs to be very low resistance to provide optimum damping to the speaker. For Full Range or Bass speakers it is best to use 12ga or even 10ga speaker wire to maintain good damping which lets the speaker produce a deeper tighter more pleasant sounding Bass Note. A speaker wire should not be shielded because this creates unwanted capacitance which interacts with the high voltages and degrades the signal, outside electrical interference is not a problem with speaker systems.

 

[DuckJordan]

A Speaker cable and an Instrument cable can not be used interchangeably.

Instrument/Mic cable carries signals that are millivolts and do not need heavy conductors. They need to be shielded to keep out electrical interference. They need to be flexible because instruments and mics move around a lot.

Speaker cables carry High Voltage and High Current and need to be a thick heavy gauge wire. Amplifiers have a Damping Factor which controls the speaker from ringing or over extending the cone. This damping works by using Low resistance and the wiring needs to be very low resistance to provide optimum damping to the speaker. For Full Range or Bass speakers it is best to use 12ga or even 10ga speaker wire to maintain good damping which lets the speaker produce a deeper tighter more pleasant sounding Bass Note. A speaker wire should not be shielded because this creates unwanted capacitance which interacts with the high voltages and degrades the signal, outside electrical interference is not a problem with speaker systems.

Not to muddy the waters at all but this is for my own use, What about going from a board to a powered speaker? is it okay to use an instrument cable instead of a speaker cable?

 

[bishopthomas]

Not to muddy the waters at all but this is for my own use, What about going from a board to a powered speaker? is it okay to use an instrument cable instead of a speaker cable?

It would be best to keep it balanced (if using 1/4" then TRS), but an instrument cable will work just fine (disclaimer: most of the time). You actually DON'T want speaker cable in this scenario because it is not shielded.

 

[WooferHound]

Instrument/Mic cables are used before the Amplifier
Speaker cables are used after the Amplifier

The amplifier is inside the powered speaker so the speaker wires are permanently hooked up inside the cabinet. Preferably, you would want to use microphone cables to send a signal to your powered speakers.

 

[bishopthomas]

I've seen EWI mentioned quite a few times on here, but I don't know why, because every time I've looked, their prices are awful.

I've never priced their raw cabling and connectors (I buy from Redco, Markertek, and CBI) but for cases you can't beat them for "bang for the buck."

 

[bishopthomas]

Preferably, you would want to use microphone cables to send a signal to your powered speakers.

"Microphone cables" meaning a twisted pair with shield. The connectors you use are irrelevant (assuming they allow for positive, negative, and ground termination).

 

[avkid]

Read this:
http://www.bennettprescott.com/downloads/dampingfactor.pdf

 

[epimetheus]

Show the higher-ups a speaker cabinet that has only Speakon connectors.

Not a very useful post. First, my post said hot spots. Find me a hot spot with only speakons. Second, what about speakon to 1/4" adapters?

My point is just that we don't always get to design and operate our systems in an ideal state. We should always strive for that, but you have to be realistic in the real world.