# What is this plastic crap in my speaker wire?



## Siigari

Hey, so I just got my new home theater in a box, and bought some speaker wire along with it. I bought some Monster cable because honestly, it was cheapish ($25/50ft) and it was marketed to me as a good gauge by the person at the electronics store (Fry's.)

Anyway, I got home and hooked everything up and it sounded okay. Then I took apart the stock wires and started stripping the Monster cable wire. I was shocked and appalled to find this inside: a piece of plastic, probably 22 to 20 gauge inside the speaker cable.

Take a look at the pics. What is this crap? I paid for copper wire, not plastic. Should I return it and get better wire? Is it something that is scientifically proven to make the signal somehow better? What is it?


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## 179232

How is $25 for 50 feet cheap? I use this which is $10 for 50 feet, and it is 14 gauge. It is extremely good speaker cable for the price:

http://www.amazon.com/RCA-AH1450SN-14-Gauge-Speaker-Wire/dp/B002JP4Z96/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1320981538&sr=8-2


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## pioneerisloud

1) That wasn't cheap. 50 feet of speaker wire is like $10 at monoprice. That doesn't look to be any thicker than 16 gauge, MAYBE 14 gauge. I can't tell, and you didn't specify.

2) That plastic thing is just shielding. It makes no difference honestly.

3) Monster cable is overpriced, really badly. Copper wire is copper wire. Just as long as its the right thickness for your power and run length (14-16 gauge is fine for most uses with home theaters), then that's all that matters.


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## Xaero252

That is normal. The idea is that the nylon is softer, smoother, and thinner than the copper braid inside of it, it helps relieve stress in the cable on tight bends. Completely useless, serves to no aid in audio quality. (if you are talking about the fibers around the outside edge) The plastic core in the center has a similar purpose, in that it limits how tight of a bend you can apply to the cable and prevents cable creasing. IMO: Not high quality cable, but the plastic won't negatively impact anything.
EDIT: Beaten to the punch.


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## Siigari

Okay, so what I'm hearing is that this is normal. Also they didn't have a lot of options at the store. I looked around a bit at cable but they only had like, two or three brands, and when I used to work at Best Buy I remember that Monster was highly overpriced for what you get, but I remembered that it wasn't necessarily a bad product.

Kinda having second thoughts. Also, the 50 foot spool of wire is 16 gauge.


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## 179232

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Siigari*
> 
> Okay, so what I'm hearing is that this is normal. Also they didn't have a lot of options at the store. I looked around a bit at cable but they only had like, two or three brands, and when I used to work at Best Buy I remember that Monster was highly overpriced for what you get, but I remembered that it wasn't necessarily a bad product.
> Kinda having second thoughts. Also, the 50 foot spool of wire is 16 gauge.


Price match my friend, price match







. One thing Fry's is good with is price matching.


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## pioneerisloud

You paid $25 for 16 gauge wire, only 50 feet?

Wal Mart carries that for $9.

If you're doing very long runs at all, you'll want 14 gauge though. Return that monster garbage, and get some 14 gauge off monoprice.


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## Siigari

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *pioneerisloud*
> 
> You paid $25 for 16 gauge wire, only 50 feet?
> Wal Mart carries that for $9.
> If you're doing very long runs at all, you'll want 14 gauge though. Return that monster garbage, and get some 14 gauge off monoprice.


Okay. Can I return cut speaker wire? Also my runs are about 10 feet at maximum.


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## mdocod

Pioneerisloud beat me to it on the walmart suggestion.

So here's just a backup reinforcement post to reiterate the point that you can buy speaker wire at walmart for a fraction of the cost of most "big-box" electronics stores. I expect the price at walmart for the same spool size would be around $10, Radio shack maybe around $15.


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## fistandantilist

All that plastic does is make it easier to bend and flex. It is another way that monster can charge you a ton of cash and cheap out on the actual product. Go to monoprice or your local car audio store and get real wire.


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## zzTroyzz

I had some Monster training years ago when I worked at a retail store. I think they claimed the plastic tube with the woven wire shielded inside so any interference emitted would be pushed outside of the wire and not interfere with the other strands. It always seemed to me that it was a solution to a problem that only existed in its specific configuration anyway. Who knows, probably not required but it isn't anything bad I don't think.


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## 98uk

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zzTroyzz*
> 
> I had some Monster training years ago when I worked at a retail store. I think they claimed the plastic tube with the woven wire shielded inside so any interference emitted would be pushed outside of the wire and not interfere with the other strands. It always seemed to me that it was a solution to a problem that only existed in its specific configuration anyway. Who knows, probably not required but it isn't anything bad I don't think.


I had this training too. My friend and I literally took the piss and asked questions that absolutely stumped them. I think in the end they figured out we weren't clueless sales people and didn't answer us any more. Quit the job a few weeks later as it was so dire


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