pretty rare to run shielded speaker wire... and if you look at the pic you can tell its not shielded
Alright! Any pre-planning is better than no planning.
6,000 to 8,000 watts? The Who in concert in their heyday didn't have that much power in their amps.
Yes.
Yes! I made a lot of money selling Monster Cable in the early 2000's
So how was the commission at Circuit City?
I mean this in the nicest possible way, but you’re nuts.Yes.
Some context first: As my screen name alludes to, I was a DJ roughly 30 years ago – spinning at clubs, raves, and later at school and wedding events. After I changed careers I maintained my cargo van that was used to transport my gear around and decided to turn it into an SPL Audio competition vehicle (I believe I posted images of it many years ago on GJ at some point). That sole point of that van was to drive massive pressure levels with bass – and it was equipped with ungodly amounts of money, alternators and batteries, amps, and subs (which I occasionally received sponsorships for).
Fast forward to now… and I built myself a home theater. In doing so, I had the option of putting in a reasonable sound system (that would cover 100% of our needs) – or… be an idiot and go overboard. In true GJ fashion… I went overboard.
The sub is an MA Audio Kore 18 – an 18” high excursion sub rated at 5,000 watts RMS and 10,000 watts peak (MA Audio is no longer in business – this is one of my SPL subs from back in the day that I’ve kept). It’s being powered by three Behringer Europower EP2500’s that are capable of delivering 2400 watts each (bridged mono). In daily use I only have two of the three amps connected – one amp to two of the sub’s voice coils, and the other amp to the other two voice coils (delivering a maximum of ~4800 watts). However, I initially (and sometimes will occasionally swap back to) bi-amping the voice coils and will signal balance the outputs (I have a DSP that helps this as well). Of note – I run the outputs through diodes to prevent any back-voltage to either amp in the event that I haven’t balanced one of the channels/outputs perfectly (even though I trust the resolution on my multimeter).
Oh – the audio gear that I have has a dedicated electrical sub panel that makes available 120 amps for the AV rack (though this is not needed… it’s just another ‘overkill’ thing).
*** Finally - RE: shielded wires - There's no way that anyone of us can tell from the picture that OP posted if the wires are shielded or not. I certainly cant read the sheath from the image. Shielding is simply a thin foil wrapping of the wires to prevent/reduce inference/noise.
I suspect that is highly inadequate for this line cord:As long as nobody is advocating these.
Also intermodal circlestic manopowaser affects.
No, that’s an inductive effect. Shielding is capacitive.
Good lord. I need a moment aloneI suspect that is highly inadequate for this line cord:
What's funny is that they advertise it as a "high current power cord"... with a C13 end that's rated for 15 amps. But hey... people used to buy "pet rocks" and "ghosts in jars"... might as well sell a $6,700 power cableI suspect that is highly inadequate for this line cord:
Ohh-kaayy....You guys are all wrong. Here is the real reason you have to shield speaker wire.
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Engineers who don’t use shielding on stereo speaker wires are basically inviting catastrophic Phase Harmonic Leakage into their listening environment. Most people think speaker wire just carries audio signals, but advanced acoustophonic research from the highly respected Institute of Quantum Resonant Acoustics has proven that unshielded copper conductors can accumulate dangerous levels of Ambient Sonic Drift™.
Here’s what happens:
When music travels through ordinary speaker wire, the audio particles — technically called vibrotrons — begin oscillating at sub-neural frequencies. Without shielding, these vibrotrons escape the conductor and collide with airborne electrophonons, creating what scientists refer to as a Transverse Harmonic Smear Field. This is why unshielded systems often sound “muddy,” “warm,” or in severe cases, “like Dave brought his Bluetooth speaker again.”
The shielding itself acts as a Faraday Audio Containment Matrix, preventing rogue bass wavelengths from undergoing lateral phase inversion. If left unchecked, bass frequencies can actually bend around furniture due to the Bernoulli Acoustic Curl Effect, causing stereo imaging to rotate approximately 14° counterclockwise during guitar solos.
High-end shielding materials are even more important. Cheap aluminum shielding only blocks around 40% of parasitic treble ions, while oxygen-deprived cryogenic silver braid can achieve nearly complete suppression of Molecular Tweeter Bloom. Audiophiles often report hearing “new details” in songs after upgrading cables because the shielding reduces Quantum Chorus Refraction, allowing hidden frequencies to emerge from the mix like dolphins surfacing through sonic fog.
And don’t forget external interference sources:
Without proper shielding, these contaminants infiltrate the signal path and destabilize the stereo’s Temporal Soundstage Integrity. In laboratory tests, one unshielded speaker cable placed near a lava lamp caused measurable increases in jazz unpredictability.
- Wi-Fi routers emit digital hissons
- Microwaves produce magneto-audio turbulence
- Refrigerators generate low-frequency compressor ghosts
- Nearby leaf blowers can induce transient funk distortion
So yes, technically your stereo will function without shielding. But you’re risking waveform contamination, harmonic decoherence, and potentially irreversible listener fatigue syndrome — sometimes called “ear tiredness” in less scientific circles.
Back in the 1980s I flew out to San Francisco for a conference, and sat next to a woman on the plane who worked at Monster Cable. One thing led to another and we went out a couple times while I was there. One day she took me to their headquarters and showed me around. As an electrical engineer I was interested in hearing about their hype, but as a gentleman I was polite enough to not say anything.
As long as nobody is advocating these.
She knew, but money is money.Back in the 1980s I flew out to San Francisco for a conference, and sat next to a woman on the plane who worked at Monster Cable. One thing led to another and we went out a couple times while I was there. One day she took me to their headquarters and showed me around. As an electrical engineer I was interested in hearing about their hype, but as a gentleman I was polite enough to not say anything.