CHEAP SPKR CABLE: SPEAKON TO SPEAKON

[wallywally]

Make sure the screws are backed off.

[Five9teen]

It's generally OK to snip a few strands of wire to make a connector fit... as long as there's enough for good mechanical fit (at least half or so). NL4s are designed for #14 stranded IIRC. Use a small flush cutter to take off a few strands of #12 and it works just fine.

Do keep in mind that the more strands you cut from that wire, the more you reduce the current and thermal rating at that termination. If you cut half the strands off, you might as well use a lighter gauge wire overall because you have just negated the benefits of using the heavier gauge in the first place. i.e. voltage drop, thermal protection, ampere rating.

[DaveK]

I used to think that too, but I don't believe any more that it works that way. Wire has a certain resistance per foot and the smaller the wire, the higher the resistance. It's the cumulative resistance over the entire length of the wire that matters for voltage drop. If you have higher resistance for just a few millimeters, it does not change the overall total very much.

Any experts out there, please correct me if I'm misunderstanding this concept.

[Sydney]

It's the cumulative resistance over the entire length of the wire that matters for voltage drop. If you have higher resistance for just a few millimeters, it does not change the overall total very much.

That's a fair assessment; the circular mil area would not be reduced down to say the size and length of a fuse wire
( which will add a couple of tenths of an ohm to a circuit ).
Voice Coil wire is approx #29, but it is quite long and it's resistance constitutes Re.
It could be argued that any reduction of conductive area would have reduced ampacity, but music is not continuous duty and in the big picture the single VC wire is the weakest link and dirty surfaces on mechanical contacts or small contact areas are a greater concern.

[BrentEvans]

9

I used to think that too, but I don't believe any more that it works that way. Wire has a certain resistance per foot and the smaller the wire, the higher the resistance. It's the cumulative resistance over the entire length of the wire that matters for voltage drop. If you have higher resistance for just a few millimeters, it does not change the overall total very much.

Any experts out there, please correct me if I'm misunderstanding this concept.

You're not wrong. The impedance of wire is rated in ohms per distance (usually per thousand feet, kilometer, or mile ) .