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Splicing small to larger speaker wire- how to

I have an unusual problem the source of which may offend the sensibilities of many serious listeners. It is based on an experiment going back to my desire to use the same speaker pair for two different amplifiers. I've only found two selectors that accommodate this issue and purchased one of them, the Niles DPS-1. The issue is that the connections on this unit will handle a max of only 14AWG wire and my current cable is bi-wired 10 gauge each leg.

So, here's the question. It's a 12 foot run to one of the speakers from the amp and I would like to use my existing high quality cable but the max size from the amp selector is 14 gauge. I'm thinking that I could splice the 14 to the 10 but have no idea if the plan would be just as good to run the 14 all the way and, if I connect the two together, what would be the best method.

My system is:
Shanling S-100 CD player; CAL Sigma 2 DAC; Rogue Audio Sphinx tube hybrid amp; Martin Logan Odyssey speakers. And:

Samsung Blu Ray DVD; B&K AvR 307 receiver to the same speakers.
broadstone
jea48
2,944 posts
 
Broadstone,

I see your problem.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/171247709159?lpid=82


http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/171247709159?lpid=82

Jim
zd542
5,339 posts
 
You can try to see if your speaker cables will fit anyway, even if they are a little bigger than what is recommended. You can also use pin connectors. They're not expensive and widely available.
broadstone's avatar
broadstone OP
277 posts
 
Thanks, Zd. The pin idea is a good one and I had already tried to find pin connectors that would accommodate 10 gauge wire locally (Radio Shack) with no luck. I will do as you suggest as soon as I locate pins that will but, in the meantime, I'm using a 4 way speaker selector with banana connectors backwards (using the speakers out for the amps and vice versa. It works but my concern is that it is possible with this setup to engage both amps at the same time unlike the DPS-1 which allows only one at a time. I don't know what the result of this happening would be but have to believe that it's potentially a bad thing.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Don't know if you have ever heard of The Cable Company, but that would be a good place to try. They pretty much have everything related to cables and accessories. They're excellent people to deal with.
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