Mark M Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Rather than start a new topic on speaker cable, I thought I would post my question in here. I need to run some 10-15m length runs from my desk to my active D&B subs which then link to the tops. Im a bit cinfused about what "measurement" people are talking about when they say 2.5mm diameter? Is that core diameter and not the overall diameter of the cable and jacket etc? I was looking at this on CPC http://cpc.farnell.com/pro-power/2182-0-75...-blk/dp/CB11170 which says 0.75mm? And overall diameter 6.5mm? Any help on what I should be looking at would be appreciated thanks. Moderation: As this has turned out not to be about speaker cables after all, I have split this into its own thread. JSB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomHoward Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 It's the surface area of the core. Just to point out that if the speakers are active then you won't be needing speaker cable, mind. (Other than possibly for the hop between them.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark M Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Oh ok so in the link above it states conductor area CSA:0.75mm^2 so I will need to find one with 2.5mm for the powered link between the tops and subs? What would you recommend for the run from the desk to the subs then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 What would you recommend for the run from the desk to the subs then? From desk to active speakers, your standard mic cables will do the job nicely. Or the returns on your multi, whichever is easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Mark, can you say exactly what speakers (make and models) you have. As far as I know, D&B don't make any active (as in powered) speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark M Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Mark, can you say exactly what speakers (make and models) you have. As far as I know, D&B don't make any active (as in powered) speakers. Sorry, my mistake. They are DB not D&B (wishfull thinking??) Tops are DB Opera 205 and subs are DB Sub 05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Now we're getting somewhere. I presume your tops are the "Opera Live 205" (I can't find an "Opera 205" on the DB Technologies website). Both your subs and your tops are powered speakers. They both have amplifiers built in. Therefore you do not need any speaker cables. Speaker cables (as universally understood) means high-current unscreened cables that connect amplifiers to loudspeakers. Your speaker cables are about 6" long and are inside your speakers. All you need to do is connect your mixer to your subs using standard XLR mic cables as Shez said, and connect the cross-over out from the subs to the input of the tops, again using standard XLR mic cables. At the risk of stating the obvious, you also need to plug both the subs and tops into the mains :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark M Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Yes sorry the Opera Live 205's. Must remember to be more specific!! Ah ok so that makes sense, Im thinking of running a cheap multi core incase we do ever decide to get any bigger bands down and the one I was looking at was 16/4 so I could use 2 of the sends for the speakers and have 2 for future monitor use (powered of course or I would have to run thicker grade cable, learning fast eh? :P) Tom mentioned above that I could use speaker cable for the link between the subs and the tops, is a powered signal travelling between the tops and subs? Yup, already got the power sorted thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Tom mentioned above that I could use speaker cable for the link between the subs and the tops, is a powered signal travelling between the tops and subs?That was before we knew what speakers you had. Some systems have all the amps inside one sub & you would then want speaker cable to go to the other speakers. For your system, each cab has its own amp, so as Dave said, use a standard "XLR mic cable" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomHoward Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Tom mentioned above that I could use speaker cable for the link between the subs and the tops, is a powered signal travelling between the tops and subs?Not in this case - in some cases you have a sub which contains the amplifiers for both the sub and the top cab, I believe like in some of the HK series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Ah ok so that makes sense, Im thinking of running a cheap multi core incase we do ever decide to get any bigger bands down and the one I was looking at was 16/4 so I could use 2 of the sends for the speakers and have 2 for future monitor use (powered of course or I would have to run thicker grade cable, learning fast eh? :P)Not necessarily. It is common practice to have amplifiers on the stage. So you could connect them to the multicore and use them to feed unpowered monitors. Tom mentioned above that I could use speaker cable for the link between the subs and the tops, is a powered signal travelling between the tops and subs?No. Please read my previous response carefully, and Tom's. Tom didn't say "could" but "possibly" (as you say, specifics are important). He was thinking of the case where the amplifier for the amplifier for the tops is inside the subs. There are a few systems like this, but not yours. EDIT: Tom and the other Mark beat me to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark M Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Ah great, thanks again for all your help and advice. Mark A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on. Ah ok so that makes sense, Im thinking of running a cheap multi core incase we do ever decide to get any bigger bands down and the one I was looking at was 16/4 so I could use 2 of the sends for the speakers and have 2 for future monitor use (powered of course or I would have to run thicker grade cable, learning fast eh? :P )Not necessarily. It is common practice to have amplifiers on the stage. So you could connect them to the multicore and use them to feed unpowered monitors. Maybe not so fast a learner :P :D Again, thanks for the advice though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.