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Racks and cables: the unsung heroes

Balog

Balog

Supporting Member
Mar 19, 2009
1,961
1,552
Everett, WA
#1
So I've been looking through all of the many (many, many) "I want to try a pre/power setup, what do I need?" threads, and it struck me that no one ever really discusses two important components: the racks themselves, and the speaker cables to connect everything. Well, aside from "don't use instrument cable to connect your amp and cab" which made it to the faq.

Speaker cable comes in a wide variety of wire sizes, numbers of conductors, and connector types. Just a quick check of the For Sale section shows everything from 10 to 16 gauge, 2 to 4 conductor, and 1/4", banana plug, Speakon (2 or 4 pole) and binding posts for connectors. Is there a chart or table or faq somewhere detailing the comparative strengths and weaknesses of all these? "Speakon is more secure than 1/4" but costs more, you only need 4 conductor when doing X, and Y gauge wire is ok up to this size of a power amp driving this many cabinets" that sort of thing?

Racks get even less love. I know Gator and SKB both make them, but I've seen reference to different sizes and types of rack cases as well as rack bags and other things I don't know that I've ever seen. Can anyone give me an idea of what my options even are in this area?
 
#2
dude, i used to make speaker cables out of broken extension cords. obviously, if you're using a lot of wattage or making a long run, you'd want something somewhat heavy duty, but you certainly don't need to use the heaviest wires on earth. if you're using more than 500w, though, use speakon connectors because high wattage amps can present a shock hazard in the speaker cables.

as for racks, the happiest day of my life is when i finally ditched my rack. the best thing to do is figure out how many rack spaces you'll need for the amp and whatever you put in there and then see what your options are for that size.
 
#3
I'm pretty sure there are some "Show your rack" threads, but not many have pics of the BACK of the rack, now that I think about it. Yep, the wiring is important, but it's not rocket science. Quality cables are an important investment. A $10K pre/power setup could sound like junk with poor quality interconnects. Buy good, shielded cables with AMP or Neutrik connectors and you're set. I'm a big fan of zip ties and zip ties peel/stick bases. I use them to keep wires out of the way of ventilation holes/fans and the case edges where they could get pinched by the rack covers.

Plastic vs. Wood Racks: I see arguments for both. As a network guy that sometimes works in harsh enviroments, I'm a big fan of mil-spec equipment cases. 3/8" wood, heavy duty aluminum edging, multiple carry handles, shock mounting are great for the equipment but bad for your back. Same goes for the SKB mil-spec plastic cases. they are plastic, but very thick and heavy. You can drop these racks and the stuff inside will be fine. On the other hand you need two people to move a 6U rack built like that. Wooden racks are much better for stacking, both from a strength standpoint and a "geometric it all lines up right" standpoint.

Plastic Gator and SKB racks are lightweight (1/3rd to 1/2 the weight of a wood rack, depending on size) and protect from dirt and water just fine. But they don't offer the level of impact protection that wood and heavy-duty plastic racks do. You can stand on a larger wooden or heavy duty plastic rack but not on the lightweight Gator/SKB cases.

IMO it boils down to this: For 90% of us, plastic racks are just fine, especially if you move your own equipment (or your bandmates do and everyone respects everyone's stuff). If you have enough equipment that it requires roadies, you're at the professional touring level and probably need wooden racks to stand up to the rigors of the road. I have my bass equipment in a Gator rack; whole thing weighs about 30 pounds. I have my PA equipment/mixer in a wood racks. The one with the amps I can't lift by myself...it's gotta be 150+ pounds. The one with the mixer/processors I can move...barely.

ps
A plug for the best source for quality, cheap wooden racks. Great service too. I bought all my wood racks from them. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#4
Perfect, this is just the kind of info I've been looking for. Speakon is safer than 1/4" for high wattage applications, wood vs plastic racks...


I do still have a couple questions. For hooking a pre to a power amp, would that be speaker or instrument cable? Obviously power amp to cab needs to be speaker cable.

Is 16 ga heavy enough to handle a PA amp running at saw 2000 or 2500 watts bridged mono?

What's the practical difference between 2 pole and 4 pole Speakon? One has an extra pair of both conductors and connectors inside the Speakon head, right?

What are binding posts and banana plugs? I'm not sure I've ever seen either (or knew what they were if I did). Advantages and disadvantages compared to Speakon or 1/4"?

On the rack side, where do you buy your stuff?
 
#7
The disadvantages I see to banana plugs is 1) conducts are exposed. So you can easily short them accidentally. 2) You can easily reverse the polarity.

The disadvantages I see to 1/4 jacks are that 1) above and 2) that can be easily confused with an instrument cable. I make sure that I buy big connectors to distinguish them from instrument cables. For speaker cables that have smaller jacks, I wrap red tape on them again to ID them.

The disadvantages of Speakon connectors is that not all amps and speaker cabinets use them. Therefore I always carry Speakon and 1/4, though I prefer Speakon. I also like the way that Speakon cables lock since I have been known to accidentally pull a cable out.
 
#8
Axtman: thanks, that's very helpful. :)

Can anyone help me to understand the different applications of 2 and 4 pole Speakon? I'm hoping to order a cable soon, and I have no idea which I need. Crown Drivecore ---> fEarful 12/6.


On another note, anyone have any experience with the Tuff Box rack cases on ebay? Very cheap, but how do they compare to SKB or Gator?
 
#10
Balog said:
Axtman: thanks, that's very helpful. :)

Can anyone help me to understand the different applications of 2 and 4 pole Speakon? I'm hoping to order a cable soon, and I have no idea which I need. Crown Drivecore ---> fEarful 12/6.
Click to expand...

2 pole speakon carries one signal. 4 pole carries two. The 4 pole is like having two speaker cables in one. Useful for mainly PA type stuff where your bi-amping.

Are you Bi-Amping your fEarful? Which means that your using one side of your poweramp to power the 12 and the other side to power the 6. You would use the Amp's built in (I think) crossover. You would not have built (have to build) a crossover. If so you could make a setup to use a 4 pole to carry both signals to your Cabinet, but you would need a Y cable with two 2 pole connectors to plug into you amp and a special jack wired up in your cab.

If your bridging your amp or just running one full range channel into your Cab, a two pole is all you need. If you have a crossover inside your cab you don't need 4 pole.

2 Pole is likely all you need for probably 99% of applications.

Also, FYI the difference between instrument and speaker cables, besides their obvious size difference is that instrument cable use a mesh sleeve as a ground that completely surrounds the hot wire, so most interference goes to ground where its not heard. Speaker cables are just two wires wrapped in rubber because the power they cary is vastly too strong for practically any amount of electrical interference to matter. That mesh sleeve instrument have cables can, well... melt...
 
#11
UnityGain: thank you, that makes a lot of sense. No interest in bi-amping, and the cab has a crossover built in. I'm planning on running bridged mono.

For anyone thinking of running their amp bridged mono with a Speakon, I've learned that it only needs a 2 conductor cable with a standard 2 pole Speakon for the cab end, but that the amp end needs a 4 pole connector with the speaker's positive wired for 1+ and the speaker's negative wired for 2+. Anyone know where to purchase such a thing? I'm having trouble finding one.
 
#14
Balog said:
UnityGain: thank you, that makes a lot of sense. No interest in bi-amping, and the cab has a crossover built in. I'm planning on running bridged mono.

For anyone thinking of running their amp bridged mono with a Speakon, I've learned that it only needs a 2 conductor cable with a standard 2 pole Speakon for the cab end, but that the amp end needs a 4 pole connector with the speaker's positive wired for 1+ and the speaker's negative wired for 2+. Anyone know where to purchase such a thing? I'm having trouble finding one.
Click to expand...

I use either 14 g or 13 g unshielded 2 conductor cable. I buy the 13 g from www.partsexpress.com....strange size but its the largest that will fit a Speakon comfortably...IMO, of course. They also carry a wide array of Speakon connectors. Tool-wise, all you need is a wire stripper, crescent wrench, and smaller size PH screwdrivers.

Correct, the amplifier end of a bridged mono connection requires a +1 / +2 config. The speaker end remains a standard +1 / -1.

Edit: No soldering!!

Riis
 
#17
Balog said:
Zooberwerx: thank you that's very helpful. However, you copied the abbreviated link, so it doesn't work. :)
Click to expand...

I corrected it but here's another link to the homepage:

www.partsexpress.com

You can probably find the components locally but if you're a lazy bastard like me and have a credit card, on-line is the way to go. 14 g speaker cable (or equivalent at Lowes / Home Depot) is more than adequate for your needs. I buy the speaker cable in rolls of 100' but I believe you can purchase it by the foot. If you have any difficulty with selecting the correct products, let me know and I'll zap you the links and part #'s.

Building / assembling your own stuff is kinda fun and you'll eventually embrace a "oh...now I get it!" philosophy.

Riis
 
#18
Balog said:
UnityGain: thank you, that makes a lot of sense. No interest in bi-amping, and the cab has a crossover built in. I'm planning on running bridged mono.

For anyone thinking of running their amp bridged mono with a Speakon, I've learned that it only needs a 2 conductor cable with a standard 2 pole Speakon for the cab end, but that the amp end needs a 4 pole connector with the speaker's positive wired for 1+ and the speaker's negative wired for 2+. Anyone know where to purchase such a thing? I'm having trouble finding one.
Click to expand...

You could just use a standard Speakon cable, and modify it yourself. No soldering involved. Most Speakons use set screws. Simply unscrew the jack, disassemble it (good practice anyway so you can see how it's put together in case you every have to repair it in an emergency), and disconnect the 1- wire and put into the 2+ terminal...then reassemble the jack. Easy.
 
#19
Balog said:
Can anyone help me to understand the different applications of 2 and 4 pole Speakon? I'm hoping to order a cable soon, and I have no idea which I need.
Click to expand...

Apart from the obvious (the number of poles), there is the potential issue that the 2 pole plug will mate with both the 2 and 4 pole socket, but the 4 pole plug will mate just with the 4 pole socket. That said, I don't think anything much uses the 2 pole sockets these days.

And that's because the 4 pole plug is *so* much more ergonomic to use than the funny lift & twist collar on the 2 pole. The 2 pole plugs are a tiny bit cheaper, but much nastier.

So, get the 4 pole plugs, but no need to connect up more than 1+ and 1-.
 

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