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On a drum machine (Boss DR-5) would I want to use speaker, or instrument cable to the PA head ?  The length would have to be around 12 feet.

How does speaker cable differ from instrument cable in terms of conductivity ?  What's the difference ?

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Speaker cable isn't shielded from interference, instrument/line/mic cables are.

Moved to tech forum!

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OK,  Thanks Lonnie.  From the Boss DR-5 to the PA head would Instrument cable suffice ?  or should I go with speaker cable ?  Also, does this mean that when a person pays the prices Monster Cables charges for Speaker cable,  they aren't getting a shielded cable ?

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Typically speaker cable isn't a shielded cable.  So yes when Monster Cable sells their speaker cable, it's not shielded, just very large, highly conductive fine braid copper.

You CAN use speaker cable to go from the Boss to the PA head if you really want to - not saying it won't work, but you'd be better off just running a regular instrument/line cable.

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Thank you.  Instrument cable would in fact be easier.  I never understood why speaker and instrument cable needed to have different characteristics, or what the issues were in conductivity and transference necessitating a difference in their characteristics.  Why wouldn't a KJ wish to use a decent guitar or bass "Instrument" cable for PA purposes ?


I've always done what I'm told I should do assuming there's a very good reason for these things.  I run "speaker" cable for my PA, and use decent instruments cables for the guitars and synths.  What are the reasons a guitarist wouldn't use speaker cable, and the sound engineer wouldn't use instrument cable setting up his PA cabs ?
Grounding ?  Interference ?  Hotter signal being pushed ?  Range of frequency ?

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shielded_cable

Speaker cables, like analog audio interconnects, carry analog audio; however, because they carry a low-impedance, high-power signal rather than the line-level, low-current, high-impedance signal in an interconnect, the characteristics that govern speaker cable quality are quite different from those which apply to interconnects.

First, shielding isn't a factor; the signal level in speaker cable is so large, and the current flow so high, that entry of noise into the cable can't (barring some truly extraordinary level of electrical noise in the environment) cause alteration of the sound output. On those rare occasions when shielded speaker cable is used, the purpose of the shield is not to protect the speaker signal from outside noise, but to protect other circuits from noise induced by the speaker cable.

Second, the impedance of speakers is both low and frequency-dependent. Speakers draw a high current, and because their impedance is low (typically 8 ohms, sometimes as low as 2), the resistance of speaker wire can be a significant factor in the circuit (unlike an interconnect, where a few ohms of resistance is nothing compared to perhaps 50K ohms of input impedance). That means that, if speaker wire gauge is too small, a fair amount of the power is used up in the speaker cable to generate heat rather than being delivered to the speaker to make sound. And because the speaker impedance varies with frequency, the effect will be different for high frequencies than for low frequencies, throwing the overall frequency response off.

Third, capacitance isn't usually a factor. We say "usually" because there are some exceptionally high-capacitance exotic speaker cable designs out there (the most popular being a DIY design made by braiding together a large number of strands of CAT5 cable), and these can cause high-frequency rolloff or, in a severe case, can cause the amp to oscillate. Barring such an odd design, however, the rule is that ordinary differences in capacitance between one type of speaker wire and another will not make an audible difference to the signal, because in a low-impedance circuit there isn't as much tendency for signal to be stored in that capacitance.

So, what does that mean for speaker wire quality? Basically, it means that wire gauge is the overwhelming consideration. The bigger the wire, the lower the resistance, and the lower the resistance, the lower the likelihood of uneven frequency response resulting from speaker cable resistance. 12-gauge wire typically is plenty big enough for just about any application, but people often like to go to 10-gauge for a little extra margin.
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/home-theater-cables.htm




Explained in the articles above.

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Had a speaker cable running across my S-video cable one time.  Every time the bass it really good, the lyrics tv screen would jump a little.  It was cool at first, but then got annoying, so I move the speaker cable, and all was fine.

Lonman this might sound blonde but would the wrong cables to my foldback powered monitors cause distortion?

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Possibly, although if they are powered, they would just use standard mic cable which is shielded anyway.  Now a BAD cord could also cause distorion, I would try another cable first.
Other factors to consider is volume - sometimes the main culprit, you may not even know they are too high until it's too late.  Improper eq'ing could be another factor - does the monitor have it's own send from the mixer or is it being tapped from the main line?
Or the speakers are on the verge of blowing out & are reproducing distortion over a clean signal.

What monitor are you using?

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They have their own send from the mixer. I have had them to the rock shop and their tech can find nothing wrong with them. Yet plugged into my system they sound horrible. I am at a loss to know what to do. the horrible sound is not going front of house but it is uncomfortable to say the least to sit there and listen to a mix that is distorted and muddy

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Try a different cord, or it's possible the line out on your mixer is going bad.  Plug it into a main output - without the other speaker & see how it sounds.

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Ok I shall do that thankyou I appreciate the advice cos the rockshop are beginning to look at me like I am a crazy lady. I sent another powered monitor in for fixing they had it 6 weeks and phone yesterday to say nothing was found to be wrong. This however has been bad even on our first system. So I asked them to do me a favour and turn it on. It made such a noise and the guy said "oh I didnt know it did that"
And he wondered why I swore at him??? I had noted the noise it made when turned on as well as all the other probs when he wrote out the job sheet.
Sometimes I really feel like resorting to sticking pins in a doll

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Well I don't know if the RockShop is reputable or not, but it almost sounds like they aren't doing a very good job.  Especially if it was written down on the sheet & they 'didn't know it did that'?  You may want to find another service dept. if possible!

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its a nationwide store that has the monopoly. to keep the goods 8 weeks apiece to find nothing wrong with it is a little exessive in my opinion. I am getting to the stage where I will take my business elsewhere. They phoned me today and the RCF powered speaker they said there was nothing wrong with has a chip that when working correctly maintains the silence when the machine is turned on (their description not mine) this needs replacing. This is after them having phoned me and told me after having had it for sooooooo long that there was nothing wrong with it!
So I wonder when really pushed what they might find with the other system I sent in.

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Thank you for your help on this topic.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".