Electrical outlet, as speaker connect

[Below 30 0]

Now, I realized that an electrical outlet is a wicked idea as a speaker connect. It's made with heavy gauge copper, it accepts heavy guage wire, to be screwed down and it makes for a very easy connect, disconnect.

I know that almost nobody would understand the concept of this, which is normal. I would like to hear reasons, people would not use this method of connecting speaker wire. I'm looking for facts, to show why an electrical outlet, is not as good as a regular speaker plate.

[Below 30 0]

The plate.

Edited March 26, 2004 by Below 30

[sandt38 448]

Too much resistance in the connection. With 2 Tumults and a couple thousand watts it is of no issue, but for smaller output and power levels it will be a hinderance. Also, I would use multi strand wire, it is just more flexible.

Also, it just looks thrown together, and cheap... unprofessional and unfinished. In light of your other outburst in the other thread I want to mention this is not a personal attack, just my personal opinion B)

[Below 30 0]

We'll clear something up. My picture posts, I wasn't asking for advice and so much people were acting like I don't like my enclosure. For this thread, I am asking for opinions/advice. See, that's the difference.

I think that for how cheap electrical outlets are, and the build quality of them they are good. That was wicked though, now I have insight into the lower power applications. I don't see how it would be anymore a hinderance than a $2.50 speaker plate. I would think that the make-up of the socket, is higher quality than a speaker plate.

[02ram 0]

Try just drilling a hole, pulling wire through it and using a two prong quick connect/disconnect, connector. running the wire only throught the box makes for no weak spots or leaks, like the terminals. mo.

[Below 30 0]

See, that's interesting. So you would rather drill a hole, and pull the wire through it, than to use an electrical outlet as a speaker plate. This is what I'm looking for.

So I wonder, is it because an electrical outlet is so unorthadox, that people wouldn't bother with it. This is like a case study. Surely some should agree, that an electrical outlet, with a face plate, can't be any worse, than pulling the wire through a hole. Is it that an electrical outlet would pose such a resitive property compared to a speaker plate, that wire through a hole would be more desired.

[sandt38 448]

Try just drilling a hole, pulling wire through it and using a two prong quick connect/disconnect, connector. running the wire only throught the box makes for no weak spots or leaks, like the terminals. mo.

Very good point 02 :boink: . Electrical sockets are not airtight and therefor create a leak in the enclosure.

[Hobbes26 0]

The enclosure he has is hardly sealed airtight...

but in other cases, if you DO have a sealed enclosure, it would be

a leak....

[Below 30 0]

This is what I'm talking about, constructive conversation. I'm getting good insight. I never thought of that, the middle of the electrical socket will leak air in a sealed enclosure.

The border of the socket plate can be sealed off, but air will pass through the actual plate. It's established now that it's not good for sealed box. For vented, it's not a factor, because the air loss isn't enough to cause loss in performance (non competition).

[ScottS 0]

Sounds to me like you are bored and want to have a constructive arguement.

Any way I used an electrical outlet once. Bottom line is it leaks. Ported box or sealed box it still leaks. I used more money in silicone than i did the wall plate. Still didnt work right. Another thing is its not safe. I know I know you would have to be and idiot but you could knock the plug loose then its like the builb burns out in the lamp next to it wife not knowing says oh its unplugs and plugs it in boom you amp is toast. Or vise versa plugs the lamp in to the speaker box if the lamp plugs gets loose. Boom you spend a while trying to figure out wtf. Bottom line why do it. Its not cheaper. Its not easyer. Its a more resistive connection. only thing good about it is that its different than other. YAY its gay drop it do it like a normal person there are reasons its being done using binding post or what not.

Scott Stoner

[sandt38 448]

The enclosure he has is hardly sealed airtight...

but in other cases, if you DO have a sealed enclosure, it would be

a leak....

Even in a ported app, that is not good.

ported apps use a measured and specific air leak to time the inrush and outrush of air with the drivers momentum. The inrush of air occurs at the same time as the inward movement of the cone (untill we reach below tuning, and the inrush couples with the outward movement of the woofer, pushing it further than the actual signal does, hence unloading). This can up to DOUBLE the internal pressure of the enclosure and therefor make the little leak behave like an even bigger one.

I can't tell you how many times a small leak in a ported box has driven people crazy. "A ported box doesn't need to be airtight" is the biggest and most common misconception out there.

[sandt38 448]

Sounds to me like you are bored and want to have a constructive arguement.

Any way I used an electrical outlet once. Bottom line is it leaks. Ported box or sealed box it still leaks. I used more money in silicone than i did the wall plate. Still didnt work right. Another thing is its not safe. I know I know you would have to be and idiot but you could knock the plug loose then its like the builb burns out in the lamp next to it wife not knowing says oh its unplugs and plugs it in boom you amp is toast. Or vise versa plugs the lamp in to the speaker box if the lamp plugs gets loose. Boom you spend a while trying to figure out wtf. Bottom line why do it. Its not cheaper. Its not easyer. Its a more resistive connection. only thing good about it is that its different than other. YAY its gay drop it do it like a normal person there are reasons its being done using binding post or what not.

Scott Stoner

Where ya been Stoney? Ain't seen you around my house for a while :thud:

[mrray13 30]

i,too, think they look cheap and well...they look like an afterthought.

it's like at work, when we do a repair or rebuild....one major concern is to make it look as though it (the repair,rebuild) was intended to be there from the intial build..not added as an afterthought..

also..doesn' solid core wire ADD resistance? wouldn't the added resistance change the impedence...i know there is something to this...i just not finding the proper terminology..HHEEELLLPPP

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Edited March 28, 2004 by mrray13

[Below 30 0]

I could agree that in a car, with a small box, the air leak could be audible. In a large box ported at the rear, you'd have to listen to the sub from the back all the time, to hear any noise. The fact is, speaker plates are made with cheap thin metal alloy, that seems to defeat the purpose of using low gauge, expensive speaker wire.

I don't see how electrical outlets are more expensive, when it costs 60 cents (CDN).

The part of solid core being resistive or anything, false. Solid core can actually have sonic benifits over stranded. That has to be studied further, point is, speaker wire is just stranded solid core. So speaker wire, is really just a more expensive, flexible branch of solid core. Remember, the speaker wire companies go to companies like HomeWire, to manufacture the wire. HomeWire takes the solid copper and braids it. That's all, nothing special, and they keep the solid portion for marketing towards home electrical.

So speaker wire is just bendable copper, from the same copper roll.

Edited March 28, 2004 by Below 30

[Tirefryr 1,742]

Actually, solid cable is more resistive than multi-strand. You see solids used a lot in home because it's high voltage/low current.

As to the benefit of one or the other in the audio world, are we ever going to notice a"better" or "different" sound because of what wire we used, I doubt it.

[Jordan94z 0]

Sounds to me like you are bored and want to have a constructive arguement.

Any way I used an electrical outlet once.  Bottom line is it leaks.  Ported box or sealed box it still leaks.  I used more money in silicone than i did the wall plate.  Still didnt work right.  Another thing is its not safe.  I know I know you would have to be and idiot but you could knock the plug loose then its like the builb burns out in the lamp next to it wife not knowing says oh its unplugs and plugs it in boom you amp is toast.  Or vise versa plugs the lamp in to the speaker box if the lamp plugs gets loose.  Boom you spend a while trying to figure out wtf.  Bottom line why do it.  Its not cheaper.  Its not easyer.  Its a more resistive connection. only thing good about it is that its different than other.  YAY  its gay drop it do it like a normal person there are reasons its being done using binding post or what not.

Scott Stoner

Where ya been Stoney? Ain't seen you around my house for a while :thud:

He has been workin alot