Extend speaker cable - so it works lossless
When the furniture in the apartment is moved, box cables are often suddenly too short. We show you how to extend the cables without risking any loss in sound quality.
Extend speaker cable - there are these options
- Check which cables are attached to your boxes. For example, some models use RCA cables, which can be expanded by a few euros by a simple extension.
- If you use normal box cables, you can connect the cables with terminals. However, this has the disadvantage that possible oxidation reduces the quality over time.
- The most stable and without noticeable loss of quality is a solder joint. You can find out how this works in the next article.
Solder the speaker cables together - how it works
Soldering is a fairly simple method of extending your box cable. Some believe that such an intervention reduces the sound quality. However, if you make proper contact between the cables, any loss of quality should not be audible. The situation is different when using clamps, here an oxide layer could negatively influence the sound experience.
- The first thing to do is to isolate the ends of the two cables.
- Now put a shrink tube on each fiber of the cable and twist the wires of the lines together. But always make sure that the ends are well interwoven and that all fibers are connected in the correct direction.
- Now solder the connection points together. It is important that there is no connection between the poles of the cable.
- Let the soldering area cool for a moment and then pull the shrink tube over the contact point. Heat it with a lighter until it contracts completely and no metal is visible.
Alternative: buy longer cable
If you want to be on the safe side or an extension of the line is too complex, you can also buy new box cables. These are available from 10 euros. It is important, however, that the speakers are not permanently connected to the cable.
Against cable break: How to properly wind up cables
In the next practical tip, you will learn how to solder broken headphones.