EAW CLA37 instruction manual Loudspeaker Cables, Precautions

Loudspeaker Cables

• Use loudspeaker cables with a minimum	Minimum AWG	4 ohm	8 ohm
conductor size for the length you need, as
	18	10 ft	25 ft
listed in these tables. This will minimize
	16	25	50
power losses to less than 0.5 dB. The
cable lengths listed are “up to” lengths.	14	25	75
For in-between lengths, use the next larger
	12	50	125
conductor gauge. Using larger than the
	10	100	200
recommended conductor size is always
permissible. Using smaller than recommended
	Min Metric WG	4 ohm	8 ohm
conductor size will result in higher power
losses.	12	3 m	8 m
• The recommended conductor gauges are	14	8	15
listed for AWG (American Wire Gauge) and	16	8	25
Metric WG (Metric Wire Gauge). Note that
	20	15	40
smaller AWG numbers = larger conductors
	25	30	60
and smaller Metric WG numbers = smaller
conductors. The Metric WG is equal to ten

times the nominal conductor diameter in millimeters.

• For cable lengths over 200 feet / 60 m at 8 ohms, and over 100 feet / 30 m at 4 ohms, the conductor sizes needed for less than 0.5 dB power losses are rarely practical for physical and cost reasons. As a practical compromise for these situations the recommended conductor gauge is 10 AWG or 25 metric.

Precautions

•To prevent inductive phenomena causing humming or distortion, the speaker cables should not be run together with electrical energy conductors, microphone cables, or line-level audio lines.

•Use speaker cables that have markings to distinguish the polarity, such as insulation or conductors of different colors.

•Before using the loudspeaker, carefully check that all the connections have been made correctly to make sure there are no accidental short circuits that could cause electrical sparks.

•Verify that the polarity of the connections to all of your loudspeakers are correct. When more than one loudspeaker reproduces the same frequencies, but with opposite polarity, there will be sound cancellations. Therefore, if any of the loudspeakers are wired so that the +/- connection polarity is reversed with respect to the others, incorrect reproduction will result. Most notably, the bass response will suffer. This is especially true when loudspeakers are situated in adjacent positions where the sound waves readily interact with each other.

CLA37– 9