Bi-wire braided speaker cable DIY

These are instructions on how to make your own bi-wire speaker jumper wire cables! As you can see on the photo to the right, these are for a pair of cables with 1 positive line and 1 negative line.

Each cable has a banana connector on each end. For other termination combinations see my other uploads for more how to videos.

 TO SKIP ALL OF THIS AND BUY THESE CABLES FOR CHEAP WITH FREE SHIPPING FROM MY STORE...JUST CLICK HERE!

               

MATERIALS NEEDED!!

-SPEAKER WIRE.
Any gauge will work, depending on your
needs. The wire I am using in this demonstration
is 16 awg gauge Monster Brand speaker line. Each line is twisted around a second line of the same wire.

When you combine 2 speaker wires together to make 1 wire, you basically take the original gauge of the wire and deduct 3 from that number to get the total AWG gauge of the line when it is finished.

In this case, the completed cables will give you a per line gauge of 13AWG on each line.













- WIRE CUTTERS

This is my pair, they are only a few dollars at any hardware store. I purchased these for under 3 dollars at Harbor Freight tools and they are wonderful to work with.

Any way to cut the wires that works for you will work just fine.

 - SCREWDRIVER

This is a dual screwdriver, it features the Phillips head on one side and you can take out the bit and flip it over for the flat head side.

You will need a small screwdriver to access the set screws on the shaft of the banana connectors.

- WIRE STRIPPERS

Just about any wire stripper will work for this project. You can even use a pair of scissors or razor blade if you don't have tools like this one pictured here.

I prefer this wire stripper above all others, but this is just a personal preference. Whatever you need to use to strip the wire...use it!

- BANANA CONNECTORS

The silver connectors on the top photo are Nakamichi brand that offer 24k gold with aluminum barrels. This is the set I am using for this tutorial.

The all gold color banana connectors are a set I purchased for testing from Radio Shack. These will work just the same as the Nakamichi connectors and are nearly identical to the way
the wire is connected. You can also get these at
Menards tool store if you need to purchase them
without wanting to wait for an online purchase to
arrive.

- 1/4" BLACK HEAT SHRINK

This is optional but you can purchase this item at just about any hardware store for cheap.

This is 1/4" sized heat shrink and works great for sealing your cable ends, strengthening them, and giving them a nice and professional finished look.

Like I mentioned, this is optional and you can leave it off of the cables to save a couple of bucks.

- A RULER

Basically to get the length of the cables to where you want them and the heat shrink pieces.

You can just guess on your wire and just match the next wire to the first one. There is no major need to purchase a ruler for this job.








- HEAT SOURCE


 In this tutorial I will be using a heat gun, but any source of heat will work that will be warm enough to heat up the heat shrink.

Sources can be a heat gun, a blow dryer, a lighter or match, the stove in your kitchen.

Just be careful when using heat with these wires, they can burn easily and so can you.






 

THE INSTRUCTIONS

STEP ONE

Measure out and cut your wire to your desired length. I am cutting these lines to 8" which will give a finished length of the cables at about 8-1/2" to 9" total length when done.

Make sure when you cut your first wire, you go ahead and cut the second wire at the same time.

It will be necessary to use 2 identical lengths to complete this cable set.

STEP TWO

Split the 2 wires apart.

Take the negative (-) line, which is silver in this wire set, and the positive (+) line, which is gold colored and tear them apart.

If you make a cut in between the two lines you can just peel them apart making 2 wires.

Do this with both wires and you will end up with 4 total wires .. 2 (-) and 2 (+) lines.

STEP THREE

Strip between 1/2" and 3/4" off of each end of every line.

Use wire strippers or any other method you desire to get them done, just make sure they are evenly cut on all sides.











STEP FOUR


Start by twisting one end of the line together making sure that the line is even when you start twisting the copper wiring together.















STEP FIVE

Twist the line around the other line.

This will hold it shape once it is completed. To twist it, simple hold with your left had the left side of the wire and twist it with the right hand. When you have one twist done just slide your left fingers down and make another twist.



Do this all the way to the end and then twist the
copper wire together on that end to complete the
cable twist.

When you finish with one cable, do the same to the send cable. They should end up nearly the exact same length. If they are different, simply take the longer cable and make the twist just a little more tighter and it will naturally make the line smaller and then they will be identical in length.

STEP SIX

Take your barrels off of your connectors by just simply unscrewing them off. You can do this by simply holding the gold connector portion tightly and unscrewing the silver barrel from it.






Take your screwdriver and use whatever bit you have to in order to unscrew the set screw on the connectors.
There are usually 2 set screws per connector. Just be careful not to unscrew them all the way out because you might lose them, they are small.
Just unthread them out just far enough that it will allow you to slide the speaker wire in through the bottom.

 STEP SEVEN

Slide the connectors over the exposed speaker wire so that it covers the wire completely.

 Take your screwdriver and tighten down your set screws now. Start with the bottom screw and then finish with the top screw.

There is no need to HULK tighten them on there because it will strip the threads on the set screws.
Just a nice tight fit will work just fine for these.

 When you finish one side, just keep going with the other sides too. Put all of your connectors on all at once and make sure they are all tightened.

You will see that when they are all on and tightened, they will basically be the same length and look almost exactly the same. If you have one that is longer than the other, just do as I said earlier and tighten the twist on the longer one and like magic it will be the same size.

 STEP EIGHT

Cut your heat shrink to about 1" in length for each piece. If you are making 2 cables then cut 4 pieces, if you are making 4 cables (2 pairs) then you will need 8 pieces and so on.

 Slide the cut pieces of heat shrink over the banana connectors. They will be a bit tight, but with a little wiggle they will slide right over it. Make sure to only slide the heat shrink on to about a 1/4" past the threads on the connector.

 Using your heat source, carefully heat up your shrink evenly around your cable. Keep in mind that if you sit with heat in one place too long you can burn through the heat shrink and the speaker wire. Quick and easy is all you need.

You can see how the heat shrink forms around the connector and the speaker wire beautifully and creates a nice seal to prevent oxidization of any exposed copper wire and will make your cables stronger and more durable. 
Heat shrink here will also give your cables a more professional finished look.

 FINAL STEP

Thread on the barrels on your gold connectors. Remember, in most speaker wire, the silver tinned color line is the negative and the copper colored line is positive. The negative may also be marked with a white line running down the wire.

Black barrel to negative lines, red barrel to positive lines.

 CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING YOUR BI-WIRE BRAIDED/TWISTED SPEAKER JUMPER CABLES.

If you wish to skip all of this and just purchase these cables already completed, just follow THIS LINK and it will take you to where I sell these cables cheap and with free shipping quickly to you!