Funnily enough CJ this cynical dudester has had 5 metres of the 2.5mm2 stuff in my Maplins 'Basket' for about 2 weeks now, along with some 4mm Banana chassis sockets. I've been leaving it a while to decide if there is anything else i needed, ( experience tells me that just after I've hit the submit button at checkout I remember something else), to be even more honest I'm still agonising over whether to go for 2.5 or 4 , but all the time knowing that i'll not notice the difference anyway.
Well Sid 49p/m is a bargain in anyone’s books, I held off buying £2.99 2x4mm2 (CSA8) stuff as it seemed like overkill for the sensitive speakers I currently use, thus ended up trying £1.99 2x2.5mm2 (CSA5) over 7m cant say it sounds any different to the CAT5 before it FWIW. You will have done the simple calculation by now that you can get more CSA of copper via 2 No 2x1.5mm2 (2x3 = CSA 6) over the 2.5mm2 stuff with the benefit that it cost £1 compared to £2. Ie using one cable per conductor. I have also bought some for high level use with the subwoofer, ie so I can have a 8m run to the sub from the hifi if I wish. @ 49p/m its worth buying and putting in a cupboard for future use. So quick calculation of CSA are as follows with costs :
1m - 2 x 2.5mm2 Blue (CSA 5) = £1.99
1m - 2 x 4.0mm2 Blue (CSA 8) = £2.99
1m - 2x1.5mm2 Blue (CSA 3) = £0.49
1m - 4x1.5mm2 Blue (CSA 6)= £0.98 (2 cables shotgunned)
1m - 8x1.5mm2 blue (CSA 12)= £1.96 (4 cables shotgunned)
All above per channel.
And for 2x4mm2 £2.99 divided by 2x1.5mm2 £0.49 gives a ratio of 6, so 6 cables @ CSA 3 = CSA 18 over CSA 8. At the same money. If you don’t mind shotgunning the cables, ie buy some fancy sheathing and makes yourself some “hosepipe†cables you regularly see on the end of high end rigs.