Customer Reviews

Acoustic Research PR390 Pro II Series 800-Watt Microflat Speaker Cable (30ft)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I purchased this item because I didn't want to run a wire behind the wall. It worked like a charm and it is virtually invisible. If people here have given bad reviews is because they didn't install it properly.
I stuck it to a painted (eggshell finish) drywall down to the baseboard. It looks great adhered to the baseboard as it followed its contours. Once finished, I painted over it with the same paint (2 coats), and it can barely be seen.

I did not use the provided connectors which is probably why my connection was such a success. The connectors that come with it are bulky and way too big. I soldered the ends to the speaker wire provided with my system and it worked flawlessly. I only used this expensive wire from the floor to the speakers, and used the regular wire underneath the baseboards leading to the receiver.

I would certainly recommend this product to someone who knows how to solder the ends. I would also recommend using a vertical level to draw a straight line up the wall as a guide so you don't get any "bumps" on the wire. It looks great once it has been painted.

Wow, $45 down the drain. (That's what Amazon was charging when I purchased this.) Bought this to discreetly wire home theater speakers, planning to paint room once wires were up. Installed, carefully following instructions and on a clean vertical surface freshly painted several weeks earlier. Several vertical runs and a horizontal run on a vertical surface. None stuck for the long term. Stuck Initially. But, several hours later, flat wires would be falling off. Tried tacks placed every six feet and, still, same problem -- come back several hours latter to see significant parts of the run (those between the tacks) hanging loose.

Guess it's back to usual (and much cheaper) 16 gauge speaker wires painted to match wall surface.

I also wonder how well the slick vinyl exterior surface of these flat wires will handle paint. I never got to that stage as the entire sagging and sticky (but not sufficiently sticky) mess ended up in the garbage. But, I suspect that surface will not handle interior flat wall paint very well.

For horizontal runs, under carpets, and such, should work fine.

This is the second time I've used this product. The first time was several years ago (2008) and I ran it up the back walls for my surround speakers. I always meant to paint it to blend in, but never got around to it. However, I was happy because it stuck to the walls just fine for over a year before we moved.

Now, in my new house, I ordered it to run speaker wire to another room (along the baseboard). I attached it to the baseboard (initially had a lot of tack) but within a week, half of it pulled away and is not sticking anymore. I was a bit skeptical of the other reviews stating it doesn't stick due to my previous experience, but they were right! Not sure what I will do... maybe add some glue and paint over it?

I have this laid under laminate flooring. So far has worked just fine. The end connectors have a screw so you can secure them into something, but I don't know what. The screws aren't long enough to reach a wall stud through drywall, so if you attach it to the wall with the screw (which I did behind my entertainment center) you will just be screwing it into drywall, which doesn't hold it very well (my wife knocked it out twice while fishing power cords from the back of the entertainment center). But the audio sounds fine to me from my back speakers. Walking over the flooring with the wires underneath seems to have no impact on the sound.

Hard to see, which is good, but not so easy to install if you change directions. Kinda pricey....

good quality speaker wire. super thin. There are a couple of design flaws though. one is the way the terminating blocks are designed. Instead of having flat inserts on one side, its a chore to get the solid copper wire, let alone tighten it down. also the block could have been smaller and less of an eyesore. of course and handy person could just solder it. also peeling back the layers to get to the copper wire is a chore as well. I ran this under my carpet and its fantastic for that. i did not run it along the wall or paint it so i cant comment on that. i got it for $13 at 30ft. Would not pay much more for it though.

This is a better quality product than I expected. The copper conductors are pretty thick and would carry some decent wattage. Not a CON per se but a Note: this works great for its intended purpose, just keep in mind that it will not be invisible and that it is still a wire running on the surface of your wall. I ran mine next to my trim molding and it blends in nicely, however if ran across an open surface, you will see the "tape" as expected. I imagine you could easily spackle or mud over the tape to blend and "feather" it in a little more.

These wires look good if done right. They are a little difficult to work with an take a little patience, but they have been up for a bout a year now and still blend into my walls seamlessly. The sound is decent, no complaints.

After reading reviews of these peeling off of walls and the adhesive being week, I decided to make sure they would come off for good. I installed these under baseboard around my living room and then up the back walls for my surround speakers. Running it around the room was not a problem. When it came to running up the walls, I masked off where the wire would run up the wall and sprayed Supper 77 adhesive on the walls (which were painted and textured). I then ran wires up and rubbed then down good to make sure they were adhering. Over the top of the wires I sprayed Homax Spray Texture so the wires had the same texture as my walls. Painted them and now they are virtually seamless.

For the connections, I used the supplied adapters on one end (works all right) for the other end I soldered which was a little tricky (I'm not that great of a solderer) but worked better then the connectors in the end.

If needed I would use these again.

This wire is indeed very flat, and the copper does appear high grade. However, many wires use good copper. These were the only advantages to this wire. Unfortunately, the disadvantages for outweigh the good points. The glue doesn't stick very well (as others agree). Worse than that the adhesive plastic is difficult to peel from the flat solid copper. I wanted the copper naked for good contact; so, the speakers would work. I was able to get one speaker to work and not the other, but was able to get both speakers to work with other wire. I tried scraping the wire with my fingernail, pliers, and a razor blade. I tried using contact cleaner too. Even after I felt like I had managed to get a clean end, apparently good contact was not made because I could never get that one speaker to work with the AR wire. As usual, I did not find solid (as opposed to stranded) wire to be easy to work with. Personally, I hope to return this wire and will purchase some 12 G Stinger Pro wire instead. I'll just hide that wire along the base board with a cover designed for that. From past experience, I know the Stinger wire is easy to work with and does a decent job for sound quality on the cheap.

I installed this cable vertically in a corner and it works really well so far. It hides easy, especially with a coat of paint. I used what a woodworker would identify as a edgebanding roller to press it into the wall and ensure the glue on the back adhered to all the wall. It has been a couple weeks now and if you did not know it was there you couldn't find it.