Speaker wire

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benmin2012 said:
Customer wants us to wire for surround sound. what is the standard type wire for roughing in for speakers?
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speaker wire? :)

really it can be any kind of wire you want to use. there is nothing about speakers that requires any special wiring.

there are practical considerations though. for instance, if you decided to use THHN it would work fine but to do it in a code legal way might be harder than if you just bought speaker cable.

there is also the issue of connecting it up. you can buy speaker cable that has banana plugs factory connected if that is how your stuff hooks up. much easier if you do not have to add the plugs yourself.

I think these are going to be class 2 circuits.
 
petersonra said:
really it can be any kind of wire you want to use.
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Except the NEC requires it to be listed to be able to run in walls and ceilings. Usually it would be CL2 listed, printed on the jacket.

Many cables sold as speaker wire as well as zip cord, etc. is not allowed to be used to wire buildings. It's not listed for the purppose.

-Hal
 
hbiss said:
Except the NEC requires it to be listed to be able to run in walls and ceilings. Usually it would be CL2 listed, printed on the jacket.

Many cables sold as speaker wire as well as zip cord, etc. is not allowed to be used to wire buildings. It's not listed for the purppose.

-Hal
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I did mention practical considerations in doing it in a code legal way. Pretty sure I also mentioned the class 2 issue.

But if you could figure out how to do it code legal there is nothing preventing you from using nm.

As for being listed for the purpose I don't recall there are any cables listed as speaker wire. You would normally just use a class 2 cable of some sort.
 
Fred B said:
Crutchfield has listed cable for in wall installation for speaker and sound systems. Rated to CL3. Has many varieties available. Also has other components for installation.

AudioQuest SLiP-DB 14/4 In-wall Speaker Cable​

www.crutchfield.com

AudioQuest SLiP-DB 14/4 In-wall Speaker Cable (250-ft. roll)

14-gauge, 4-conductor wire
www.crutchfield.com www.crutchfield.com
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I like this part of the description of this cable.

  • directional arrows on jacket tell you which way the signal should flow for the best sound
 
petersonra said:
I like this part of the description of this cable.

  • directional arrows on jacket tell you which way the signal should flow for the best sound
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First you made me laugh. I wonder though if the twisted pairing could influence the ability of conductance in a way to be "interpreted" as "signal flow" restriction?
 
petersonra said:
I like this part of the description of this cable.

  • directional arrows on jacket tell you which way the signal should flow for the best sound
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Or, if you don't want to get ripped off, this stuff works just as well though it doesn't have the fancy directional arrows:

Monoprice Speaker Wire, CL2 Rated, 2-Conductor, 12AWG, 100ft, White - Monoprice.com

Get the most out of your home audio system with high quality, pure bare copper speaker wire from Monoprice™!Pure Bare Copper is a superior conductor to the copper clad aluminum (CCA) conductors
www.monoprice.com



SceneryDriver
 
I was going to suggestion Monoprice as well. I used them for my home theater and they seem to have the lowest price.
 
I usually use jacketed cable from HD for speakers and LED lighting, available in different gauges and 2 or 4 wires:

1626906774715.png

Another source for speaker wire, especially outdoors, is landscape-lighting wire, relatively cheap for the sizes.
 
Wire size is important, too.

I wire for whole house sound (Sonos systems) sometimes, and the lengths get pretty long.

Last house was approx 75 feet to Master Bed, 65 feet to Master Bath, 75 feet to den, 50 feet to living room and kitchen, 35 feet in basement.

I use 12ga for those long runs, 14ga for everything else. I've never sized according to any charts, but I found this one. It looks about right
 

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LarryFine said:
I usually use jacketed cable from HD for speakers and LED lighting, available in different gauges and 2 or 4 wires:

View attachment 2557278

Another source for speaker wire, especially outdoors, is landscape-lighting wire, relatively cheap for the sizes.
Click to expand...
I assume there is a CL2 or other marking somewhere, even if it does not appear on the label?
 
James L said:
Wire size is important, too.

I wire for whole house sound (Sonos systems) sometimes, and the lengths get pretty long.

Last house was approx 75 feet to Master Bed, 65 feet to Master Bath, 75 feet to den, 50 feet to living room and kitchen, 35 feet in basement.

I use 12ga for those long runs, 14ga for everything else. I've never sized according to any charts, but I found this one. It looks about right
Click to expand...

That chart doesn’t take power into account. For a very high power application, those sizes may be inadequate.
 
In my home theater, I have a 300w/ch on my main speakers, bi-wired, and 200w/ch on the other five. I use 12g. for everything.
 
James L said:
That's a lot of sound
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WHAT?!
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Yes, it is. Plus, my main speakers have 15" powered subs at 300w/ch, for a total of 2200 watts cont.

I built the stack in the wall, and supplied it with an 8-circuit 50a sub-panel. Room lights on and off:

1626928602296.png 1626928633683.png
 
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