|   Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | JimmyZ
Apr 23, 2001 12:35 PM | | Hello out there! I must admit that I'm new to this whole surround-sound stuff. I'm finishing my basement and I want to wire for the speakers before the drywall goes up. Can some of you suggest a good speaker wire that is rated to go inside the wall? I'll be putting in pretty heafty rear surrounds so I was thinking a 12 or 14 guage. |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | estan
Apr 23, 2001 2:23 PM | | you will be safe with 12 gauge for just about any speaker within 50 feet of the amp. |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | mtrycrafts
Apr 23, 2001 9:54 PM | | And, you should look for UL rated speaker wires. |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | LittleSaint
Apr 24, 2001 6:04 AM | | Monster makes some pretty good in-wall cable in 16 and 14 gauge, 2 and 4 pair. It's THX certified if that's important to you. I'm using the 14 gauge 4 pair to bi-wire my Klipsch Reference speakers. I found Crutchfield to be the cheapest, or OneCall has it with free shipping.
LittleSaint |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | estan
Apr 24, 2001 6:46 AM | | THX certified is meaningless...I have nothing against Monster except that you are paying for a lot of marketing and advertising and their interconnects actually can change the sound of your system and not necessarily for the best.
Most important here is keep speaker wire far away from AC wiring. If you are putting in new AC use shielded BX to be safe. Make sure the speaker wire crosses the AC at 90 degree angles if it must cross...this is to prevent AC hum.
If you want the very best get some Gotham GAC-SPK 4x2.5mm2
This is low resistance and very well shielded professional grade cable. That is for a stereo pair but remove the 4x from the part # and you have it for a single speaker.
Visit Gotham's website at http://www.gotham.ch/ and you can find US dealers. |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | mtrycrafts
Apr 24, 2001 10:31 PM | | >>>actually can change the sound of your system and not necessarily for the best.<<<
It can? Really? Which ones? How did you test this?
>>>Gotham GAC-SPK 4x2.5mm2<<<
10ga? Where do you need this? |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | estan
Apr 24, 2001 11:28 PM | | Mtry...where do you see any reference to 10 gauge...since I don't know you personally I will just accept in my mind that you have no experience with Gotham cables and therefor will refrain from slinging a pile of loose sh*t at you...
As for Monster cable I am referring to specialty cables such as those they made specifically for use with CD players which were designed to roll off the top end and very clearly do that. I often use them to tame some of the early CD players that sound a bit bright and harsh with standard cables although the result is not necessarily to my liking.
Here are the specs on the Gotham
1 = Jacket: PUR, Ø 6.8mm
2 = Separation: PVC, Ø 6.1mm
3 = Shield No. 1: Bare copper wire (0.13mm)
4 = Shield No. 2: Bare copper wire (0.13mm)
5 = Insulation: PVC, Ø 4.0mm
6 = Conductor: Bare copper wires 50 x 0.25mm (2.50mm2)
Technical specifications
Center conductor resistance: < 7.6 Ohm/km
Outside line resistance: < 7.8 Ohm/km
Capacitance: cond/cond: < 450 nF/km
Test voltage: cond/cond: 800 Veff
Insulation resistance: > 200 MOhm/km
Temperature range flexible installation
-5°C to +50°C
fixed installation
-30°C to +70°C
As to where 10 gauge cable could be needed?
what would you use to connect a multi kilowatt amp to a large but inefficient monitor system...you might not cut it with 10 gauge. High current draw at low voltages makes big demands on cable or all that horsepower will just be used to heat the cable...c'mon man ...I know you're smarter than that..
If you actually want to do the calculation for the AWG I think when working with sq-mm as the Gotham is speced you will find that this particular cable is close to 14 AWG approximately. |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | mtrycrafts
Apr 25, 2001 11:57 PM | | >>>4x2.5mm2<<<
Oh, that 2 at the end is square mm? |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | estan
Apr 26, 2001 11:42 AM | | yeah man...recalculate
remember you are working in the cross section of each individual conductor not the total wire diameter. |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | mtrycrafts
Apr 26, 2001 6:08 PM | | Oh, but my reference table does compare ga and Dia in mm. |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | Eyespy
Apr 26, 2001 10:19 PM | | Yes, I can see where the confusion lies. 2.5mm diameter would be between a 10 and 9 awg, whereas 2.5 sq mm x-sectional area would convert to between a 14 and 13 awg. Each was just working off a different parameter, diameter for mtry, area for stan. |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | estan
Apr 26, 2001 11:56 PM | | agreed...just wish there was an HTML text for exponents.
BTW ...I was having some new car speakers installed the other day at the neon rice burner car audio place in connecticut and lo and behold there was a rack with rolls of huge cable...4AWG to be exact. Also some huge .1 farad caps sitting on the shelf. I asked the install tech what's with the 4 gauge and he said with the kilowatt amps he installs he needs it for the huge 15" subs they are sticking in these little cars.
You should have heard the test cd's they were using...unfu@king believeable....Asian rap. I had to get in my car and listen to Howard Stern to unwind.
BTW that was not intended to offend anyone... |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | Eyespy
Apr 27, 2001 7:18 AM | | 4ga? Geeze, that's some cable! How much were they charginf for it? It's hard to imagine they really need that much cable for the installation, but if they are moving that much current...yikes!
Asian rap? Now I have a headache, too. No offense at all. Nothing like unwinding to a bit 'o HS. Except maybe Hendrie. Ever listened to Phil Hendrie, or:
Ted Bell
Pastor William Rennick
Bobbie Dooley
David G.Hall
Steve Bosell
Margaret Gray
Colleen Cristin Brewster
Art Griego
Larry Grover
Lloyd Bonefide
General Johnson Jamison
Comb-Over Boy
Jay Santos
Rudy Canosa
R.C. Collins
Vernan Dosier
...etc. According to LA Weekly: "The funniest, meanest man on L.A. radio -- make that the funniest, meanest men and women." |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | estan
Apr 27, 2001 1:27 PM | | I think you can put led's or purple neon in the cable twist to make sure you know there is something going hiss boom in dere.
Are these guys (folks) syndicated?
If so what networks and times.
It might be different here in the Big Apple...I don't listen to much except a classic rock station and a great jazz station in New Jersey WBGO and of course our WQXR classical.
We used to have a really nasty xrated talk show at 6pm but I think he is yours now...does the Juice Man sound familiar?
Stan |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | Eyespy
Apr 27, 2001 6:57 PM | | It's the same host, doing different personalities that he has on his show as guests, plus all the duped real callers. It's a blast! Absolutely hilarious. This guy has got talent. He is syndicated, but I don't know which stations. You can listen in on the 'net live at:
http://www.kfi640.com/more_stimulating_talk_radio/
or check out some past shows at his homepage at:
http://www.philhendrieshow.com/audio.html |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | Bruce Burke
Apr 24, 2001 6:59 AM | | Make sure that the cable you use meets your local fire codes. Try to avoid using a cable that could be mistaken for regular house wiring by the next owner too.
-Bruce |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | mtrycrafts
Apr 24, 2001 10:32 PM | | >>>Try to avoid using a cable that could be mistaken for regular house wiring by the next owner too. <<<<
Yep, very important. |
| re: Best In-Wall speaker wire for surround sound | estan
Apr 24, 2001 11:48 PM | | yeah...put some labels on them ... |
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