in-wall speaker cable?

madmax

Which in-wall speaker cable should I get? It has to be a type which would pass building codes.

ben62670

For surround sound I would go with Audio Quest 14/2 in wall wire.

disneyjoe7

I used Blue Jean Cables Belden 5000UE (Gray jacket, 12 AWG), been very happy with it.
Wired for house speakers and surround speakers.

jinjuku

Without knowing your run length I would hate to recommend 14/AWG (so what are your runs?)

Monoprice 12AWG In-wall rated CL2. Check your local building codes for the jacket rating required.

50 ft is ~$15 and 100 ft is ~$26.

John K.

Max, CL2 rated wire, such as the MonoPrice wire which was linked, is always permissible for in-wall residential installations. The appropriate gauge would vary with the distance of the run and the impedance of the speakers. While 16 or even 18 ga would be fine for relatively short runs to main speakers, for longer runs to surrounds 14 or even 12ga would be advisable, following the suggestions in the wire table here .

Systems

There is a 32ft pc. of the Monprice CL-2 12ga. listed for sale on this forum.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110904

Midnite Mick

I think Mantis has experience with different in-wall wire. You may want to pm him.

Good luck,
Mike

Sherardp

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

I used Blue Jean Cables Belden 5000UE (Gray jacket, 12 AWG), been very happy with it.
Wired for house speakers and surround speakers.

I second Bluejeans, used it in my HT also.

F1nut

Here ya go Chuck, goes well with your other MIT's.

http://www.mitcables.com/available-in-stores/custom-installation.html

disneyjoe7

F1nut wrote: »

Here ya go Chuck, goes well with your other MIT's.

http://www.mitcables.com/available-in-stores/custom-installation.html

http://www.mitcables.com/available-in-stores/custom-installation/12/2-speaker-cable.html

Jesse, do you really think at $1.84 foot for a roll of 250ft of 12/2 speaker wire, would be 3+ times over the Belden 5000UE speaker wire at $0.52 per foot?

Just wondering.

mantis

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

http://www.mitcables.com/available-in-stores/custom-installation/12/2-speaker-cable.html

Jesse, do you really think at $1.84 foot for a roll of 250ft of 12/2 speaker wire, would be 3+ times over the Belden 5000UE speaker wire at $0.52 per foot?

Just wondering.

Stop wondering , it's not even worth it on any level with any level of speakers.

If you want high quality in wall wire that retains sound quality , Audioquest FLX14-2 is where it's at. For runs under 100 feet this wire is fantastic. I use it good to high end speakers with spectacular results. It doesn't cost non of what MIT wants for their custom wire.
Year ago I was running Transparent in wall Cl3 rated wire. It was very expensive , they had the same wall plates and custom tails like MIT does. I compared this setup to Audioquest on the same speakers , same length run , same everything and the Transparent didn't do anything better then the Audioquest did at a fraction of the cost.
Compare these prices and decide if this is a good place to spend that kind of money for no improvement.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-UVSKbkgSYgh/p_70314260/AudioQuest-FLX-14-2-14-Gauge-In-Wall-Speaker-Cable-60-feet.html

disneyjoe7

Well I'm very pleased with Belden wire, and like it because A.) I used them. B.) many cables runs where I work in a Telephone Central Office are made by Belden. So if it as worked for many many years I find it hard to beat.

Now saying that, Audioquest makes very fine cables also, as I have some RG6 cable made by them at a run of 30' which feed a whole house audio system from my HT setup. I'm very pleased with that cable also.

madmax

Lots of great advice here! Right now I'm leaning towards the Audioquest rather than the MIT. Afterall, its only HT. I have no problem with the cost of the MIT but it seems odd for me to buy twice as much of it than I will use.

F1nut

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

http://www.mitcables.com/available-in-stores/custom-installation/12/2-speaker-cable.html

Jesse, do you really think at $1.84 foot for a roll of 250ft of 12/2 speaker wire, would be 3+ times over the Belden 5000UE speaker wire at $0.52 per foot?

Just wondering.

Why folks like to compare wire at a price per foot strikes me as silly. Do we compare amps at a price per pound or by square inches? Of course not, we should judge them by their sound. It should be the same with cable.

mantis wrote:

Stop wondering , it's not even worth it on any level with any level of speakers.

And yet, you haven't tried the MIT in wall cable to be able to make that claim. Pffft.

jinjuku

F1nut wrote: »

we should judge them by their sound. It should be the same with cable.

I agree: All cable sounds the same :biggrin:

pearsall001

MIT makes nice cables...are they worth the money is the question that only you can answer.

madmax

My biggest concern is if I selected the MIT cable I would probably end up buying the termination boxes and every other accessory they have... :biggrin:

zingo

I have the monoprice 12g CL2 stuff and it has worked great in a number of applications; plus its crazy cheap.

pearsall001

madmax wrote: »

My biggest concern is if I selected the MIT cable I would probably end up buying the termination boxes and every other accessory they have... :biggrin:

Save your money & buy more music.

disneyjoe7

I would like to compare all these in-wall cables to hear what they will sound like.

madmax

I'm assuming I will only run the surrounds and maybe the center with this cable. I would use my standard front left and right speaker cables. Does anyone see that as a problem? The surround speakers match the character of my front horns almost to a T other than the bass is lighter and there is a little less definition.

pearsall001

No problem what so ever. Hook 'em up & enjoy! Personally I like to use 12ga for any runs over 30'. That's probably overkill but it sure doesn't hurt.

F1nut

jinjuku wrote: »

I agree: All cable sounds the same :biggrin:

Let's see, bad teeth, nose full of boogers......yeah, I think it's a safe bet to say that your lack of personal hygiene means your ears are packed as well. :rolleyes:

disneyjoe7

Synergy question...

If I ran Belden wire from AVR Jacks to back surrounds speaker Jacks, would I lose any synergy? I'll be using Signal Cable speaker patch cables between AVR to Jacks and between back surrounds jacks to speakers, would this work?

comfortablycurt

F1nut wrote: »

Why folks like to compare wire at a price per foot strikes me as silly. Do we compare amps at a price per pound or by square inches? Of course not, we should judge them by their sound. It should be the same with cable.



And yet, you haven't tried the MIT in wall cable to be able to make that claim. Pffft.

Well...by the foot is kinda the way that wire is generally sold.

For HT usage, I'd personally recommend going with something cheaper...but still of good quality such as the AQ cable recommended above. HT doesn't emphasize the differences in cabling to anywhere near the extent that music does, and thus...should be budgeted accordingly. IMO, it's not worth it to spend the extra on MIT if it's just for HT surround runs. If you do a lot of music listening in surround...it may be worth it though.

F1nut

Well...by the foot is kinda the way that wire is generally sold.

Maybe the cheap audio stuff or electrical wire off the spool at Lowe's, but better audio wire is not sold that way.

comfortablycurt

F1nut wrote: »

Maybe the cheap audio stuff or electrical wire off the spool at Lowe's, but better audio wire is not sold that way.

Well...maybe not in 1 foot increments, but you're still going to pay more for a longer cable than you are for a shorter cable. With most cable manufacturers, you can get custom lengths as well, and presumably the price would be adjusted accordingly.

So, you still are essentially buying it "by the foot", whether or not it's advertised as such.

mantis

F1nut wrote: »

Maybe the cheap audio stuff or electrical wire off the spool at Lowe's, but better audio wire is not sold that way.

Really? Lets see , Audioquest , sold by the foot , Cardos , sold by the foot , Kimber Kable sold by the foot , Liberty sold by the foot , Transparent sold by the foot , Belden sold by the foot ,Ixos sold by the foot any custom made wire by anyone sold by the foot. All wire is sold by the foot. The length determines the price hence sold by the foot. How do I know this? Gee lets see my company carries more wire then most people have seen in a lifetime.

And yes I have heard in wall MIT wire many times. I'm not impressed or the least bit fooled by companies like them. You or anyone else can buy what ever you like. Good luck with all that.
You should not speak of which you lack knowledge of.

mantis

pearsall001 wrote: »

MIT makes nice cables...are they worth the money is the question that only you can answer.

Excellent clean advice.

mantis

madmax wrote: »

My biggest concern is if I selected the MIT cable I would probably end up buying the termination boxes and every other accessory they have... :biggrin:

And waste your money you will. Dude spend your money elsewhere if you want better performance like room treatments or better quality amps.
Rule of thumb with wire is follow the American wire standard with gauge and length. Get good quality wire with proper termination. Once you achieve the ability to send the signal from A to B correctly , nothing can improve it.

mantis

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

I would like to compare all these in-wall cables to hear what they will sound like.

I would gladly host this even as I can bring a wealth of different in wall cables. I challenge anyone to bring anything they want.
We can have some rear channel speakers in a home theater room and change out the wire for a Blind listening test. Most of you will be shocked as I have done this more times then I probably should have. For years I craved the highest end wire my wallet could afford. My cravings have changed once I learned the truth.