In-wall speaker wire vs. generic wire

vivarey
vivarey Posts: 24
edited March 2008 in Speakers
Hey guys, I was looking at Monoprice's speaker wire offerings and wondering if there is any advantage/disadvantage to buying the in-wall wires for general use (not installed in the wall). Here is a link to what I'm looking at:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2817

I like the idea of white wires -- which would match my room better, and they are sold out of the standard wire anyway.

Also-- this is secondary, but are most of you guys running 12 or 14 gauge wire?

Thanks!
Post edited by vivarey on
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Comments

  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,576
    edited March 2008
    No advantage....it just rated as such due to generic building code.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • vivarey
    vivarey Posts: 24
    edited March 2008
    dorokusai wrote: »
    No advantage....it just rated as such due to generic building code.

    Cool, so then no disadvantage either? Is it harder to bend or work with you think?
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  • ShinAce
    ShinAce Posts: 1,194
    edited March 2008
    In wall wire will tend to have fewer strands and ends up being a tiny bit stiffer. You'll need a sample of each side by side to clearly see/feel the difference.

    Like mentioned, it is in wall wire due to the way it burns(if ever there is a fire) and nothing more.

    Go with whatever you like best, they are equivalent.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,576
    edited March 2008
    Correct, as the stiffness is simply due to the jacketing used.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • vivarey
    vivarey Posts: 24
    edited March 2008
    Hmm so fewer strands to me would sound like a bad thing, no?
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  • ShinAce
    ShinAce Posts: 1,194
    edited March 2008
    Not if you consider that some high end speaker wire is actually solid(1 strand).

    Strand count is fantastic if you need flexibility(trying to run wires through motorcycle handlebars and such).
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  • vivarey
    vivarey Posts: 24
    edited March 2008
    ShinAce wrote: »
    Not if you consider that some high end speaker wire is actually solid(1 strand).

    Strand count is fantastic if you need flexibility(trying to run wires through motorcycle handlebars and such).

    Ahh I see. Very helpful, thanks. Will that make them more difficult to use with banana plugs?
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  • wallstreet
    wallstreet Posts: 1,405
    edited March 2008
    Mine's actually 16 gauge. I terminated with Monster spades with no problems.
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