Building HOME THEATER room: what in-wall speaker cable?

[Krassus]

Should i use 12, 14 or 16-gauge in-wall speaker cable? Also, if i've got a bunch of cables going together, do they need to be kept at a certain distance from eachother, or does it not matter?

 

[Krassus]

^

 

[AbsolutDealage]

Should i use 12, 14 or 16-gauge in-wall speaker cable?

The bigger the better. I would probably go 12-gauge.

Also, if i've got a bunch of cables going together, do they need to be kept at a certain distance from eachother, or does it not matter?

Shielding would help, also, running a good ground wire in the middle of the bunch will cut down on crosstalk.

Of course, I'm no expert, so don't take my word for it. Troll some A/V forums and you will get better answers.

 

[MustISO]

12 gauge for long runs, 14 can be use in most cases. In wall cable should be UL2 or UL3 approved for in-wall use. The only interference would be from power cables, coax cable etc. If you have to run near a power cable, run the cable across the cable not next to it.

 

[lancestorm]

Worry first about the UL rating, you definitely DO NOT want melting and a fire starting within your walls. Then try to go for 12 guage, no skinnier than 18 guage.

The issue of "does wire make a difference" is heavily debated. I chose CAROL wire that was about $20 for a 50 foot spool at Partsexpress dotcom. Worked out great.

 

[natedawg]

I got a 250 foot roll of 12 gauge wire at Lowe's for approx. $55. Did all my speakers with it and still have a bunch left over.

 

[Turkish]

use wireless (if you got the $$$)

 

[Lynx516]

Dont use wireless if you have eh $$$ because they sound crap

 

[amnesiac]

Originally posted by: Xiety
use wireless (if you got the $$$)

Ugh, no.

First, wireless degrades the sound quality.

Second, good luck finding any decent set of wireless speakers that don't suck butt.