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Speaker wire for HT system


mbr311

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Either way will work, if you have carpet with trim you may be able to tuck regular wire under the trim or carpet where the extra jacket of the in wall wire would be larger in diameter therefore making it harder to hide.

Its your call.

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The wires you chose are fine, wires run in the wall should be rated for in wall use, which these should be. If you are not running them in the wall it is just a matter of preference if you like the look of these or the clear ones better. The clear ones are not intended to be used in wall.

I actually like the look of the white in-wall wires simply because they should blend in with my white walls. I think I will go ahead and buy 100ft. of 14 guage for $17.88. Also, i hate to belabor this point but would using this wire also be good for my mains and center channel? If it is better, I would go ahead and buy 250ft. for $39.59 and just re-wire my entire system if it helps. Let me know. Thanks,

Mark

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The wires you chose are fine, wires run in the wall should be rated for in wall use, which these should be. If you are not running them in the wall it is just a matter of preference if you like the look of these or the clear ones better. The clear ones are not intended to be used in wall.

I actually like the look of the white in-wall wires simply because they should blend in with my white walls. I think I will go ahead and buy 100ft. of 14 guage for $17.88. Also, i hate to belabor this point but would using this wire also be good for my mains and center channel? If it is better, I would go ahead and buy 250ft. for $39.59 and just re-wire my entire system if it helps. Let me know. Thanks,

Mark

Sure that wire should work fine for your mains. How long are your wire
runs?

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The wires you chose are fine, wires run in the wall should be rated for in wall use, which these should be. If you are not running them in the wall it is just a matter of preference if you like the look of these or the clear ones better. The clear ones are not intended to be used in wall.

I actually like the look of the white in-wall wires simply because they should blend in with my white walls. I think I will go ahead and buy 100ft. of 14 guage for $17.88. Also, i hate to belabor this point but would using this wire also be good for my mains and center channel? If it is better, I would go ahead and buy 250ft. for $39.59 and just re-wire my entire system if it helps. Let me know. Thanks,

Mark

Sure that wire should work fine for your mains. How long are your wire
runs?

My wire run for the mains are only like 5 feet, same for the center channel. So I'm not even sure I'd need 250 feet to upgrade I can probably get away with 100ft total. Thanks guys for the help! I'll be making this purchase soon, it'll take 3-5 days and then i can get my surrounds hooked up and I'm finally done.

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actually the "white" cable is slightly better than the clear. the white jacked wire is twisted which helps in emi/rfi rejection. also, it's good not to let your speaker wire touch the carpet. sometimes the carpet builds up a static charge and my induce a voltage into the wire, giving you static. you can place little wood or styrofoam blocks to prevent this. you don't need anything fancy. i used the wire track at Lowe's, it was super cheap. it's half moon shaped and sits right on top of my molding. blends right in.

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actually the "white" cable is slightly better than the clear. the white jacked wire is twisted which helps in emi/rfi rejection. also, it's good not to let your speaker wire touch the carpet. sometimes the carpet builds up a static charge and my induce a voltage into the wire, giving you static. you can place little wood or styrofoam blocks to prevent this. you don't need anything fancy. i used the wire track at Lowe's, it was super cheap. it's half moon shaped and sits right on top of my molding. blends right in.

No worries about carpet static unless bare wire is exposed, wire sheathing is there for more than just keeping the wires touching together.

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I may try Hospital cords on my amps though as I hear they produce a "cleaner" sound

Might I suggest you get a cord from a defibulator..... I understand they're better at keeping the beat of the music going [:P]

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actually the "white" cable is slightly better than the clear. the white jacked wire is twisted which helps in emi/rfi rejection. also, it's good not to let your speaker wire touch the carpet. sometimes the carpet builds up a static charge and my induce a voltage into the wire, giving you static. you can place little wood or styrofoam blocks to prevent this. you don't need anything fancy. i used the wire track at Lowe's, it was super cheap. it's half moon shaped and sits right on top of my molding. blends right in.

Okay cool good to know that the white wire is better, I placed the purchase last night for 100ft of 14 guage and its shipping out today so I should have it next week, then I can get everything hooked up. I was planningo on buying wire track and running it across the baseboard if that works. Some of it is going to have to go over like the patio door so hopefully the wire track keeps it pretty hidden because the last thing I want to see is wire running all over the room.

Once again, I don't know if anyone's answered this and I apologize if I missed it, but would this be good to use for my mains and center channel as well, or would I need like a 12 or 10 guage wire? Thanks!

Mark

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I may try Hospital cords on my amps though as I hear they produce a "cleaner" sound

Might I suggest you get a cord from a defibulator..... I understand they're better at keeping the beat of the music going Stick out tongue

I have heard that they can cause a bouncy static line to appear across your TV screen however. [;)]

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14 gauge is fine for the runs.

If you have a crawl space or basement you can just drill some small holes behind your audio cabinet and run the cable underneath the floor to your speakers to avoid exposed cables.

Sorry so 14 guage is fine for both the runs to my surrounds as well as my runs to the main and center channels? That's all I really need to know and I apologize for belaboring the point. I hadn't thought of running it down through the crawl space that certainly would make things a lot nicer looking. We'll see, my buddy has all the tools and knowledge we need to get this done so it'll work itself out for sure. Thanks for all your help

Mark

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14 gauge is fine for the runs.

If you have a crawl space or basement you can just drill some small holes behind your audio cabinet and run the cable underneath the floor to your speakers to avoid exposed cables.

Sorry so 14 guage is fine for both the runs to my surrounds as well as my runs to the main and center channels? That's all I really need to know and I apologize for belaboring the point. I hadn't thought of running it down through the crawl space that certainly would make things a lot nicer looking. We'll see, my buddy has all the tools and knowledge we need to get this done so it'll work itself out for sure. Thanks for all your help

Mark

Yes 14 gauge will work great with your short runs to your mains and center. A lot of people just like the bigger is better theory so 12 gauge is very commonly used but usually completely overkill. Would you notice any difference in sound from your system if you used 12 gauge instead 14 gauge on your system and short wire runs, absolutely not.

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Yes 14 gauge is more than enough for all of your wire runs for all your speakers.

If you have carpet like you said just make 2 small slits (one slit may be used but may need to be longer to access subfloor)in the carpet where you plan to drill your holes, pull the flap of carpet back and drill being sure there is nothing underneath to drill through such as air ducts, conduit, water pipe, etc... run the cable through the hole(s) and push the carpet flap back onto the carpet tackboard and repeat for each speaker location.

If your speakers are located high on the wall post back and i will give instructions for wall mounting.

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Yes 14 gauge is more than enough for all of your wire runs for all your speakers.

If you have carpet like you said just make 2 small slits (one slit may be used but may need to be longer to access subfloor)in the carpet where you plan to drill your holes, pull the flap of carpet back and drill being sure there is nothing underneath to drill through such as air ducts, conduit, water pipe, etc... run the cable through the hole(s) and push the carpet flap back onto the carpet tackboard and repeat for each speaker location.

If your speakers are located high on the wall post back and i will give instructions for wall mounting.

The surrounds are going to be mounted approximately 6.5-7 feet up on the wall. Thanks for the instructions on how to get them down into the crawlspace, and if you can help me figure out how to run it up the wall that would be super. Thanks,

Mark

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Yes 14 gauge will work great with your short runs to your mains and center. A lot of people just like the bigger is better theory so 12 gauge is very commonly used but usually completely overkill. Would you notice any difference in sound from your system if you used 12 gauge instead 14 gauge on your system and short wire runs, absolutely not.

Great this will give me the opportunity to clean up the back of the entertainment system as well, its a clusterf&&& right now back there lol and I hardly have any wires it's all the powerchords I think lol

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Running the wires up the wall will take a few basic tools and more of your time but nothing too bad.

First make sure of your speaker placement so you wont need to repeat the process.

I am going to recommend some wall mount speaker wire plates to give you a more professional look.

You will need a long drill bit big enough to squeeze your wires through and a fish tape and a keyhole saw to cut through your drywall.

First cut your hole for your speaker wire plates to size then cut a hole just over the floor trim on the drywall big enough to angle your drill bit to drill through the floor and enough to get your cable and fingers in.

Angle your drill bit sharply so not to go through the back of your wall,drill your hole through your subfloor with your long drill bit, feed your fish tape through the hole and attatch your wire to the tape then pull it through the hole.

Unhook your tape and feed it through the upper wall hole behind your speaker to the lower hole and hook up your wire to the tape and pull it through the top hole and hook the wire to the wall jack.

Patch your lower hole and prime and paint to match the rest of the wall, repeat for each speaker.

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Running the wires up the wall will take a few basic tools and more of your time but nothing too bad.

First make sure of your speaker placement so you wont need to repeat the process.

I am going to recommend some wall mount speaker wire plates to give you a more professional look.

You will need a long drill bit big enough to squeeze your wires through and a fish tape and a keyhole saw to cut through your drywall.

First cut your hole for your speaker wire plates to size then cut a hole just over the floor trim on the drywall big enough to angle your drill bit to drill through the floor and enough to get your cable and fingers in.

Angle your drill bit sharply so not to go through the back of your wall,drill your hole through your subfloor with your long drill bit, feed your fish tape through the hole and attatch your wire to the tape then pull it through the hole.

Unhook your tape and feed it through the upper wall hole behind your speaker to the lower hole and hook up your wire to the tape and pull it through the top hole and hook the wire to the wall jack.

Patch your lower hole and prime and paint to match the rest of the wall, repeat for each speaker.

Also a good idea to use a stud finder to be sure that there is an open path between the studs from your speaker height to the floor, if there is not you might need to select a slightly different speaker location which has one or route to an attic through an unobstructed area and back down to the speaker level if below the speaker is obstructed.

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