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Recommendations for 60' speaker wire for RS-3


Kathy

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I will be using the Klipsch RS-3s for my side surrounds, mounting about 8' up, tilted down. I will be running wire in the wall on one side of the room, and wire under baseboard and carpet on the other side. Both runs will be around 60'. What guage and type do you recommend?

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Kathy,

14 or 16 gauge zip cord should do just fine.

You should be able to get it at any home improvement store. If the wire is going to show, the stuff with the clear plastic outside is the least conspicuous.

For running in the wall, get a type approved for in wall installation.

Derek

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I'm part of the "zip cord is just fine" club.

Also, your local home improvement center is definitely a good source. Zip cord, or lamp cord, with white or black insulation is often offered on spools. A good buy. I do laugh at some of the "specialized" zip cord they sell which have labels like "high definition". There is no merit to the claim.

IMHO, 16 gauge is plenty. Please note that as the numbers in the "American Wire Gauge" system go down, the diameter goes up. I do think that 14 or 12 is not necessary.

Before you decide on a given gauge, please consider the interconnects, e.g., banana plugs or spade lugs, you may be using. Or, your speakers or amps may have some sort of spring clips. Using large wire like 14 gauge, may make it difficult to hook it up to the spring clips or interconnects.

One reason to go to Radio Shack for wire is if you need assistance with the interconnects and hooking up the wire to them. A salesman there may be more helpful than the home improvement center. Maybe.

Gil

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Kathy -

Something to keep in mind when running the wiring in the walls is their proximity to electrical wiring. Typical 110/120V is not too bad, but if there's a 220/230V nearby, lookout. Also, to be on the safe side, try to run your speaker wiring perpendicular to electrical wiring and not parallel to it. This will mitigate picking up stray signals.

Tom Adams

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Kathy,

My personal opintion is to stay away from 16 guage zip cord. With runs of wire that long, you are more than likely going to get some signal loss. I would use a minimum of 14 guage. I just went from 16 guage to 12 guage on my RS-3's, and noticed a difference in bass output and clarity.

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Kathy, just a little FYI. I bought some white professional in-wall wire from www.partsexpress.com in Ohio about four months ago. This stuff was pretty easy to work with. There is a direct link below to the inwall wire section of their site.

www.partsexpress.com/pe/showprod.cfm?&DID=7&CATID=56&ObjectGroup_ID=376

I would call them and ask to talk to a technician to see what they suggest. It is a lot less expensive than a typical audio store. I also had a good experience when I bought items from them at their bricks and motor store which is attached to their warehouse. I bought 100' for under $30 including the shipping and state tax. I have been using it with a spare system and it has worked well with two 40' runs. It is insulated which helps to prevent electrical interference. I bought part number 100-762, which is 14 ga white jacket in-wall 2 conductor speaker wire. You can ask them to cut you a special length so you don't have to buy 2-100' spools or one 500' spool.

Good luck!

JT

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