RWILDE Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 So I have been helping my boss build his home theater and it has become a money pit. He has the THX Ultra2 system and a Marantz amp. The guy trying to install it is looking to sell him wiring for $8 per foot which equates to $2.5k. A bit more than he was looking to spend. I have been trying to research specs and have found what seems to be good wiring for $150 for 500ft. I have copied specs below. It is Approvals:UL Type CM, CL3 NEC Article 725 California State Fire Marshal Direct Burial Temperature: -20°C to 75°C Voltage: 300 Conductor: Extra Flexible Bare Copper Insulation: PVC Jacket: White PVC Ripcord Color Code: UL Type CM, CL3 NEC Article 725 California State Fire Marshal Direct Burial Home Theater, Sound/Audio, Intercom, P.A. Systems 14 AWG 105/34 BC 2.48 O/MFT 2 PVC, .010" .030" .300" 40 51 Is this stuff alright or do we need to spend all the money? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odysseyrevolver Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 www.monoprice.com "The guy" is raping you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odysseyrevolver Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 2, 2011 Moderators Share Posted February 2, 2011 "The guy" is raping you. Well said. I buy all my wiring from monoprice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yura Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Ugh, unless he has to dig in permafrost to install those cables - $8 a foot is a ripoff. The specs don't mean much without knowing were and how the cable needs to be installed/run. If it is just inside a single family residence then something like this will work great 250ft 14AWG CL2 Rated 2-Conductor Loud Speaker Cable (For In-Wall Installation) - $49 http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023902&p_id=2821&seq=1&format=2 Anything thicker than 14AWG may be hard to terminate/connect to speakers. Yes, it is inexpensive, and no - it's not junk cable. Monoprice is used by many installers as source for the cables and connectors. Of course there are those like "the guy" who will sell Pear cable and $150 ceramic cable supports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Rule of thumb for wires: The thicker the better...... The longer a wire run is, the more resistance the electricity encounters along its journey and the wire can heat up from too much friction(resistance). 14 ga is a good diameter in my opinion for shorter runs and for your boss is doing, can probably get away with it. If i were doing it, regardless of the speaker sizes, i would put in 12gauge CL2 rated wire for inwall use and terminate the the wires coming out of the walls with gang type plates. If 12ga is too large for the speaker terminals, with a gangplate you can downsize.to 14 if ya want or 16. I tend to overdo things but i like to make sure that i have to do it once and i'd prefer to pay more at first then redo things along the way. Monprice is great for speaker wire and accessories. I highly, highly highly suggest you dont buy their RCA interconnects if need be, they are like huge antennas and attract so much interference. I had them go between my processor and power amp and it was all sorts of bad. Make sure that shielded intercoinnects are used if they are being used. Speaker wire doesnt have to be shielded since its a power signal but shielding can't hurt! It appears, by the numkber you gave us, around 2500 bux at 8 bux a foot, you would need around 320 feet of speaker wire. Below are 2 links, one for 12ga 250ft and one for 12ga 100ft. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=3844&seq=1&format=2 and http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2817&seq=1&format=2 Wall plates: This should give a nice finished look. SIngle speaker wall plate http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042503&p_id=3639&seq=1&format=2#description Two Speaker wall plate http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042503&p_id=3640&seq=1&format=2 This is a snazzy 5.1 gang plate, obviously you'd need an additional plate assuming that its a 7.1 or 7.2 http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=105&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042503&p_id=4012&seq=1&format=3#specification Regular 5.0 gang plate http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042503&p_id=3643&seq=1&format=2 8.2!!!! whoa thats a big plate http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042503&p_id=4013&seq=1&format=2 heres the link to all the wall plates, take a look. http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?spcDB=10425&spcWord=Audio%2FVideo+Wall+Plate&keyword=wall plate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 As stated previously, use MONOPRICE!!! You can get in-wall rated 12ga. for a fraction of what is currently being proposed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kde Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Do you sacrifice sound quality by going through a wall plate? Adding another connection to the mix... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 if the connection is bad then yes. The best way to do runs is always point a to point b and nothing in between. We are dealing with a power signal which is different than a low level signal. As long as there is a solid connection there shouldnt be any hinderance to your sound quality. Now when you talk about the rca wall jacks, well, that can definitly be a different story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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