New Home Wiring

[kde]

Looking for the best way to ensure A/V wiring is done correctly in a new home construction. Can anyone point me to the some good information / research?

[cornfedksboy]

Looking for the best way to ensure A/V wiring is done correctly in a new home construction. Can anyone point me to the some good information / research?

No white papers on the subject, but I did discuss this with my electrician during my HT build. What he said, and what I did, was to run CL-2 rated 12 gauge wire through the walls. We ran it perpendicular to the electrical wires when possible and parallel with a 4" spacing from the electrical wires when necessary. I ran 5.2 through the walls along with 2 rear channels under the base board. I have had zero electrical and speaker issues. I bought my wiring on monoprice (http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239), as well as my wall connectors.

[Cal Blacksmith]

What he said above.

I will add, from my "old SKool" days of running wires, I would run them in flex conduit. This gives you the option to change/add wires later if you feel the need. Not only that but you get additional protection for the wires too.

For long runs of HDMI, there is an adaptor at monoprice that lets you run two Cat 5 or Cat 6 network cables (passivly, no amps) to give you up to 30 meter runs (90 feet) for very low cost and high quality. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042501&p_id=8009&seq=1&format=2

Until we replaced the DVR and hi def sat box in the bedroom, I was going to run those cables to the HT from the TV room. Now my run is only 10 feet so I don't have that need but it is something to think about.[]

From Monoprice.com

Data Transfer Speed: 6.75Gbps – 10.2Gbps

Passive, no power adapter

Support High Speed HDMI

Supports HDMI resolutions: 1080P/1080i/720P/576p/576i/480p/480i

Supports Video Color bit, deep color 24bit/ 36bit

Supports Audio Formats: LPCM, Dolby-AC3/DTS7.1/DSD

HDMI Version: 1.3b

Input Video Signal: 5.0Volts P-P

Output Cable Distance: <5M

Input Cable Distance: <5M

Operating Humidity Range: 5 to 90%RH ( No condensation)

Operating Temperature Range: -15 to +55 C (5 to 131 F)

FCC and CE Approved

Size: 114mmx70mmx41mm ( 4.48”x2.7”x1.6”)

[kde]

What is the recommended gauge of speaker wire? Likely a 5.1 system with runs upto 30 - 40 feet.

Secondly, do wall connectors add diminished sound by "breaking the connection"?

[SuBXeRo]

i would use 12ga at minimum. I like to do things with overhead, if given the choice i would actually get 10ga but 12ga should do fine. If the connectors are ineferior u could potentially see a decrease in performance but for the most part you should be ok. Its like using banana plugs, if they are crappy u could expect decreased performance, you get decent ones and all things should be copastetic. Power lines are much less finiky than the signal cables are.

[dtel]

http://www.cablestogo.com/categories.asp?cat_id=883003

Wire FAQ

1. What wire gauge do I need for speaker wire?

There are many schools of thought about cable distance versus wire gauge. In our opinion and from our personal experience, 14AWG speaker cable will be more than sufficient for your application. Keep in mind that as the signal level increases (per the amplifier power) and the cable run increases, you will want to increase the size (wire gauge) of your speaker cable. As a general rule of thumb:

• • For distance less than 30 feet, 18 AWG is appropriate.

• For distance between 30-50 feet, or an amplifier less than 50 Watts, 16 AWG is appropriate.

• For distance between 50-100 feet, or an amplifier between 50-100 Watts, 14 AWG is appropriate.

• For distance over 100 feet, or an amplifier over 100 Watts, 12 AWG is appropriate.

If the power output of your amplifier exceeds 100 Watts per channel, you should consider escalating two wire gauges. But remember that your amplifier will normally be pushing less than 1 watt of power to the speakers.

2. What's the difference between in-wall speaker wire and speaker wire?

In-wall speaker wire is constructed to specifications set by UL and the National Electrical Code (as written by the National Fire Prevention Association) so that it is safe to be run through the walls of a residential structure. When materials are put inside the wall of a home, they can provide a path for fire to spread from floor-to-floor or room-to-room. The jacket or outside insulation of in-wall speaker wire is manufactured from compounds that help slow the spread of fire.

3. What does so many twist per inch mean, etc.?

The conductors in a speaker cable are twisted to help the cable maintain a round shape. This makes the cable easier to pull through wall studs and floor joists. Also, twisted wire pairs will naturally cancel out EMI/RFI noise that can find its way onto the conductors through a process called induction. This is not as important to speaker signals as it is to line level signals as discussed above, but it will help maintain the quality of your audio signals. The more twists per inch, the better the noise rejection.

***From somewhere else.........better than just a guess........it's usuialy smaller than you think***

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_wire

Maximum wire lengths for two conductor copper wire^[3]

Wire size	2 Ω load	4 Ω load	6 Ω load	8 Ω load
22 AWG (0.326 mm2)	3 ft (0.9 m)	6 ft (1.8 m)	9 ft (2.7 m)	12 ft (3.6 m)
20 AWG (0.518 mm2)	5 ft (1.5 m)	10 ft (3 m)	15 ft (4.5 m)	20 ft (6 m)
18 AWG (0.823 mm2)	8 ft (2.4 m)	16 ft (4.9 m)	24 ft (7.3 m)	32 ft (9.7 m)
16 AWG (1.31 mm2)	12 ft (3.6 m)	24 ft (7.3 m)	36 ft (11 m)	48 ft (15 m)
14 AWG (2.08 mm2)	20 ft (6.1 m)	40 ft (12 m)	60 ft (18 m)*	80 ft (24 m)*
12 AWG (3.31 mm2)	30 ft (9.1 m)	60 ft (18 m)*	90 ft (27 m)*	120 ft (36 m)*
10 AWG (5.26 mm2)	50 ft (15 m)	100 ft (30 m)*	150 ft (46 m)*	200 ft (61 m)*

[cornfedksboy]

What is the recommended gauge of speaker wire? Likely a 5.1 system with runs upto 30 - 40 feet.

Secondly, do wall connectors add diminished sound by "breaking the connection"?

I used 12 gauge in-wall from monoprice with my longest run being 55 foot. It works well. I would try to stay away from 10 gauge only because it is more difficult to work with. It you plan on buying upgraded wall-plates and banana plugs that will fit 8 or 10 gauge wire, then that's not a problem, but most wall-plates/banana pulgs are for up to 12 gauge.

Do wall-plates diminish the connection? I don't think so. Before I was 100% hooked up I ran the speaker wire from my avr, across the floor, into the back of my RF-82s. Sounded good. Once my room was finished I ran BPs from the back of the avr into BPs that I hooked into a wall-plate in my av closet. From there I have in-wall runs of 25-55 foot that use BPs to hook to the closet wall-plate and terminate naked at a wall-plate in my HT room. From that plate to my speaker i use BPs on both ends. No noticeable loss in sound quality. To summarize, I have cheap 12 gauge wire, two cheap wall-plates, and five cheap banana plugs in-between each of my front three speakers. The subs also use two wall-plates with digital coaxials. The surrounds use only one wall-plate and two BPs and the rears are direct wired.

[mustang guy]

http://www.cablestogo.com/categories.asp?cat_id=883003

Wire FAQ

1. What wire gauge do I need for speaker wire?

There are many schools of thought about cable distance versus wire gauge. In our opinion and from our personal experience, 14AWG speaker cable will be more than sufficient for your application. Keep in mind that as the signal level increases (per the amplifier power) and the cable run increases, you will want to increase the size (wire gauge) of your speaker cable. As a general rule of thumb:

• • For distance less than 30 feet, 18 AWG is appropriate.
  • For distance between 30-50 feet, or an amplifier less than 50 Watts, 16 AWG is appropriate.
  • For distance between 50-100 feet, or an amplifier between 50-100 Watts, 14 AWG is appropriate.
  • For distance over 100 feet, or an amplifier over 100 Watts, 12 AWG is appropriate.
  

If the power output of your amplifier exceeds 100 Watts per channel, you should consider escalating two wire gauges. But remember that your amplifier will normally be pushing less than 1 watt of power to the speakers.

2. What's the difference between in-wall speaker wire and speaker wire?

In-wall speaker wire is constructed to specifications set by UL and the National Electrical Code (as written by the National Fire Prevention Association) so that it is safe to be run through the walls of a residential structure. When materials are put inside the wall of a home, they can provide a path for fire to spread from floor-to-floor or room-to-room. The jacket or outside insulation of in-wall speaker wire is manufactured from compounds that help slow the spread of fire.

3. What does so many twist per inch mean, etc.?

The conductors in a speaker cable are twisted to help the cable maintain a round shape. This makes the cable easier to pull through wall studs and floor joists. Also, twisted wire pairs will naturally cancel out EMI/RFI noise that can find its way onto the conductors through a process called induction. This is not as important to speaker signals as it is to line level signals as discussed above, but it will help maintain the quality of your audio signals. The more twists per inch, the better the noise rejection.

***From somewhere else.........better than just a guess........it's usuialy smaller than you think***

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_wire

^[3]Wire size2 Ω load4 Ω load6 Ω load8 Ω load22 AWG (0.326 mm²)3 ft (0.9 m)6 ft (1.8 m)9 ft (2.7 m)12 ft (3.6 m)20 AWG (0.518 mm²)5 ft (1.5 m)10 ft (3 m)15 ft (4.5 m)20 ft (6 m)18 AWG (0.823 mm²)8 ft (2.4 m)16 ft (4.9 m)24 ft (7.3 m)32 ft (9.7 m)16 AWG (1.31 mm²)12 ft (3.6 m)24 ft (7.3 m)36 ft (11 m)48 ft (15 m)14 AWG (2.08 mm²)20 ft (6.1 m)40 ft (12 m)60 ft (18 m)^*80 ft (24 m)^*12 AWG (3.31 mm²)30 ft (9.1 m)60 ft (18 m)^*90 ft (27 m)^*120 ft (36 m)^*10 AWG (5.26 mm²)50 ft (15 m)100 ft (30 m)^*150 ft (46 m)^*200 ft (61 m)^*

+1 this advise. Here is a speaker wire calculator:

http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwireselectorassistant.swf

[MikeFord]

I'd run plastic conduit to future proof and include a cat6 ethernet wire.