michael hurd Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 An inwall wire may also be used exposed in a non inwall usage. But ordinary zip cord, speaker wire, or extension cord is not allowed to be used inside a wall. If that was the case, house wiring would be a lot easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarvinG Posted March 9, 2004 Author Share Posted March 9, 2004 The "in-wall" CL3-FT4 rated ULTRALINK cable is considerably cheaper than the ULTRALINK Excelsior....does this mean the in-wall is actually a poorer quality cable? If its really very decent stuff, I may have found my perfect solution .. 12 gauge...good quality.. fire retardant.. avaiable in 4 wire if so desired...brand name... hmmm...OK ...what's the catch!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 ---------------- On 3/9/2004 11:58:24 AM MarvinG wrote: I guess I'm still confused by the answer which says "Yes local building codes cover cable types being run in walls." So does this mean there is no issue with ULTRALINK or CAROL cables? Specifically: If I use ULTRALINK Excelsior cable in the wall, is it CL3-FT4 ? If I use ULTRALINK Excelsior cable in the wall , is it covered by the building code? If I use CAROL 12 guage pro-sound cable in the wall , is it covered by building code? Thanks Marvin ---------------- You seem to be under the impression that Excelsior is the only option for Ultralink. It isn't. Ultralink makes a CL-3/FT4 rated cabling - it's not the Excelsior. I mentioned it in my response to your PM. I don't know about the Carol stuff. I didn't see CL-3 certs on it in the ad. All a speaker cable has to do is pass UL testing for fire-resistance to get a CL-3 rating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarvinG Posted March 9, 2004 Author Share Posted March 9, 2004 Griff - you are of correct, they of course have a whole product line...it's jsut that I had planned on something like the Excelcior as a decent cable, so I was asking questions relative to that product. So now, if I rule it out becuase of the building code issue, and go with the "in-wall" CL3-FT4 rated cable (eg CL414 or CL212), that's fine, and it happens to be considerably cheaper than the ULTRALINK excelsior....hence my question, is teh in-wall cable it actually a poorer quality cable than the excelsior? Again , it the in-wall is really very decent stuff, I may have found my perfect solution .. 12-14 gauge...good quality.. fire retardant.. avaiable in 4 wire if so desired (re bi-wiring) ...brand name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 I like Ultra's mid-range stuff (the CL-3, Challenger, Matrix, Discovery, etc) Frankly, unless you drop down into their ultra-cheap "Contractor" series (which I would only use in an industrial environment where cost is the #1 issue) it's hard to go wrong with any of their stuff. Only real difference I can gather between Excelsior and the CL-3 stuff is the two-conductor twisted pair aspect. So get the 14-4 conductor and shotgun - same effect, less expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarvinG Posted March 9, 2004 Author Share Posted March 9, 2004 By shotgun I assume you mean just double up two conductors into one banana plug. I am assuming this same cable can be used for biwiring - ie the same as above at the amp end (ie two conductors into one banana plug )but only one plug per conductor at the speaker end. Correct? Hey - thanks for all your pateince with me!! These newbies can be hell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 ---------------- On 3/9/2004 6:10:05 PM MarvinG wrote: By shotgun I assume you mean just double up two conductors into one banana plug. I am assuming this same cable can be used for biwiring - ie the same as above at the amp end (ie two conductors into one banana plug )but only one plug per conductor at the speaker end. Correct? Hey - thanks for all your pateince with me!! These newbies can be hell! ---------------- Don't worry. We were all noobs at one point or another in our lives Yes, that's what shotgunning means, and yes, you can use the 4-conductor for biwiring (that, infact, is its primary purpose) and still gain the benefit of the twist-configuration (twisted conductors = greater RF and EM interference rejection, meaning cleaner transfer from amp to speakers) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 ---------------- On 3/9/2004 4:52:37 PM Griffinator wrote: I don't know about the Carol stuff. I didn't see CL-3 certs on it in the ad. All a speaker cable has to do is pass UL testing for fire-resistance to get a CL-3 rating. ---------------- From the spec sheet the Carol Cable is fire rated UL62 & FT2 (both UL and CSA) but I believe these are tests for power cords (their actual intended use) rather than plenum wiring. Is there a big safety difference? I doubt its a big difference, but Im quite sure the plenum rating offers a superior fire resistance... and would advise you stick with that if it is your intended use. In my case, my wiring is all exposed in room. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarvinG Posted March 10, 2004 Author Share Posted March 10, 2004 Found a great article, that for me, nicely ties toghether the various Group 1, 2 and 3 camps on this topic. Of course not all of us may agree with it, but it seems to align with almost all the posts in this thread. See: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_10_2/ultralink-CL414-cable-5-2003.html The only minor difference of opinion relates to biwiring - not so much ther merit or non-merits of it, but more the suitability a 4 wire twisted pair cable (which he loves) for biwiring - he cautions to resist the temptation to use this cable for bi-wiring, as he feels some of those twisted pair benfits would be lost. Regardless, I thought it was a very pragmatic and well written article. Hopefully my faith in it wont be too shattered following its critique by my fellow brethren in this group! I just wanted to thank everyone again for all thier guidance, suggestions, and opinion. This is truly a great forum. Marvin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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