Beetlejuice Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 Today I am going to be running some inwall speaker wire and putting up dry. I have 14 gauge 2 conductor inwall wire. Some of my runs are quite long(50 feet). What does everyone think about running 2 wires for each speaker and then twisting the 2 conductors for each wire together to make a thicker gauge wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironwoods Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 Hi, that would work perfectly fine, and you could even call it bi-wiring. Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 That should work, but may be overkill (14 gauge at 50 feet would be fine - IMHO). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 Nothing wrong with "shotgunning" a pair of 14's to get approximately 11 gauge wire. The real benefit to shotgunning (using 4-conductor wire) is the interference rejection you get from the twisted-pair conductors, which you will not get from ordinary 14 gauge zip cord, unless you hand-wind those conductors yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 ---------------- On 3/14/2004 10:22:33 AM Griffinator wrote: Nothing wrong with "shotgunning" a pair of 14's to get approximately 11 gauge wire. The real benefit to shotgunning (using 4-conductor wire) is the interference rejection you get from the twisted-pair conductors, which you will not get from ordinary 14 gauge zip cord, unless you hand-wind those conductors yourself. ---------------- the cable that the original poster stated that he is putting in the walls is "inwall" style... this cable is a twisted pair already..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 ---------------- On 3/15/2004 1:34:06 PM minn_male42 wrote: ---------------- On 3/14/2004 10:22:33 AM Griffinator wrote: Nothing wrong with "shotgunning" a pair of 14's to get approximately 11 gauge wire. The real benefit to shotgunning (using 4-conductor wire) is the interference rejection you get from the twisted-pair conductors, which you will not get from ordinary 14 gauge zip cord, unless you hand-wind those conductors yourself. ---------------- the cable that the original poster stated that he is putting in the walls is "inwall" style... this cable is a twisted pair already..... ---------------- Sorry - wasn't paying 100% attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 OK, probably taking this a different direction than intended, but what is the benefit of "twisted pairs"? I have them on my surround speakers as it was recommended at the time, but can't recall why this was important (noise reduction, if my failing memory recalls - but why?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 zip cord speaker wire acts like an antenna and can pick up RF signals in longer runs.... twisted pair construction rejects that type of signal.... that's why cat5 (network) cable is made up of four twisted pairs.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Ah yes, the light clicked back on. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluless Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Okay, Now I'm confused, or shall I say Cluless? Anyhow, I thought that bi-wiring was when you connected one pair of conductors to the low side of the cross-over and a second pair to the high side using two sets of binding posts and removing the jumper in-between. This double decker approach doesn't sound like it does the same thing to me. Second, I was just dealing with a tech from an internet cable supplier and he told me that twisted pair for speaker wire did Nada and that it was simply hype. He said that a twisted pair configuration only makes a difference if the signal is differential (whatever that means) or balanced. Can someone please explain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 ---------------- On 3/16/2004 2:21:10 PM cluless wrote: Okay, Now I'm confused, or shall I say Cluless? Anyhow, I thought that bi-wiring was when you connected one pair of conductors to the low side of the cross-over and a second pair to the high side using two sets of binding posts and removing the jumper in-between. This double decker approach doesn't sound like it does the same thing to me. Second, I was just dealing with a tech from an internet cable supplier and he told me that twisted pair for speaker wire did Nada and that it was simply hype. He said that a twisted pair configuration only makes a difference if the signal is differential (whatever that means) or balanced. Can someone please explain? ---------------- The double-decker approach (shotgunning) just makes a heavier total gauge wire. Your tech obviously has no clue about RF interference and what it can do to the signal. No hype, simple physics. The same physics that enable me to use my house's electrical system as an antenna. Long wire runs pick up radio frequencies, period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluless Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Grif- That was not the answer I wanted to hear. I think my receipt is long gone. But, hey I'm not having a problem now, so maybe I won't switch out the wire with the NON Twisted UL rated stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 ---------------- On 3/16/2004 2:49:56 PM cluless wrote: Grif- That was not the answer I wanted to hear. I think my receipt is long gone. But, hey I'm not having a problem now, so maybe I won't switch out the wire with the NON Twisted UL rated stuff. ---------------- No prob. If you get the itch, it's not hard to pull new wire back through the wall using the old wire as a "snake". Of course, I'm the type to take a more "wellness" approach to my system - it's not about "is it broke?" it's about "is it as good as I can make it?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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