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ge ultra pro speaker wire

post #1 of 22
4/10/11 at 6:43pm
Thread Starter 
I bought today 100 feet GE Ultra pro (87649) speaker wire from Home Depot for $29. Before I cut, I want to make sure it is good wire.

I looked number of times on the label, but can't find gauage. How do I find the gauage of the wire? It looks thick. Is thick one good?

From Crutchfiled, I read the following
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Also, keep in mind the distance between your receiver or amp and your speakers — long wire runs can cause significant power losses and thus require thicker cable.

You can use the following chart as a guideline:
Distance from speaker to amplifier Gauge
Less than 80 feet 16
80 to 200 feet 14
More than 200 feet 12

--------------------------
It says to use thick cable. At the same time, they want to use 12 (LOWER NUMBER) gauage wire for more than 200 feet. What I am missing?

Do you think the wire I bought is good? I have at most 39 (9 height+ 21 long+9 height) foot distance from receiver to any speakers.
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post #2 of 22
4/10/11 at 6:49pm
I bought the same thing from Home Depot recently. Haven't used it yet. IIRC the Home Depot web site lists it as 14 gauge.
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post #3 of 22
4/10/11 at 7:05pm
Quote:


It says to use thick cable. At the same time, they want to use 12 (LOWER NUMBER) gauge wire for more than 200 feet. What I am missing?

Long story short, speaker wire gets thicker as the number gets smaller, ie 16 gauge is "thinner" than 12.

You don't say what your run for cable is for speakers. In most cases, 16 gauge will be fine. I usually use 14. Others use 12. As always, here comes your reading for this evening:

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#the truth

Find it somewhat amusing you bought speaker wire without looking or asking what gauge it was but that's just me.
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post #4 of 22
4/10/11 at 7:55pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by smudge981 View Post


Find it somewhat amusing you bought speaker wire without looking or asking what gauge it was but that's just me.

Thanks for the link. I will go through it. I asked Home Depot guy number of times, he said he does not know. The label does not specify anything. I checked on google for "GE Ultra pro 87649", but I did not find anything.

I am still not sure what gauge means. I don't know if there is a way to measure something on the wire to find gauage.
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post #5 of 22
4/11/11 at 8:19am
Outside of getting a wire gauge measuring tool, I'd simply go somewhere that sells speaker wire and compare or have someone at the store check it out for you.

Again, if you don't have any extremely long runs, 16 AWG should be fine. I use 14 myself. Others prefer 12.

Buddy of mine works at HD. His feeling is that the associate should have known what gauge it was, otherwise, it wasn't his department or needed a good reaming by a dept. head. Never buy on faith. Always talk to someone who knows.
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post #6 of 22
4/11/11 at 8:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sukumar View Post

Thanks for the link. I will go through it. I asked Home Depot guy number of times, he said he does not know. The label does not specify anything. I checked on google for "GE Ultra pro 87649", but I did not find anything.

I am still not sure what gauge means. I don't know if there is a way to measure something on the wire to find gauage.

Don't know any actual specifications for other companies, but if you take a look at the Monoprise 12g, 14g, and 16g wires, it tells you the strand count per wire (87 in 12g, 75 in 14g, 52 in 16g).

I'm sure the GE Ultra Pro is fine - as long as it's been sealed correctly and green oxidation doesn't start appearing in the cables in a few months, copper is copper. Enjoy!

And yes, read the Roger-Russel link.
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post #7 of 22
4/11/11 at 10:29am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackzarg View Post

Don't know any actual specifications for other companies, but if you take a look at the Monoprise 12g, 14g, and 16g wires, it tells you the strand count per wire (87 in 12g, 75 in 14g, 52 in 16g).

I'm sure the GE Ultra Pro is fine - as long as it's been sealed correctly and green oxidation doesn't start appearing in the cables in a few months, copper is copper. Enjoy!

And yes, read the Roger-Russel link.

Thanks for the info. I am not sure if GE wire is oxygen free. For the same price, I found better quality from Monoprice.

I am ordering this.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

I also found the following hdmi cable on monoprice.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

Not sure if it is HDMI 1.4 a or not. The tech support team does not know. Is anybody using this for 3D?
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post #8 of 22
4/11/11 at 10:46am
Virtually all wire sold today is oxygen free whether they say it or not.
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post #9 of 22
4/11/11 at 10:49am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chu Gai View Post

Virtually all wire sold today is oxygen free whether they say it or not.

Thanks. I will keep the one I got from Home Depot. I tried to place order on monoprice. The shipping is $8 for $30 item. It is very expensive for single item. I need to find anything else I need and place single order from monoprice.
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post #10 of 22
4/11/11 at 11:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sukumar View Post

Not sure if it is HDMI 1.4 a or not. The tech support team does not know. Is anybody using this for 3D?

It's not the cable that supports 1.4 it's the equipment. Any HDMI cable should do just fine.
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post #11 of 22
4/11/11 at 12:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chu Gai View Post

Virtually all wire sold today is oxygen free whether they say it or not.

Yup! You should be fine - just check them in a few months.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sukumar View Post

Thanks. I will keep the one I got from Home Depot. I tried to place order on monoprice. The shipping is $8 for $30 item. It is very expensive for single item. I need to find anything else I need and place single order from monoprice.
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post #12 of 22
4/11/11 at 11:11pm
Thread Starter 
I called Speaker wiring installer and he is suggesting me to use either 16 or 18 gauge. He said it is not possible to use less than 16 gauge speaker cables through ceiling and walls to hide them. Is it true?


How do you calculate how much wire you need.I need to wire for 7.2 system. Room is 21(long) x 14 (width) * 9 (ceiling). I am placing receiver at the center of the room.

Each speaker needs= 9 foot (ceiling)+ 20/2 (Length of the room/2) + 9 (ceiling)+ 14/2 (width of the room/2) = 35 foot at most

For 7.2 = 35 * 9 = 315

Is it right of size 315 foot?
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post #13 of 22
4/11/11 at 11:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sukumar View Post

I called Speaker wiring installer and he is suggesting me to use either 16 or 18 gauge. He said it is not possible to use less than 16 gauge speaker cables through ceiling and walls to hide them. Is it true?


How do you calculate how much wire you need.I need to wire for 7.2 system. Room is 21(long) x 14 (width) * 9 (ceiling). I am placing receiver at the center of the room.

Each speaker needs= 9 foot (ceiling)+ 20/2 (Length of the room/2) + 9 (ceiling)+ 14/2 (width of the room/2) = 35 foot at most

For 7.2 = 35 * 9 = 315

Is it right of size 315 foot?

I think it really depends on the installation job, and the speaker will probably be blocking most of the wire anyways.

But for runs of less than 50ft, you should be okay with 16 gauge. Make sure that the wire is CL2 rated (complying to building codes).
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post #14 of 22
4/12/11 at 3:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sukumar View Post

Thanks for the link. I will go through it. I asked Home Depot guy number of times, he said he does not know. The label does not specify anything. I checked on google for "GE Ultra pro 87649", but I did not find anything.

I am still not sure what gauge means. I don't know if there is a way to measure something on the wire to find gauage.

I think it might be 14-gauge based on this page:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

That will work just fine for your room.

16 gauge (which is thinner than 14-gauge, despite being a higher number) would likely be fine, too. 16 gauge won't be "better", but it might be easier to hide, hang, or work with if you are finding that the 14-gauge is too thick.

-Max
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post #15 of 22
4/12/11 at 7:25am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by maxcooper View Post

I think it might be 14-gauge based on this page:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

That will work just fine for your room.

16 gauge (which is thinner than 14-gauge, despite being a higher number) would likely be fine, too. 16 gauge won't be "better", but it might be easier to hide, hang, or work with if you are finding that the 14-gauge is too thick.

-Max

Thanks. I was having hard time to find info on home depot site. I don't know how I missed it.

If installer agrees, I will go for 14 gauge. He is particular to use only 16 or 18.
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post #16 of 22
4/13/11 at 8:14pm
There's no reason why you can't use 14, 12, or whatever gauge of speaker wiring that you wish for in-wall or in-ceiling runs, provided that it's CL rating meets the minimum requirements of your state's / town's electrical rules. Don't use wire that is unrated for this use, or which has a lower rating than required in your area, or you'll regret it if you ever have a fire or other need to file an insurance damage claim on your home.

The installer is probably insisting on 16 or 18 gauge because those are the only sizes he carries with the proper CL rating for in-wall use. He probably doesn't keep the larger sizes on hand.
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post #17 of 22
4/13/11 at 9:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sukumar View Post


If installer agrees, I will go for 14 gauge. He is particular to use only 16 or 18.

If you are the one paying the installer - then it is your decision.
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post #18 of 22
4/14/11 at 4:50am
The Home Depot wire in the link isn't in-wall wire. The monoprice wire linked earlier in in-wall CL2 rated wire.

So are you running this wire to some wall plates? I didn't see that mentioned anywhere.
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post #19 of 22
5/2/11 at 1:23pm
Just an fyi, in case someone else is searching for this info and runs into this thread. I called Jasco who was the name on the wire for GE. I asked them this question and they said 14 guage. Hope this helps.
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post #20 of 22
6/2/11 at 5:38pm
I bought the same wire yesterday and used a wire stripper to check it. It is 14 gauge.
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post #21 of 22
6/2/11 at 7:49pm
When I Googled it I got many, many hits, all saying it is 14 gauge.
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post #22 of 22
6/3/11 at 5:05pm
Well I'm actually glad I saw this thread.....I recently bought a high end deftech system....8060-St bipolar towers,pro center 1000 and 2 pro monitor 800's and the wire I bought was 16 gage monster at BB.Granted it sounded fine....but a week after owning I would notice my left tower would cut in and out a little.After reading this thread and being in home depot today I bought a spool of the GE pro 14 gage wire to redo my system.I will say and maybe too my ears but there was a night and day differance in sound when I used this wire compared too the Monster....:-) ....all in all I'm very satisfied!.....thank you for the thread OP....:-)
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