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Readily avaialble decent speaker wire

post #1 of 10
12/12/12 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 
Simple question. I've used Monoprice 12ga speaker wire but I have someone coming over to do some wiring tomorrow to run wires to the rear speakers in our new house.

I do not have enough wire, nor enough time to get it here. What is something store bought, easily accessible that I can get today.

Home Depot speaker wire, Lowes, Radio Shack?

We will be running the wire from the inside the house, outside through conduit, and then back in the rear of the house for our rear's. Don't think that should matter though.

The runs will be 50-60 feet long.
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post #2 of 10
12/12/12 at 11:36am
Copper is copper, no matter where you buy it.
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post #3 of 10
12/12/12 at 12:44pm
Yeah, I got a 50-foot roll of 16-gauge at Best Buy via an "open box" deal. It's the Rocketfish brand. Looks identical to the Monster Cable to me. It also looks fatter than 16-gauge.

I found Radio Shack to be way overpriced with their speaker wire. Haven't checked Lowe's or Home Depot.
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post #4 of 10
12/12/12 at 4:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Fitzmaurice View Post

Copper is copper, no matter where you buy it.

+1 You'll see this quote every time. Got a Home Depot close by? Go!
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post #5 of 10
12/12/12 at 4:54pm
Sure I agree that copper is copper providing its true copper and not CCA, Copper Clad Aluminum. I would not use this stuff on long runs of 50-60 feet as the OP is doing. So when you go to your local Home Dept or Lowes, etc be careful as a lot of the brands of speaker wire they carry from mfrs like RCA, GE Pro, etc are actually CCA and not pure copper. Even though they say its copper.

I know the term OFC, oxygen free copper, gets a bad rap from some as being meaningless, but at least when you see this designation you know its pure copper. Good luck.
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post #6 of 10
12/12/12 at 5:19pm
Even if it is conduit code may require that the wire be in-wall rated.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202316387/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=Speaker+wire&storeId=10051#.UMksxny9KSM
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post #7 of 10
12/12/12 at 7:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chashint View Post

Even if it is conduit code may require that the wire be in-wall rated.
Usually not for low voltage wire, though technically speaker cables can end up carrying plenty of voltage. Codes vary literally from town to town, not all automatically enforce the national code, so if in doubt ask your local inspector.
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post #8 of 10
12/12/12 at 10:27pm
A couple strands pulled from a CAT cable will work fine - usually free because almost everyone has some extra lying about at home or work. smile.gif
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post #9 of 10
12/13/12 at 6:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben_Tech View Post

A couple strands pulled from a CAT cable will work fine
Not for 50-60 feet. I seldom recommend using even 14ga but with that long a run 12ga might be appropriate, depending on the speaker impedance.
http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwireselectorassistant.swf
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post #10 of 10
12/13/12 at 11:21am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the replies.

Went to HD and they only had a copper/silver mix.

Amazingly Best Buy was not that bad, very comparable to Monoprice on the longer lengths. Going to check Lowes tonight, install got pushed off till tomorrow.
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