[ilbarbaro]

Frankly, I'm not even sure if anyone makes these, but I'm looking for a speaker cable that actually intertwines 5 speaker cables into a single sheathed cable.


My problem is this.. I have a TV above the fireplace. I'd like to get a good passive soundbar like the Mythos SSA-42, BUT they guys that put in the PVC conduit behind the wall didn't do it smartly so there are some tough angles (like two 90 degree turns) to navigate to get from the cabinet to the TV hole.


Also, if my receiver will drive 90 watts per channel, what's the safest but thinnest gauge wire I should be able to use for this application.


Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[hernanu]

What's the distance?

 

[maxcooper]

Just so I understand: you plan to put the soundbar on the top of the fireplace with the TV, and thus want to run speaker cables from the receiver, through the wall, and out the TV hole to the soundbar. Right? (At first I couldn't figure out why you wanted to run speaker wire to the TV.)


I did some quick web searching...


You aren't going to find speaker cable that contains 10 conductors. But the good news is that there is nothing special about speaker cable. Any kind of cable will work just as well, electrically. It will be safe -- if there is a short, the receiver will just shut down, and you aren't going to get the wire hot (or even warm) no matter how loud you turn it up. The worst thing I can imaging is that you might get some 60hz hum from having the speaker wires right next to the TV power cable for all that distance.


hernanu asked for the length because it will help determine what gauge (how thick) the wire needs to be. This is a popular reference for that info:
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#wiretable


NO: Apparently there is 10-conductor 18-gauge wire used for irrigation. That would be great if it can fit in the conduit. But it's hard to find in small quantities. And I'm skeptical that it would be thin and flexible enough to snake through your conduit. In fact, I'm pretty sure it would be hard to snake through, so probably isn't a great choice. http://www.amazon.com/Irrigation-wire-Gauge-Multi-Strand-Conductor/dp/B0006B066G


MAYBE? Here's some thinner 22-ga 10 conductor wire, available in small quantities from a vendor that I have personally ordered from in the past:
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/10CS22/10-CONDUCTOR-SHIELDED-CABLE-W/DRAIN/1.html


PROBABLY BEST, IF IT FITS, AND EASY TO FIND: You might have the best luck just getting the thinnest 18ga speaker or lamp cable from Home Depot (or similar) and snaking 5 strands of it through your conduit. 5 separate strands of 2-conductor cable are likely to be more flexible than a single 10-conductor cable. Perhaps snake 5 strong strings through the conduit, and then pull the cable through.


-Max

 

[commsysman]

This is what you want:


Mouser Electronics part number 602-1180L-100-09.


This is a 100-foot roll of 10-conductor #22 wire from Alpha Wire Co. (#1180L), for less than $100.


Use 5 wires in parallel for each connection and you will have no problem; that is a low enough resistance for up to 30 feet.


You should go to a hardware store or electrical distributor and get a metal wire-pulling tape to bring the wires through. You also should blow talc powder into the conduit to lubricate it while pulling the wire to avoid damage.

 

[hernanu]

One other possibility (nice posts by commsymman and maxcooper) is to use Cat6 ethernet cable. This gives you 4 twisted pairs of AWG22 cable, which will do for shorter distances (see max's reference). So you'll require two cables for the soundbar, one Cat6 and the other either Cat 6 or a twisted pair.


The Mythos SSA-42 presents an 8 ohm load, so you need to keep the distance under 12 feet for best performance. Use the Cat6 cable, not the Cat5, since the Cat6 uses 22 AWG instead of Cat5's 24. It also has a much reduced crosstalk requirement built into the definition, so any crosstalk between wires will be minimized.


You'll want a 10 ft. patch of wire like this , which costs ~ $5.


I'd do both wires as Cat6, that gives you three extra twisted pairs for whatever. Good luck.

 

[ilbarbaro]

Thanks folks. Sorry for the delay. Distance is no more than 15 feet. GREAT idea on the Cat6. I should have thought of that. Thank you all!