Which 12 AWG speaker cable to choose

[jakkedtide]

Jacket quality = cost. Strand count = cost. Spool = cost. Time = cost. Copper = Cu

Well said!

 

[lovinthehd]

This is the price of Belden cable from Parts express. 10 AWG CL2 $1.79 per foot. 12 AWG CL3 at 2.09 per foot. Also available in bulk on high quality spools in 250, 500 and 1000 ft. lengths. For my AV room I bought a 500 and 250 ft. spool. Also you know what you are getting with reliable specs. I know what I am getting and I know quality when I see it. That is not Monoprice. I know quality when I see it.

Still, it's not particularly meaningful except to your eyes.

 

[TLS Guy]

Anyone have a product link to where I can find best pricing on 100ft of 14ga or better 4-conductor speaker cable from Belden or above quality. Obviously I need to reorder some now. I'm local and can pick this 11ga up, but they only have 50' in-stock ATM. Demand for speaker wire has been exceeding supply for quite a while now. Stock is harder to find than ever.

Pro Co 11-4-50 50' 4-Conductor 11AWG Unshielded Speaker Cable

Buy the Pro Co ProCo 11-4-50, 50' 4-Conductor 11AWG Unshielded Speaker Cable at Full Compass Systems. 0% Financing and Free Shipping on thousands of items!

www.fullcompass.com

It is $149.98 from parts express.

 

[TLS Guy]

Still, it's not particularly meaningful except to your eyes.

I would have thought these specs were very relevant to anyone designing an installation. Resistance and capacitance per foot are highly relevant. If you are designing conduit, then you want to know the turning radius. Also knowing how hard you can pull on the cable is also important.

These specs are relevant, and easy to understand, or should be, for anyone starting system design with a view to installation. I'm sure the number of posts I have fielded over the years relating to screw ups where these and other specs and associated procedures have not been followed is now legion. Do it right, do it once should be the intent.

The design of a state of the art AV room is a complex and arduous undertaking and not to be embarked on, in a frivolous frame of mind.

 

[lovinthehd]

I would have thought these specs were very relevant to anyone designing an installation. Resistance and capacitance per foot are highly relevant. If you are designing conduit, then you want to know the turning radius. Also knowing how hard you can pull on the cable is also important.

These specs are relevant, and easy to understand, or should be, for anyone starting system design with a view to installation. I'm sure the number of posts I have fielded over the years relating to screw ups where these and other specs and associated procedures have not been followed is now legion. Do it right, do it once should be the intent.

The design of a state of the art AV room is a complex and arduous undertaking and not to be embarked on, in a frivolous frame of mind.

Your spec link didn't work. Yes, those things may be important to some more than others. It's up to @jakkedtide as to how much he wants to spend for aesthetics/lifetime/non-lifetime use of the cable/room. I don't remember him saying state of the art, and I'd do the state of the art gear before worrying about something as mundane as speaker cable of proper gauge for the job....

 

[TLS Guy]

Your spec link didn't work. Yes, those things may be important to some more than others. It's up to @jakkedtide as to how much he wants to spend for aesthetics/lifetime/non-lifetime use of the cable/room. I don't remember him saying state of the art, and I'd do the state of the art gear before worrying about something as mundane as speaker cable of proper gauge for the job....

The spec. link worked for me. I tested it before I posted, and again now.

I would say that since the cable is in conduit and none of it is visible in the room, aesthetics are in no way involved. I just want to know the resistance of the run especially so it does not affect the Q of the speaker connected to it. I like to know the minimal radius of the curves in the conduit so I can pull the cable. I need to know that before bending and installing the cable. As you do not pull cable until after that. It is handy to know how hard you can pull on the cable. Capacitance is not likely to be factor.

What I don't want is cable from Monoprice built is different factories pretty much every week of the year. I would bet that batch to batch production runs have wide variations. I want a manufacturer who will spec. his product and stick to it. That is just the way I operate. I know anything goes will satisfy some, but not me. These are important and relevant engineering specs, and nothing what ever to do with audiophoolery. I obviously have my standards, and you have yours, so lets just leave it at that.

 

[Verdinut]

You can get this Redco brand wire at a very good price and it comes with full specs. How is $0.89 a foot for a price?

Redco 12/2 12AWG 2c Speaker Cable | Redco Audio

A few years ago, I had RCA to XLR interconnect cables assembled. They did a high quality job and I received the items without much delay.
I recommend that outfit.

 

[lovinthehd]

The spec. link worked for me. I tested it before I posted, and again now.

I would say that since the cable is in conduit and none of it is visible in the room, aesthetics are in no way involved. I just want to know the resistance of the run especially so it does not affect the Q of the speaker connected to it. I like to know the minimal radius of the curves in the conduit so I can pull the cable. I need to know that before bending and installing the cable. As you do not pull cable until after that. It is handy to know how hard you can pull on the cable. Capacitance is not likely to be factor.

What I don't want is cable from Monoprice built is different factories pretty much every week of the year. I would bet that batch to batch production runs have wide variations. I want a manufacturer who will spec. his product and stick to it. That is just the way I operate. I know anything goes will satisfy some, but not me. These are important and relevant engineering specs, and nothing what ever to do with audiophoolery. I obviously have my standards, and you have yours, so lets just leave it at that.

LOL okay. Still more about what the OP is willing to do/needs to do than what you or I prefer to do or the wire to use. As long as the OP knows this isn't about audibility but rather perhaps mechanical aspects.....

 

[TheAVInsider]

You can get the Redco brand at a very good price and it comes with full specs. How is $0.89 a foot for a price?

Redco 12/2 12AWG 2c Speaker Cable | Redco Audio

A few years ago, I had RCA to XLR interconnect cables assembled. They did a high quality job and I received the items without much delay.
I recommend that outfit.

Everytime I see that website it makes me remember the good ol' days ( not so long ago ) when you could buy Marshall Soundrunner 12ga for about .70/ft. Same stuff today (Mogami W3103) is $3.25, and the 4 conductor Mogami 12ga. is $5.95 ! Only difference, when they still made it, was the jacket. That's why I went to Pro Co stage cable. Same flex as high stand, but more flex due to the jacket, so you get thicker stands and flex. Win, win. Only negative I can think of with stage cable is the thickness, but then some people like that if they are into techflex cable jewelry. I like it black and raw. >ROTF. Can't believe I just said that. ROTF<

Marshall Soundrunner Speaker Cable | Redco Audio

 

[TLS Guy]

You can get this Redco brand wire at a very good price and it comes with full specs. How is $0.89 a foot for a price?

Redco 12/2 12AWG 2c Speaker Cable | Redco Audio

A few years ago, I had RCA to XLR interconnect cables assembled. They did a high quality job and I received the items without much delay.
I recommend that outfit.

There is no fire rating specked, so we could not put that inside walls. That would apply to the US and I suspect Canada.

 

[jakkedtide]

Your spec link didn't work. Yes, those things may be important to some more than others. It's up to @jakkedtide as to how much he wants to spend for aesthetics/lifetime/non-lifetime use of the cable/room. I don't remember him saying state of the art, and I'd do the state of the art gear before worrying about something as mundane as speaker cable of proper gauge for the job....

So guys I went with the Monoprice 12awg cl2. This is for all my Atmos and surrounds so I thought good enough for these speakers. My Left right and center I have really good 10awg cables. I forget the make but they are huge. As thick as your thumb with the jacket.

If I really don't like the sound I can change it up but I have used these cables or similar costing cables for my set up 2 houses ago.

Down the road I am going to set up another home theatre in my garage. Then I can have both my receivers out to work. I have the Yamaha a8a (7.2.4) and then later I will transform my garage into a rec Room and use my old Yamaha 2040 (5.2.4).

Just sucks that my 2040 can't play copyright 4k content. So I have to plah Disney plus, etc through the tv and arc the sound. All my 4k true HD content on my 10 Tb Nas will play perfect directly through my receiver just not copyright poop.

But it was a great excuse to tell my wife, I need a new receiver lol.

 

[highfigh]

Monoprice Access Series 12 Gauge AWG CL2 Rated 2 Conductor Speaker Wire/Cable - 250ft Fire Safety in Wall Rated, Jacketed in White PVC Material 99.9% Oxygen-Free Pure Bare Copper https://a.co/d/coLgWW1

Does this look real? Or a fake?

Can't tell just by their info- when they were caught, it was UL who tested the jacket and found that it contained something that doesn't allow it to be CL2.

BTW- the PVC in the jacket is the main reason it can't be used in a plenum (cold air return or plenum space above a ceiling that's used as a cold air return).

 

[highfigh]

The options i have available for a 12 AWG speaker cables in india are:-

1. AmazonBasics 12-Gauge Speaker Wire - 99.9% Oxygen Free Copper - 100 Feet

2.C&E CNE683911 12AWG Enhanced Loud Oxygen-Free Bare Copper Speaker Wire Cable (100 Feet/30.48 Metre, Copper)

Thing is C&E is costlier by almost a 1000 bucks.However i want a pure copper cable and not a copper clad aluminium one.If it comes to choose between the price diff and a compromise in quality i will gladly buy the costlier one.

But if both wires are 100% copper then it doesnt make sense to spend more for the same thing.

Any idea if the amazon one is copper clad aluminium or not?

Where are you located and how much speaker cable do you need?

 

[mtrycrafts]

Where are you located and how much speaker cable do you need?

He is in India from your quoted segment.

And, his post is 2 years old.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yeah it's jakkedtide asking the latest/recent round of questions....

 

[jakkedtide]

Yeah, it's me who started this thread back up!!!

 

[lovinthehd]

Yeah, it's me who started this thread back up!!!

Well, no....sand87 did. You did piggyback on it, tho!

 

[jakkedtide]

Well, no....sand87 did. You did piggyback on it, tho!

Yeah same thing,

What would happen if you use pure copper wire that you wire your house electrical with, so use the same wire your 15 amp lines run, 12/2

 

[lovinthehd]

Yeah same thing,

What would happen if you use pure copper wire that you wire your house electrical with, so use the same wire your 15 amp lines run, 12/2

LOL yeah not quite in forum land speak.

Many houses only have 14g rather than 12g for electrical wiring IIRC but not my field particularly and would depend on installation details.....

Pure copper means what? The difference between OFC and ETF is what .01% ?

 

[Cos]

Wow this message spans over two years.

At the end of the day for in wall I am a huge fan of Blue Jeans Cable 12g wire with sonic welds. I only purchased Kimber Kable 8TC for my exposed speaker wire because I got an insane deal (still overpriced) but it looks cool