Electric wiring guage

[Vonny59]

Im converting my garage to a “listening room”what gauge electric wiring is the best?
I seem to remember Gene DellaSala mentioned in one of his youtube videos stating what gauge he used - unfortunately I cant remember the gauge size he mentions.

 

[highfigh]

Im converting my garage to a “listening room”what gauge electric wiring is the best?
I seem to remember Gene DellaSala mentioned in one of his youtube videos stating what gauge he used - unfortunately I cant remember the gauge size he mentions.

Amplifier power output, distance, speaker impedance matter- if it's less than 150W/channel, 50' and the lowest impedance dip is above 4 Ohms, 14-16ga is fine. If the speakers present a difficult load and the amplifier is more powerful, 12 gauge is better. Shorter cabling allows using thinner wire. The chart can be used for this-

 

[j_garcia]

More than you ever wanted to know about wire AWG

Speaker Wire

 

[davidscott]

Im converting my garage to a “listening room”what gauge electric wiring is the best?
I seem to remember Gene DellaSala mentioned in one of his youtube videos stating what gauge he used - unfortunately I cant remember the gauge size he mentions.

I believe that Gene recommends 10-gauge cable if I'm not mistaken. For the record I'm currently using12 gauge 8-foot runs on my 2-channel rig and it's more than enough for me.

 

[TLS Guy]

Im converting my garage to a “listening room”what gauge electric wiring is the best?
I seem to remember Gene DellaSala mentioned in one of his youtube videos stating what gauge he used - unfortunately I cant remember the gauge size he mentions.

What wires are we talking about here? AV rooms have a huge number of different wires, and they all have to be specked and installed correctly.

 

[lovinthehd]

Is this a question relating to the speaker wire or the wiring for the AC power?

 

[Speedskater]

When it comes to loudspeaker cable, 16 or 14AWG will almost always do a great job. But for those that have concerns about AWG just get 12AWG and move on to other things.

 

[TLS Guy]

When it comes to loudspeaker cable, 16 or 14AWG will almost always do a great job. But for those that have concerns about AWG just get 12AWG and move on to other things.

You don't know the impedance of the speakers, or the length of the wire run. So you can't begin to advise of the gauge of speaker wire. We also have no idea what cables this guy is asking about.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Speaker wiring, not electrical, should follow the standards listed above.

Electrical wiring is quite different and is standardized. The outlets in the room will have nothing more than 14 gauge (may 12 gauge) Romex which has been run to them.

The last few feet of wiring basically don't matter and you should just use the power cords which are included with the equipment and you will be fine. Upgrading power cords really isn't a thing that makes any sense at all. If you do have loose or poorly performing power outlets, then those should be replaced. A power outlet costing more than a few bucks, that isn't a GFCI, is too much money to spend.

 

[highfigh]

Speaker wiring, not electrical, should follow the standards listed above.

Electrical wiring is quite different and is standardized. The outlets in the room will have nothing more than 14 gauge (may 12 gauge) Romex which has been run to them.

The last few feet of wiring basically don't matter and you should just use the power cords which are included with the equipment and you will be fine. Upgrading power cords really isn't a thing that makes any sense at all. If you do have loose or poorly performing power outlets, then those should be replaced. A power outlet costing more than a few bucks, that isn't a GFCI, is too much money to spend.

NEC now calls for 12ga for most outlets and have changed the method for wiring light fixtures, requiring that Romex be used when conduit isn't. They now want 14-2 for lights, so the ground wire is present and connected.

NFPA 70 (NEC) Code Development

Stay informed and participate in the standards development process for NFPA 70

www.nfpa.org

 

[highfigh]

What wires are we talking about here? AV rooms have a huge number of different wires, and they all have to be specked and installed correctly.

I already asked all of that- the OP hasn't returned yet.

 

[BMXTRIX]

NEC now calls for 12ga for most outlets and have changed the method for wiring light fixtures, requiring that Romex be used when conduit isn't. They now want 14-2 for lights, so the ground wire is present and connected.

Would be fun to pick your brain a bit on this as that information is all (somewhat?) new to me. I didn't know about the outlets mostly being wired as 12. Would that make them all 20amp outlets instead of 15amp? Any idea of why this change happened? Is it just to allow for more power across all the outlets in a home? Less home runs to be used? It seems like a strange change to make considering how many homes are mostly 15amp circuits.

Not sure I've ever wired any lighting with anything but 14/2. Always have had a hot/neutral/ground at those locations. The 12/2 just seems weird to me, but that is the size I pull to a lot of locations.

 

[highfigh]

Would be fun to pick your brain a bit on this as that information is all (somewhat?) new to me. I didn't know about the outlets mostly being wired as 12. Would that make them all 20amp outlets instead of 15amp? Any idea of why this change happened? Is it just to allow for more power across all the outlets in a home? Less home runs to be used? It seems like a strange change to make considering how many homes are mostly 15amp circuits.

Not sure I've ever wired any lighting with anything but 14/2. Always have had a hot/neutral/ground at those locations. The 12/2 just seems weird to me, but that is the size I pull to a lot of locations.

I think the new wire ga requirements are for instantaneous loads, but ya know, they make the rules, we/electricians need to follow. I got a serious kick to the nads a bit over a year ago when I needed Romex and couldn't find what I KNEW I had- one 15' piece cost more than $1/foot. WTF????????????????????????????????? They also know people overload outlet circuits, so....electric space heaters, toasters, window/portableAC, etc with power strips and six way outlets- anything to cause a fire and claim ignorance, I suppose.

Got the thing wired and I doubt it was more than an hour until I found ALL of the Romex that, as I wrote, I HAD!.

Lighting doesn't need 12ga, especially now that most bulbs aren't incandescent.

 

[Speedskater]

You don't know the impedance of the speakers, or the length of the wire run. So you can't begin to advise of the gauge of speaker wire. We also have no idea what cables this guy is asking about.

For any reasonable loudspeakers and any reasonable length speaker cable, 14 or 16 AWG is all that is needed for listening to music.
Could a trained listener doing demanding A/BX tests hear a Just Noticeable Difference? Maybe with some multi-driver loudspeakers. But nowhere big enough to matter when listening to music.

 

[Speedskater]

As to USA/NEC electric wiring. For modern LED lighting systems, a 15 Amp 14AWG circuit is way more than ample. For outlets in the kitchen, bath and shop use 20 Amp 12AWG circuits. But most receptacles can be dual 15 Amp units. Because 20 Amp plugs are a rare breed.

 

[highfigh]

As to USA/NEC electric wiring. For modern LED lighting systems, a 15 Amp 14AWG circuit is way more than ample. For outlets in the kitchen, bath and shop use 20 Amp 12AWG circuits. But most receptacles can be dual 15 Amp units. Because 20 Amp plugs are a rare breed.

The fact that it's ample for LED doesn't preclude some nimrod installing 100W bulbs 'just because they can'. NEC doesn't care that 15A has been acceptable for decades, they want a change.

20A plugs are just as plentiful as 15A plugs- Home Depot has them starting at $3.58 each, but some places don't carry them because A) homeowners don't use them as often, B) contractors often buy from places like Grainger, Greybar, etc and not as much from big box stores unless they just need a few of something and they need the parts at the last minute. C) Homeowners aren't allowed to do their own High Voltage electrical work in many places, even if they can prove proficiency. Communuties don't want to employ their own inspectors because they become liable if a problem occurs and their person/people signed off at final inspection of the project.