12 AWG Speaker Cable Manufactures??? Newbie

[BEMGOLF]

I am looking for a couple good online dealers that offer 12 AWG that is CL2 rated. I have read numerous articles that state the 12 AWS is better than the smaller 14 AWS, and if you can afford it get it. This is kinda confusing because on mono price the cable is very affordable at $35.00 for 100 ft. If you go to other sites their cable is like $199.99 for monster. I have three questions.

Are these two cables the same quality?

What is with the price difference? Normally cheaper is not better but you never know until you ask?

I really am not looking to spend a gazillion dollars on cable but I would like good to great quality. Can you give me your top 5 manufactures that you have had good experiences with and online retailer sites to get them.

Just more info as to what it will be used for.

70% tv viewing and sporting events
20% movies
10% gaming

Thanks for your input

 

[Rickster71]

Hi BEMGOLF, welcome to Audioholics.
Keep in mind that very generalized questions such as yours, the search function is a valuable tool.

Wire size is dependent on the distance and the electrical load. Use this chart: Speaker Wire

This will be one of the best resources for wire, etc. - Speaker Wires
Monster cable is over priced, as are many other brands. (in this particular case with wire) > High prices are sometimes used to give the allusion of quality. It's also a case of 'more expensive is not necessarily better in all cases.'
Enjoy your new theater.

 

[j_garcia]

With Monster, all you are paying for is the name. The wire is no different than the wire from Monoprice. Of all the things in your system, speaker wire will make the least difference, as long as you follow the guidelines for the distance/load linked above, you will be fine.

 

[fuzz092888]

I think in certain applications the wire will make a difference, but none of those situations would apply to you or what you are trying to do. As for which AWG (American Wire Gauge) to get it really depends on the run you are trying to make and how much power you're trying to drive through the wire.

That being said, mono price is so cheap, I can't see a reason not to just go with the 12 AWG. For what 95% (or perhaps an even greater percentage?) of users are using and hearing that high priced stuff is not even remotely worth the cost. I ordered 100 ft of the 12 AWG speaker wire from mono price and it is fantastic. It's oxygen free solid copper, 87 strand, which is pretty darn good. EDIT: the CL2 rated wire is 65 strand

Just for reference oxygen free is a must for sending an electrical signal through if you want to keep distortion to a minimum. The AWG is standardized and has to do with the diameter of the wire. The strand count is how many individual smaller strands are intertwined to get the correct wire thickness. Lower count = thicker strands, higher count = thinner strands. My understanding is that a solid copper wire would actually be best for transmitting a signal through, but would be so stiff it would be nearly impossible to work with in almost all situations.

The bottom line is don't get caught up in all the wire stuff. Monoprice is one of those rare too good too be true, but actually is situations, at least from my experience with them.

(To everyone else out there, if I've said something silly please correct me so I can learn too )

 

[j_garcia]

Single conductor wire works fine as speaker wire but as you mentioned, 1) it is stiff and difficult to work with and 2) offers no real benefit over stranded in terms of sound. I've tried a lot of different wires and found that the money is best spent somewhere where it really counts rather than on wire.

 

[fuzz092888]

Thanks, is there ever a time when single strand is better? Not that I would ever try it, just curious.

 

[j_garcia]

For running power The wire in the walls of your typical house is solid, single conductor. I bought and tried Audioquest's single conductor wire because I was curious myself and for the price per foot ($3/foot), there wasn't an appreciable difference.

 

[Rickster71]

Thanks, is there ever a time when single strand is better? Not that I would ever try it, just curious.

If I may add a bit to what John posted.
Stranded vs Solid and when it's used is mostly dependent on it's application.
The solid wire in Romex is used in residential power wiring where maximum flexibility isn't required.
Stranded wire is used when the application calls for flexibility, as in power cords, wire that's snaked through the many turns in conduit, speaker wire, etc.

 

[j_garcia]

If I may add a bit to what John posted.
Stranded vs Solid and when it's used is mostly dependent on it's application.
The solid wire in Romex is used in residential power wiring where maximum flexibility isn't required.
Stranded wire is used when the application calls for flexibility, as in power cords, wire that's snaked through the many turns in conduit, speaker wire, etc.

Yep. As far as I know, that is one of the primary reasons for stranded wire.

 

[fuzz092888]

Alright, thanks a lot guys for clearing that up for. If only school offered such clear and succinct answers

 

[Tin Ear]

I use Monoprice for a lot of stuffs, but for the 12AWG wire you are asking about I was able to get a 250 ft roll of CL2 wire from Cmple for 60 USD through their EBay store, shipping included ... its more on their website . It looks like exactly the same wire Monoprice sells as well.

 

[fuzz092888]

I use Monoprice for a lot of stuffs, but for the 12AWG wire you are asking about I was able to get a 250 ft roll of CL2 wire from Cmple for 60 USD through their EBay store, shipping included ... its more on their website . It looks like exactly the same wire Monoprice sells as well.

It's pretty close, plus it's CL rated which means it's safe for in wall use. The only issues that I can find are that the ebay wire doesn't say oxygen free and it's from an ebay store.

Frankly an ebay store can say whatever they want about what they're selling. With monoprice you get a few things you don't get from an ebay store.

Certain guarantees, like product quality and that fact that their products meet the specs that they're advertising (like CL rating).

Buyer protection from issues, such as not getting all 250', wrong product, wire gauge being mislabeled etc. Monoprice has an excellent reputation for making good on mistakes and defective products

You also get a lot of support for setup help and installation.

There's also a pretty good return policy.

Now I'm not saying the product you bought from the ebay store isn't what they claim it to be and judging by the feedback it seems like they really deliver. However there is also a lot more risk involved.

How many people actually checked wire gauge and not just the number on the jacket? How many people verified that the CL rating was the real deal? How many people unrolled the spool and checked to make sure they got all XXX'?

Sure there's ebay buyer protection but that's usually a lengthy process and a huge pain in the butt. You have to cover your own butt and provide evidence and proof of correspondence etc etc etc.

Running an ebay store lowers overhead cost significantly compared to a B&M store or even an ID store, so it's more than possible that their products are the real deal and they're just cutting off more fat to sell products at even lower prices and as long as you're ok with the risks involved and you're done all you can to minimize your risk then that's a great deal

 

[Tin Ear]

Not just an EBay store ... it's Cmple.com . Much like Monoprice offering similar products:

Cmple.com - HDMI Cable, Splitter, Switch, Network Cable, Cat5e, Cat6, USB Cable, Speaker Wires, IR Repeater System, USB Cable, Video Audio Cables

They have an equally good reputation and I have bought and returned things from them in the past. I only used EBay because it was cheaper, which I thought was a little weird, but it is associated with the website. They also have a B&M in NY.

 

[fuzz092888]

Hmm still doesn't say oxygen free and that's something that I like to see in the wire I get

but reliability wise it looks like a good website at a glance. Why it's cheaper on the ebay site doesn't make sense and makes it look a little sketchy in my book.

Unless they're required by their supplier to post that price on their official website, but something still seems amiss to me unless I have someone from there explain it in very plain English to me. In the meantime I'll keep ordering from mono price.