In-wall speaker wire - necessary?

[HTnewbie]

About to renovate a Great Room and need to run wire for surrounds. Likely 7.1 setup (at least wiring for the potential) using in-ceiling speakers. The speakers will running off of AVR pushing 120 wpc (Yamaha 1500). Wire needs to be run behind sheet rock and across ceiling. Total length of run will be 45-50 feet depending on how I terminate near equipment (i.e. at wall plate or straight into AVR).

Based on all of the threads here on speaker wire, I was leaning toward 12 or 14ga zip-style wire from one of the better names you guys endorse (Impact, BlueJeans, Express, Belden, etc.) However, in speaking with my father-in-law (a contractor), he suggested I consider cable approved for in-wall construction. I live in Connecticut and this is a retrofit to an existing house. There will be no formal building inspection so I am not sure if the need is there from a code perspective. However, I understand the safety aspect of sheathed in-wall structures and I will be pulling pretty good for some length.

Any thoughts on in-wall in general and 12 vs 14 for surrounds up to 50'?

Thanks.

 

[jaxvon]

Yeah, I would go with something approved for in-wall use. Either guage would be fine, but you can go with 12GA and absolutely no worries about resistance. This is probably the stuff you'd want to go with. It has a high strand count so it's flexible and it comes with an in-wall rating (CL2 and CL3).

 

[flyv65]

Also check out Parts Express for in-wall cables of different gauges-although at 50 feet distance, I'd lean towards the 12ga. stuff myself.

Bryan...after all, it's not that much more expensive...

 

[Leprkon]

you might consider using some CAT-5e cable, which is in-wall approved. you can get down to a 13 or 14 gage equivalent using a single strand of cable for each speaker. divide up the colored wires between the plus and minus connectors. it's very cost-effective, easy to get, and easy to run. just be careful to match the colors on your + and -

 

[HTnewbie]

OK, in-wall makes sense and 12ga seems to be called for. On thread here did suggest using 14/4 and pairing the conductors to create a 12ga cross-section equivalent with better net electrical properties. Thoughts?

 

[jaxvon]

Actually, 14/4 wire would be an effective guage of 11. This is the type of cable that is used in the River Cable StarFlex SPX and Canare Star Quad cable (actually, the River Cable is just spiffed up Canare cable). While it has higher capacitance than normal 2 conductor zip cord, it radiates less magnetic field, so it's probably a better choice if you need to run it near a bunch of other wires or cables. A link to the Canare cable.

Impact Acoustics also sells 14/4 cable, but it isn't CL3 rated like the link I posted earlier. Also, because of the dielectric that Canare uses in their cable, I don't think it's rated for in-wall use (PE releases some really toxic fumes if it ignites).

 

[Swerd]

I live in Connecticut and this is a retrofit to an existing house. There will be no formal building inspection so I am not sure if the need is there from a code perspective. However, I understand the safety aspect of sheathed in-wall structures and I will be pulling pretty good for some length.

Even if there will be no formal inspection of your work, the best reason for using wire that meets code (UL approved, CL-2 or CL-3 rated) is fire insurance. If you ever have a fire in your home, and insurance investigators find wire that did not meet code behind a wall, you might have trouble collecting on your policy. Code approved wire is cheap, go ahead and use it.

 

[markw]

Question

Even if there will be no formal inspection of your work, the best reason for using wire that meets code (UL approved, CL-2 or CL-3 rated) is fire insurance. If you ever have a fire in your home, and insurance investigators find wire that did not meet code behind a wall, you might have trouble collecting on your policy. Code approved wire is cheap, go ahead and use it.

Even if it's being used for what's considered a "low voltage" application? I went through this when I added an addition on to my house and was told (by the city inspector) that wires for this usage (intercom, doorbell, speaker, computer, CATV, etc...) were exempt from these codes.

But, then again, this may vary from municipality to municipality.