Speaker Wire Information

What's the difference between in-wall speaker wire and speaker wire?
In-wall speaker wire is constructed to specifications set by UL and the National Electrical Code (as written by the National Fire Prevention Association) so that it is safe to be run through the walls of a residential structure. When materials are put inside the wall of a home, they can provide a path for fire to spread from floor-to-floor or room-to-room. The jacket or outside insulation of in-wall speaker wire is manufactured from compounds that help slow the spread of fire.

What's the difference between shielded and non shielded?
Noise is generated by many electrical and electronic products including fluorescent lights, refrigerators and cordless phones that are common in every modern home. These electrical signals also known as EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference) and RFI (Radio-Frequency Interference) can easily find their way onto signal-carrying cables and can be amplified along with your audio signals. Line-level audio signals, such as those run between a CD player and your stereo amplifier, are not at a much higher level than the noise itself. When line level signals are amplified, the noise is amplified too and can be heard along with your music or soundtrack. A well-constructed audio cable will shield the signal-carrying conductor to protect the delicate line level audio from noise.

Speaker level signals have already been amplified. Since the signal is so much greater than the EMI/RFI noise, it cannot easily be heard against your music or soundtrack. For this reason, speaker cables are normally not shielded. It is also important to know that running a shielded speaker cable can electrically change the sound of your music. Due to the capacitive effect of the shield to the signal-carrying conductors, you will notice losses of bass and high frequencies, and your audio will sound "tinny".

What does so many twist per inch mean, etc.?
The conductors in a speaker cable are twisted to help the cable maintain a round shape. This makes the cable easier to pull through wall studs and floor joists. Also, twisted wire pairs will naturally cancel out EMI/RFI noise that can find its way onto the conductors through a process called induction. This is not as important to speaker signals as it is to line level signals as discussed above, but it will help maintain the quality of your audio signals. The more twists per inch, the better the noise rejection.

My longest run is about 80 feet; what gauge of wire should I use?
There are many schools of thought about cable distance versus wire gauge. In our opinion and from our personal experience, 14AWG speaker cable will be more than sufficient for your application. Keep in mind that as the signal level increases and the cable run increases, you will want to increase the size (wire gauge) of your speaker cable. A good rule of thumb is:

* For less than 50 feet to the speakers or volume control, 16AWG is fine.
* From 50 feet to 100 feet, use 14AWG.
* For 100 feet or more, use 12AWG.

If the power output of your amplifier exceeds 100 Watts per channel, you should consider escalating two wire gauges. But remember that your amplifier will normally be pushing less than 1 watt of power to the speakers.

Please visit Kongcable for all your audio and video needs including HDMI.

Founder and owner of Kongcable.com, Michael Mancini, lives in Columbus Ohio. Michael was born and raised in London, Ohio.

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