In-wall rated 12 or 14AWG 2 conductor cable Vancouver - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

tandem · 2012-05-02, 02:00 PM

Does anyone have a lead on a source with good prices for in-wall rated 12 or 14 AWG 2 conductor (and/or 4 conductor) speaker cable, preferably walk-in cash and carry in the Vancouver area? Failing that a Canadian supplier with good mail order handling and reasonable overnight shipping?

I need to run 4 runs of 35' this week, ideally by Friday, so I can close up some walls in our living room reno.

As a DIY friendly sort of guy I've been tempted to run some 12/2 or 14/2 electrical wire instead and probably would if I hadn't just used up my last roll of 14/2. That said overall I'd prefer not to use standard electrical cable just to avoid leaving the next home owner with a puzzle (I'd label the terminations in wall just to be sure), assuming we ever leave our home of 16 years now.

Thanks for any ideas!
Mike

ScaryBob · 2012-05-02, 02:12 PM

Home Depot has speaker wire. Local audio/video stores may also have it but prices may be higher.

magnet · 2012-05-02, 02:15 PM

+1 on Home Depot.
If you know ahead of time: Monoprice Item 2817

tandem · 2012-05-02, 02:45 PM

Thanks for the responses folks.

Hmnnn... my local Home Depot didn't seem to have any in-wall rated cable when I last checked. I'll swing by another location and see what I can unearth. Took a long drive out to Lowes last night (new store just opened near Vancouver... quite empty of shoppers still) and didn't find anything other than standard out-of-wall twin lead speaker cable.

Monoprice has great pricing on 2 and 4 conductor cable but their shipping charges for heavier items to Canada can sometimes make it almost as expensive as finding a deal locally. That said I did find someone with a Craigslist listing for a couple rolls of 14/2 or 12/2 (advert unclear) at a reasonable price so if he responds to my inquiry I might be set... but no response yet.

ScaryBob · 2012-05-02, 02:51 PM

Any fire rated stranded or solid copper cable will work. Solid cable presents termination issues but that can be reduced by using adequately sized in-wall boxes and A/V connectors such as speaker binding posts.

tandem · 2012-05-02, 03:35 PM

ScaryBob - indeed my first inclination was to use what is left of my roll of 14/2 but I blew through most of that doing new three new home runs for the three rooms I'm renovating. The knob and tube eradication program now complete, I'm out of 14/2.

I'm only slightly reluctant to use NMD 14/2 standard electrical cable for fear some nitwit will one day when we are gone mistake it for a line voltage run but I guess since a) we've been here 16 years and don't seem to feel like leaving and b) the runs only travel within a living room to a custom cabinet i'm building and boxes fitted with a/v connections... that fear might be groundless. Pun intended.

All runs are 35' or less.

HDTV101 · 2012-05-06, 01:49 AM

The 12/2 used for electric heating is red in color and has a red & black wire inside... which matched the speaker terminals colors, this is perfect for high power speaker wiring. Don't wast money on over priced monster speaker wire... even if the stereo shop guy tells you this monster wire uses directional oxygen ions ... it's all bull.

tandem · 2012-05-06, 11:35 AM

No worries, I have enough electronics background to make me skeptical of any claims regarding speaker wire. If we were talking HF or VHF or UHF or microwave frequencies I would be more concerned about cable but for audio?

The retail electronics cable industry is full of rip offs. A long while back I was a buyer for a major computer retailer - we used to buy container loads of cables from China. The markup on run of the mill computer interconnect cables was then and surely still is now astronomical. Speaker cable is no different in my estimation.

I ended up using 12 gauge 2-wire Romex, yellow. I had some left over from my kitchen renovation last year and needed to buy a little more. All in all it was priced right, the runs are not that long (35 feet max), is sufficiently high gauge to handle anything this living room reno will ever see, and was immediately available. As this is a gut to the studs reno I was able to choose cable routing to avoid wherever possible proximity to other high and low voltage cables.

I did a quick test and while the acoustics in the room are terrible right now (open studs to the roof above) it sounds just fine to me.

Now I just have to avoid putting a screw or lag bolt through my speaker or HDMI or optical cables as we start to hang drywall...

tandem · 2012-06-24, 01:58 PM

An update, our speaker installation sounds fantastic. Total resistance per run is very low. The only significant issue I ran into with using the heavy, relatively inflexible, 12 gauge solid conductors was the connections on the back of the banana jacks. At our AV receiver and the front of the viewing area I have a single wall plate with 6 banana jacks (front left/centre/right speakers). Due to the heavy gauge this was a bit of a pain to get together but just took more time and a little additional patience.

I'd do it again.

2012-05-02, 02:00 PM	#1
tandem Join Date: May 2012 Location: Vancouver Posts: 101	In-wall rated 12 or 14AWG 2 conductor cable Vancouver Does anyone have a lead on a source with good prices for in-wall rated 12 or 14 AWG 2 conductor (and/or 4 conductor) speaker cable, preferably walk-in cash and carry in the Vancouver area? Failing that a Canadian supplier with good mail order handling and reasonable overnight shipping? I need to run 4 runs of 35' this week, ideally by Friday, so I can close up some walls in our living room reno. As a DIY friendly sort of guy I've been tempted to run some 12/2 or 14/2 electrical wire instead and probably would if I hadn't just used up my last roll of 14/2. That said overall I'd prefer not to use standard electrical cable just to avoid leaving the next home owner with a puzzle (I'd label the terminations in wall just to be sure), assuming we ever leave our home of 16 years now. Thanks for any ideas! Mike

2012-05-02, 02:12 PM	#2
ScaryBob Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Dandelion City Posts: 7,133	Home Depot has speaker wire. Local audio/video stores may also have it but prices may be higher. __________________ At 20 I had a good mind. At 40 I had money. At 60 I've lost my mind and my money. Oh, to be 20 again. --Scary

2012-05-02, 02:15 PM	#3
magnet Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Calgary, AB Posts: 4,014	+1 on Home Depot. If you know ahead of time: Monoprice Item 2817 __________________ When it comes to humility, I am the greatest!

2012-05-02, 02:51 PM	#5
ScaryBob Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Dandelion City Posts: 7,133	Any fire rated stranded or solid copper cable will work. Solid cable presents termination issues but that can be reduced by using adequately sized in-wall boxes and A/V connectors such as speaker binding posts. __________________ At 20 I had a good mind. At 40 I had money. At 60 I've lost my mind and my money. Oh, to be 20 again. --Scary

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2012-05-02, 02:45 PM	#4
tandem Join Date: May 2012 Location: Vancouver Posts: 101	Thanks for the responses folks. Hmnnn... my local Home Depot didn't seem to have any in-wall rated cable when I last checked. I'll swing by another location and see what I can unearth. Took a long drive out to Lowes last night (new store just opened near Vancouver... quite empty of shoppers still) and didn't find anything other than standard out-of-wall twin lead speaker cable. Monoprice has great pricing on 2 and 4 conductor cable but their shipping charges for heavier items to Canada can sometimes make it almost as expensive as finding a deal locally. That said I did find someone with a Craigslist listing for a couple rolls of 14/2 or 12/2 (advert unclear) at a reasonable price so if he responds to my inquiry I might be set... but no response yet.

2012-05-02, 03:35 PM	#6
tandem Join Date: May 2012 Location: Vancouver Posts: 101	ScaryBob - indeed my first inclination was to use what is left of my roll of 14/2 but I blew through most of that doing new three new home runs for the three rooms I'm renovating. The knob and tube eradication program now complete, I'm out of 14/2. I'm only slightly reluctant to use NMD 14/2 standard electrical cable for fear some nitwit will one day when we are gone mistake it for a line voltage run but I guess since a) we've been here 16 years and don't seem to feel like leaving and b) the runs only travel within a living room to a custom cabinet i'm building and boxes fitted with a/v connections... that fear might be groundless. Pun intended. All runs are 35' or less.

2012-05-06, 01:49 AM	#7
HDTV101 Veteran Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 2,000	The 12/2 used for electric heating is red in color and has a red & black wire inside... which matched the speaker terminals colors, this is perfect for high power speaker wiring. Don't wast money on over priced monster speaker wire... even if the stereo shop guy tells you this monster wire uses directional oxygen ions ... it's all bull.

2012-05-06, 11:35 AM	#8
tandem Join Date: May 2012 Location: Vancouver Posts: 101	No worries, I have enough electronics background to make me skeptical of any claims regarding speaker wire. If we were talking HF or VHF or UHF or microwave frequencies I would be more concerned about cable but for audio? The retail electronics cable industry is full of rip offs. A long while back I was a buyer for a major computer retailer - we used to buy container loads of cables from China. The markup on run of the mill computer interconnect cables was then and surely still is now astronomical. Speaker cable is no different in my estimation. I ended up using 12 gauge 2-wire Romex, yellow. I had some left over from my kitchen renovation last year and needed to buy a little more. All in all it was priced right, the runs are not that long (35 feet max), is sufficiently high gauge to handle anything this living room reno will ever see, and was immediately available. As this is a gut to the studs reno I was able to choose cable routing to avoid wherever possible proximity to other high and low voltage cables. I did a quick test and while the acoustics in the room are terrible right now (open studs to the roof above) it sounds just fine to me. Now I just have to avoid putting a screw or lag bolt through my speaker or HDMI or optical cables as we start to hang drywall...

2012-06-24, 01:58 PM	#9
tandem Join Date: May 2012 Location: Vancouver Posts: 101	An update, our speaker installation sounds fantastic. Total resistance per run is very low. The only significant issue I ran into with using the heavy, relatively inflexible, 12 gauge solid conductors was the connections on the back of the banana jacks. At our AV receiver and the front of the viewing area I have a single wall plate with 6 banana jacks (front left/centre/right speakers). Due to the heavy gauge this was a bit of a pain to get together but just took more time and a little additional patience. I'd do it again.