I want to run stereo from the amp in my living room to amps in a couple other rooms, at line-level. This is just for background music, TV audio, etc. Distance around perimeter is up to 75 ft.

The target amps and speakers are very basic ones, but I'd like to give them as good a signal as practical. Elsewhere on the Internet, I've come across a mention of using shielded twisted pairs (relatively inexpensive) and matching transformers (which I think are also inexpensive) at each end. But I have no idea how to actually do that. Is this a sensible approach? Is it the same as a "balanced line"? Other approach?

The source amp has A/B capability, but I don't (necessarily) want the volume to vary at the targets. My budget is $40-100 depending on effectiveness. I realize that barely covers the cost of that much wire of any kind, but the amps themselves are worth hardly that.

If I'm careful about routing, could I get by with plain 16-ga lamp cord? Or maybe RJ-6 (100ft@$20)? First priority, of course, is to do no harm to the equipment. Second priority is to do little harm to my wallet.

not sure what you're trying to do, but here's what i did. i hooked up a switching box to my b speakers on the receiver. from there i ran wires to cellar and garage. regular 16 ga from depot. on the box i can select the cellar, or garage or both to play. i can even run the a speakers at the same time. understandibly enough, the volume is controlled by the receiver sending non-adjustable levels to each/all

So you're looking to send line level (ie: from a tape monitor or aux send) to another amp in another room?

Looks like you're just looking at running some shielded "RCAs" in that case. The RG6 (not RJ6 - that's a model of lawn sprinkler) is a bad idea - good for cable, less than idea for audio. I'm a bit confused by your question, though? You're wanting to make runs terminated in phono plugs?

As for the shielded twisted pairs - ie: CAT5 - it's 24ga in size I think (down to 28 in some?)... since doubling the number of conductors results in a net gain of 3 AWG sizes, you'd end up with something similar to 18ga. wire by making two pairs each into a + and -. Not great. Also, the resulting connection is right at the top of the chart for solutions in capacitance, and the twisted pairs really do nothing for noise rejection at audible frequencies. That whole thing was created by a bunch of IT guys who could steal it from work for free I'm sure. People seem to be most comfortable with what they know... an electrician would use Romex, an IT guy CAT5, Tiffany would use lamp cord, etc.

Bren R.

At 75 feet, you are probably stuck with a DIY solution.

You are talking about line-level RCA patch cables (interconnects), right?
I made my own out of Mogami W2549 with Dayton locking RCA connectors from www.partsexpress.com.

For 75 feet that would cost you about $50.00, not including shipping or solder (or iron).

You can get the cable for less than 50 cents a foot here:

http://www.redco.com/mogami_mic_price.html

and the connectors I used are here... I just think the locking feature is "cool", but they are a bit of a pain to solder, at least for the ground connection.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=091-1270

Need any help - just ask... and good luck!

Ron, welcome. Your description isn't entirely clear as to what you intend, and you mention both line level and speaker wire. Although 75 feet is longer than recommended for 16ga, this is for background music and a direct connection to the remote speakers from the B terminals of your receiver shouldn't degrade the sound too significantly. However, most of what you discuss concerns interconnects(rather than 16ga speaker wires), presumably from preouts in your living room to remote amps. Relatively inexpensive "RCA" type connects are available even for such a long run and should be adequate if interference levels in your home aren't unusually high. Again though, you should describe the setup in more detail.