 Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: May 2005
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OP
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What is good for using as conduit for speaker wires inside of walls. I was thinking about 3/4" PVC. Will this work for 12 to 14 gauge speaker wire?
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 13,840 Likes: 13
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Jan 2004
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You might want to check your city building codes, if you use UL in-wall rated speaker wire, you should not have to worry about conduit. Heck, I used regular 12 gauge speaker wire and didn't use any conduit.
M80s VP180 4xM22ow 4xM3ic EP600 2xEP350
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: May 2005
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OP
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The problem is that these will be exterior walls that will be insulated. I will need some time of conduit in order to run my wiring after construction.
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 95
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 95 |
Unless the runs are very short and/or very straight, you won't have much luck pulling wire thru conduit after construction. If you aren't sure where your speakers will go, run wire to all the options. My brother did this with his addition - he ran and coiled wire in five or six 'wall cavities' on either side of his room and the back wall just in case. Wire is pretty cheap, so all he has to do when he decides is punch a hole - there's the wire!
-Brian n8wrl
2xM60ti, 2xM3ti, 2xQS4, VP100, EP350, N2's
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 17
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OP
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All I would do is for the two side suround speakers. The conduit would come down the wall about 4 feet and than ninety towrad the inside of the wall. The top would go through the top plate of the wall. Should not be a problem running the wiring after.
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,344
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,344 |
Quote:
Unless the runs are very short and/or very straight, you won't have much luck pulling wire thru conduit after construction. -Brian n8wrl
I don't understand what the problem would be, I ran over 85' of conduit for electrical wiring to my garden shed and had no trouble pulling the wire through.
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Jan 2005
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connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jan 2005
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Agreed.............usually if there are problems pulling wire/cable it is caused from not selecting the correct size of conduit, or installing sharp bends. 
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 353
devotee
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devotee
Joined: Jul 2005
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Quote:
Agreed.............usually if there are problems pulling wire/cable it is caused from not selecting the correct size of conduit, or installing sharp bends.
I believe that in the event of more than the anticipated number of cables in a conduit or undersized conduit there is also a special cable grease that can be used to aid in pulling the cables through.
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,155
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,155 |
I'm not sure that you want to use conduit unless you have building codes that require it.
Best of luck.
The Rat.
M80s, VP-150, QS8s,
SVS PC 20-39+, OPPO,
Onkyo 703s, Harmony 880
Sony 60" SXRD HDTV
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 29
hobbyist
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hobbyist
Joined: Mar 2005
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 10,420
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
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I would use central vacuum tubing its building code cleared and is big enough, cable ends can be pulled through it.
Jason
M80 v2
VP160 v3
QS8 v2
PB13 Ultra
Denon 3808
Samsung 85" Q70
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,177
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,177 |
Quote:
All I would do is for the two side suround speakers. The conduit would come down the wall about 4 feet and than ninety towrad the inside of the wall. The top would go through the top plate of the wall. Should not be a problem running the wiring after.
If you know exactly where the speaker will be installed, I don't understand the need for conduit. Why not just run the wire? The only place I could see the benefit is behind the display, where there would be multiple runs. i.e. - component/composite/s-video/hdmi/centre channel speaker wire/etc.
Shawn
Epic 80/600 + M3's + M3 Algonquins + M2 Computer + EP125
I think I'm developing an addiction.
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 17
frequent flier
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OP
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For several reasons: What if in the future you wanted to run more wiring (damaged or different). These things can get damaged during construction. say the wire is damaged, you now have a insulated, sheetrocked wall and it would be impossible to pull or install new wiring unless you had conduit.
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 608
aficionado
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aficionado
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 608 |
is a great idea to run pipe for future changes,i would run a test pull before the sheetrock is in to see if you need to make any changes and every time you pull a wire through the pipe,attach a snake (ex:mason string or something strong) to the wire you are pulling through so you have the abillity to pull the next one
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 608
aficionado
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aficionado
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 608 |
also,put the biggest pipe that will fit,you wont be sorry
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Apr 2003
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heh... that's what she said.
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 41
buff
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buff
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 41 |
If you are still in need of some UL rated speaker wire go for the Kimber Kable "Kwik 12". I installed it in my new home and it sounds great! Kimber Kable is superior compared to Monster cable. If at all possible run the wire before construction, conduit would be a huge pain no matter what!
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,039
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,039 |
Just courious as to why you feel that conduit would be such a problem ?
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 41
buff
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buff
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 41 |
If you absolutly need to use conduit for your application then go for it. If you don't need to use conduit, then why bother with it? Thats what I am trying to say
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,444 Likes: 16
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,444 Likes: 16 |
It’s always a good idea to use conduit for any type of in-wall wiring. It’s upgradeable and if you ever have a problem with the conductor, you just pull in new wire.
I used ENT (electrical non-metallic tubing). It’s a blue plastic and called “smurf tube” by tradesmen. You can bend it by hand and the termination fittings snap into the ENT J-boxes. Home Depot carries it. It comes in ½” and ¾” and in 100’ rolls. Plus it’s cheap and UL / NEC approved.
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Re: Conduit for speaker wires
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 41
buff
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buff
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 41 |
That makes sense. Good Idea.
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