It's often argued that using name brand, or high quality speaker wires can bring out the best performance from any high quality speaker system. While there is some merit to the idea of using high quality cables, it seems many companies have taken this idea far beyond it's logical limits and in so doing created a whole new snake oil industry. Bottom line, when it comes to speaker wire, if they’re talking about special alloys, magical filaments or direction specific wires and charging tens, hundreds or even thousands of dollars per foot, chances are, they’ve probably crossed the line.

The truth is, one of the best materials for transferring electrical signals is pure copper. Higher grade copper will offer less signal resistance and have less tendency to corrode or tarnish underneath the jacket. Monoprice offers high purity, oxygen-free, all copper speaker wires that deliver high fidelity, wide frequency range and low signal loss. These cables are capable of delivering loud, clear and crisp audio reproduction limited only by the quality of the equipment you are using.

If you're looking for a décor friendly cable, look no further than the Monoprice CL2 rated speaker cable. They come with a white outer jacket to blend in with your walls and baseboards for out of wall applications and are CL2 rated to meet most building codes * for installation behind the walls when you want to keep the cables completely out of sight. These cables are made from high purity, oxygen free copper, are available in a variety of gauges and come in 2 conductor and 4 conductor configurations. The 4 conductor cables are perfect for bi-wiring high end tower speakers that offer a bi-wireable option.

Features:

- Perfect for use in or out of wall with a variety of speaker types including in-wall and in-ceiling.

- Compatible with banana plugs.

- Clearly distinguishable Red and Black inner jackets for determining polarity.

- High quality, flame retardant PVC outer jacket.

- Multi-twist, rope lay braiding.

- UL listed and CL2 rated.

- 26 strands per conductor. 0.254mm diameter per strand.

* Local building codes can vary from region to region. Check with your local fire department to find out what the requirements are for your area.

Question: How many conductors are on this cable.

Answer: Two, one for positive and one for negative.

Question: Is this wire directional?

Answer: No. Directional wire is marketing spin to make you think the cables are somehow better.

Question: What is AWG?

Answer: AWG stands for American Wire Gauge. It is a measure of the thickness of the wires inside the cable. Lower numbers represent a thicker cable. The measurement is the diameter of the cross section of wire. It is expressed as the number of turns required for the width of the bare wire to make 1 inch. So a 12AWG cable would have wires that are 1/12 of an inch thick. The outer diameter of the cables jacket is not an accurate expression of gauge since manufacturers can simply put a thicker jacket to make a wire appear to have a heavier gauge.

Question: What is CL2? Do these cable have to go in-wall?

Answer: CL2 rating come from Underwriters Laboratories (UL). It means that these cables have a slow burning outer jacket, should meet most fire codes and are safe for in-wall installations. The CL2 rating does not affect the appearance or performance of the cables. They can be used in or out of wall.

Question: I've heard that the diameter of these wires was less than that of competitors wires of the same gauge. I thought gauge was a standardized measurement, why would the diameters be different?

Answer: AWG (American Wire Gauge) is a standardized form of measurement. Gauge is expressed as the number of turns it takes the wire to equal an inch. So with a 12AWG wire, for instance, the bare wire (no plastic jacket) will take 12 turns around a spool to make a 1 inch wide coil. In other words, simply put, the bare wire is 1/12" wide. A lot of cable manufacturers will wrap their wires in an extra thick PVC jacket or put plastic filtaments between the strands to make the cable appear much thicker than it. But the amount of copper remains the same.

Question: Does higher strand count provide better audio quality?

Answer: There is a lot of spin placed on wires and cables to justify one type or another. The main reason for this is to justify an over inflated price. Fact is, stranding provides flexibility. Solid wire conductors can deliver high audio quality and arguably better run lengths, but would be more brittle and tend to break. One break and you loose connectivity. Stranded cables would be more flexible and a break in one or more lines will not cut the signal flow. But, it doesn''t magically improve audio performance. Audio quality is influenced more by the quality of the copper. That is better milled, high purity copper will have lower signal resistance and less fluctuation in density which will lead to better signal integrity and more pure audio. All our speaker wires are milled from high quality, oxygen-free copper. Question: How do I select the proper gauge for my application?

Answer: Different people will have their own opinions about what gauge is proper for what length. The quality of the equipment can also play a factor. The following is a general guide for picking gauges for certain lengths. 0-25ft - 18AWG 25-50ft - 16AWG 50-75ft - 14AWG 75 & up - 12AWG Question: Can the outer jacket of the cables be painted? Answer: It is possible to paint these cables. Use only exterior acrylic latex paint. All other types of paint will simply peel off.