In Wall Speaker Wire vs Regular: The Rating Gap
Quick answer / TL;DR: In wall speaker wire and regular speaker wire carry the same copper at the same gauge on the same Class 2 circuit; the difference is the jacket. The in wall wire carries the CMR listing the code wants for the concealed run, and the regular wire is the general-purpose stock for the open path. The regular wire is the right buy for the run on the wall's surface, the desk and the floor, and the wrong buy for the path behind the drywall – the concealed run the code's inspection reads the jacket for.
The comparison between in wall speaker wire and regular wire comes down to one figure, and the figure is the jacket. The two wires carry the same copper at the same gauge, the same two conductors the speaker's circuit takes, and the same low voltage the Class 2 puts the line in. What separates them is the rating printed on the jacket – the CMR listing the in wall stock carries and the general-purpose stock does not – and it is the rating that decides whether the run can go behind the drywall or has to stay where the code's rules do not reach it.
This is the comparison view: the figures the two wires share, the jacket that separates them, the code's reading of the concealed run, and the installs where the regular wire is the right buy rather than the wrong one.
The Figures the Two Share
The two wires are the same speaker line before the jacket is read. The conductors are the two-conductor pair – the plus and the minus the speaker's circuit takes – at the gauge the run's length selects, the 16 for the standard throw and the 14 for the longer one. The circuit is the Class 2 the low voltage puts the line in, the same classification for both, and the signal the amplifier drives is the same output the speaker's voice coil takes. The twist is the same lay on the same pair, and the polarity is the same mark on the same conductor. The figures the two share are the whole of the electrical wire, and the comparison between them is the one figure the jacket adds.
| The figure | In wall wire | Regular wire | The difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| The conductors | The two at the gauge | The two at the gauge | None – the same copper |
| The circuit | The Class 2, the low voltage | The Class 2, the low voltage | None – the same classification |
| The twist | The same lay on the pair | The same lay on the pair | None – the same construction |
| The jacket | The CMR listing, the print | The general-purpose stock | The rating the concealed run reads |
The table is the comparison laid out, and the reading is the single figure that moves. The conductors, the circuit and the twist are the same, and the jacket is the difference – the CMR listing the in wall stock carries and the general-purpose stock's absent print. The comparison between the two wires is not a comparison of the copper; it is the comparison of the jacket the run's path selects, and the table is the one the install reads before the wire goes into the wall.
The Jacket, and the Code's Reading
The code's reading of the concealed run is the figure the jacket answers, and the answer is the listing the wire carries. The run behind the drywall is the path the building's cavity holds – the enclosed space the fire's spread and the inspection's access both apply to – and the wire the code allows into it is the listed stock, the CMR print the jacket carries for the communication circuit. The general-purpose stock is the wire the open run takes, and the code's reading of the concealed path is the one that separates the two. The inspection, the insurance and the resale all read the same figure – the jacket's print at the wire the wall holds – and the comparison is the one the listing answers.
The fire figure behind the rating
The rating's purpose is the fire's behavior in the concealed space, and the figure is the jacket's material. The CMR jacket is tested for the flame's spread and the smoke's production in the cavity the wire runs – the rating the communication stock holds for the path the building's structure encloses – and the general-purpose jacket carries no such claim. The concealed run is the path the fire would travel inside the wall, and the listed jacket is the wire the code allows into it because the material's behavior is the one the test states. The comparison's practical stake is that figure – the wall's cavity and the wire the fire would meet there – and the jacket's listing is the one the install reads.
When the Regular Wire Is the Right Buy
The regular wire is not the lesser product, it is the wire for the other path, and the paths are the ones the code's rules leave open. The run on the wall's surface – the cable the clips hold along the baseboard, the lead the desk's edge dresses – is the open path the general-purpose stock serves, the wire the inspection does not read the jacket for. The floor run under the rug, the shelf's lead, the short connection between the components at the rack: the open paths the regular wire takes, the same copper at the same gauge, and the buy that does not pay for the listing the path does not need. The regular wire is the right buy wherever the run is visible and the code's concealed figure does not apply, and the in wall wire is the buy wherever the drywall covers the path.
The crossover, and the run that changes path
The crossover is the install that starts on the surface and ends behind the wall, and the figure is the transition the wire's run makes. The run that leaves the rack on the wall's surface and turns into the cavity at the plate is the one the listed wire takes for the concealed stretch and the general-purpose stock is the one the open stretch holds – or the one the listed wire carries the whole of, the single stock the run's dress uses. The practical answer is the listed wire for the whole run where the path is mixed, the jacket's figure the one the inspection reads at the concealed stretch, and the crossover is the point the run's path changes rather than the point the wire's gauge does.
In wall speaker wire is the CMR-rated line and the regular speaker wire is the general-purpose stock, both in the gauge range and the two-conductor form; the catalog lists the gauge, the jacket rating and the length per roll, and the run's path is the figure the choice is read against.
Real-World Applications
The new construction's rough-in: the listed stock through the stud bays before the drywall, the jacket's print the figure the inspection reads, and the regular wire nowhere the wall's cavity holds. The desk's pair on the surface: the general-purpose stock along the wall's edge, the open path the code's concealed figure does not reach, and the wire that carries the same signal for the buy the path saves. The retrofit that found the open stock behind the wall: the absent print at the jacket, the comparison the inspection made, and the replacement the listed line the concealed path called for. In each the comparison is the one figure – the jacket's listing – and the run's path is the side of the comparison the install sits on.
Related reading: The decision the rating drives, in full: do i need in wall speaker wire — do-i-need-in-wall-speaker-wire
Related reading: The air-space rating above the CMR: 18/2 plenum speaker wire — 18-2-plenum-speaker-wire
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between in wall and regular speaker wire?
The jacket. The conductors are the same pair at the same gauge, the circuit is the same Class 2 the low voltage puts the line in, and the twist is the same lay. The in wall wire carries the CMR listing the code wants for the concealed run, and the regular wire is the general-purpose stock for the open path. The comparison is the one the jacket's print answers, and the run's path is the figure that decides which the install needs.
Can I use regular speaker wire in the wall?
The concealed run is the path the code reads the jacket for, and the general-purpose stock is the wire the open path takes. The run behind the drywall the code's concealed figure applies to is the one the listed CMR stock serves, and the regular wire is the one the inspection and the insurance read at the wall. The answer for the specific run is the jacket's print the code wants at that path, and the regular wire is the open run's buy rather than the concealed path's.
Does in wall speaker wire sound better?
No – the copper is the same, the gauge is the same, and the signal the line carries is the same. The rating is the jacket's figure, not the conductor's, and the sound the speaker makes is the one the amplifier's output and the run's length produce. The in wall wire is the buy the concealed path requires, and the regular wire carries the same signal on the open path the code's figure does not reach.
When can I use the cheaper regular wire?
Wherever the run is visible and the code's concealed figure does not apply: the surface run the clips hold along the baseboard, the desk's lead, the floor's path under the rug, the short connection at the rack. The open paths take the general-purpose stock at the same gauge and the same copper, and the buy does not pay for the listing the path does not need. The concealed run is the one the listed wire serves, and the path the wall covers is the line the buy crosses.
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