16 4 In Wall Speaker Wire: The Bi-Wire Quad Line
Quick answer / TL;DR: 16 4 in wall speaker wire is the four-conductor 16 AWG line in the CMR jacket – the quad the bi-wire speaker's two post sets take, the front driver's pair and the rear driver's pair in the one run. The 16 AWG carries each pair's loss at the same fraction the 16/2 holds, the quad's count is the bi-wire's requirement, and the concealed path's CMR rating is the jacket the wall's cavity reads. The plate and the jack at each end take the four conductors, and the 16/2 is the two-post speaker's line rather than the quad's.
The 16 4 in wall speaker wire is the four-conductor line the bi-wire run takes: the 16 AWG conductors in the two pairs the speaker's two post sets read, in the CMR jacket the concealed path requires. The 16 4 is the count and the gauge – four conductors, sixteen gauge – and the line is the quad the bi-wire speaker's posts are built for: the front driver's pair and the rear driver's pair in the one jacket, the run that carries both to the wall the speaker's terminals sit at.
This is the quad's view: the four conductors and the pairs they form, the bi-wire speaker the line serves, the jacket the concealed path requires, and the plates and jacks the quad's count takes at each end.
The Four Conductors, and the Pairs They Form
The 16 4 is four conductors at the sixteen gauge, and the figure the count makes is the two pairs the bi-wire speaker reads. The front driver's pair is the first – the plus and the minus the speaker's upper post set takes, the conductors the amplifier's front output drives – and the rear driver's pair is the second, the lower post set's circuit the same amplifier's rear output drives. The four conductors sit in the one jacket, and the pairs are the two circuits the bi-wire's posts split the signal into. The 16 4 is the bi-wire's line the way the 16/2 is the two-post speaker's: the count is the speaker's terminal's requirement, and the gauge is the loss's figure the run's length reads.
| The figure | The 16 4 | The 16/2 | What the difference serves |
|---|---|---|---|
| The conductors | Four, the two pairs | Two, the one pair | The bi-wire's two post sets against the one |
| The pairs | The front and the rear driver's | The single drive | The speaker's terminal the run reaches |
| The gauge | 16 AWG on each conductor | 16 AWG on each | The same loss's fraction at the length |
| The jacket | The CMR, the quad's fill | The CMR, the pair's fill | The concealed path both take |
| The plates | The quad cutout | The two-conductor cutout | The wall's opening the run ends in |
The table is the quad against the standard pair, and the reading is the figure the count serves. The conductors and the pairs are the bi-wire's difference, the gauge is the same loss's figure on each conductor, and the jacket and the plates are the path's and the wall's figures both take at their counts. The 16 4 is the line the speaker's terminal selects when the two post sets are the one the run reaches, and the 16/2 is the line the one post set takes – the count is the speaker's, and the gauge is the run's.
The Bi-Wire Speaker, and the Posts It Serves
The bi-wire speaker is the line's case, and the figure is the two post sets the speaker's terminal presents. The upper set is the front driver's – the tweeter and the midrange's circuit the crossover splits – and the lower is the rear driver's, the woofer's circuit the same crossover's second path takes. The two sets are the bi-wire's requirement: the run the amplifier's two outputs drive to the speaker's two circuits, and the quad the one jacket that carries both to the wall. The 16 4 is the line the bi-wire's posts are built for, and the install that dresses the quad to the speaker's wall is the one the run's count serves – the front pair to the upper posts, the rear to the lower, the two circuits the one jacket's four conductors.
The bi-wire's benefit, and what the quad adds
The bi-wire's figure is the two circuits' separation at the speaker, and the quad's job is to carry the two to the wall in the one run. The separation's benefit is the crossover's two paths driven by the two outputs rather than the one – the figure the speaker's designer built the post sets for – and the quad is the cable that delivers the two circuits to the terminals without the two separate runs the wall would otherwise take. The install that dresses the 16 4 is the one the bi-wire's posts serve: the four conductors in the one jacket, the two pairs to the two post sets, and the wall's opening the quad's plate covers.
The Jacket, the Plates and the Jacks
The quad's path figures are the jacket and the wall's ends, and each carries the count the four conductors require. The jacket is the CMR the concealed path reads – the same rating the 16/2 carries, the quad's fill under the same listing – and the print runs along the wire at the interval the standard sets. The plate is the wall's opening's cover, and the quad's plate carries the four-conductor cutout the jack seats – the two-conductor plate is the standard pair's, and the quad's opening is the one the four conductors' jack takes. The jack is the connector the plate's center seats, the four conductors' terminals the run's end reaches. The 16 4's ends are the quad's plates and jacks, and the install is the one the wall's opening takes at the count the run's conductors state.
The plate's cutout, and the opening the wall takes
The plate's cutout is the figure the wall's opening is dressed with, and the quad's four conductors are the count the cutout serves. The 86-series plate the residential wall stocks carries the cutout the jack's form takes, and the quad's jack is the four-conductor form the plate's opening seats. The wall's opening is the standard single-gang the plate covers, and the figure is the jack's form rather than the opening's size – the quad's jack the four-terminal connector the plate's center holds. The install that dresses the quad's plate is the one the wall's opening takes the standard form around, and the four conductors' terminals are the end the run reaches at the room's wall.
16 4 in wall speaker wire is stocked as the four-conductor 16 AWG line in the CMR jacket, the two pairs the bi-wire's posts read, on the spool and in the box length; the catalog lists the conductor count, the gauge, the rating and the length per roll, and the quad's plates and jacks are the ends the run takes.
Real-World Applications
The bi-wire tower at the front wall: the 16 4 through the stud bay, the two pairs to the speaker's two post sets, the quad's plate the wall's opening, and the jacket's CMR the inspection's figure. The home theater's front stage: the bi-wire's three positions dressed with the quad's runs, the four conductors each, and the plates at the wall the terminals sit at. The retrofit that found the bi-wire posts: the 16/2 the run had carried, the second pair the speaker's lower set was waiting for, and the 16 4 the replacement the four conductors' line. In each the 16 4 in wall speaker wire is the bi-wire's line – the four conductors at the sixteen gauge, the two pairs the post sets read, and the CMR the concealed path's jacket – and the wall's ends are the quad's plates and jacks at the count the run states.
Related reading: The gauge selection the quad sits in, in full: what gauge speaker wire for in wall — what-gauge-speaker-wire-in-wall
Related reading: The two-conductor line the quad extends: 16/2 in wall speaker wire — 16-2-in-wall-speaker-wire
Frequently Asked Questions
What is 16 4 in wall speaker wire?
The four-conductor 16 AWG speaker line in the CMR jacket – the quad the bi-wire speaker's two post sets take, the front driver's pair and the rear driver's pair in the one run. The 16 AWG carries each pair's loss at the same fraction the 16/2 holds, the quad's count is the bi-wire's requirement, and the CMR is the jacket the concealed path's listing answers. The wall's ends take the quad's plates and jacks.
Do I need 16/4 wire for my speakers?
Only if the speaker's terminal presents the two post sets the bi-wire reads – the upper and lower sets the front and rear driver's circuits take. The standard two-post speaker takes the 16/2, and the quad's four conductors are the bi-wire's requirement rather than the single drive's. The check is the speaker's terminal count at the back of the cabinet, and the run's plate and jack follow the count the terminal states.
Can I use 16/4 for a regular speaker?
The quad's four conductors serve the two-post speaker the way one of its pairs serves it – the pair the terminal takes, the extra pair unused at the wall. The 16/4 is the buy the bi-wire's posts justify, and the two-post speaker's line is the 16/2 at the same gauge and the same jacket. The use is the terminal's count, and the quad's extra pair is the routing the bi-wire's posts were the reason for rather than the standard connection's.
What plate does 16/4 wire take at the wall?
The quad's plate – the 86-series cover with the four-conductor cutout the jack's form seats – and the four-terminal jack the plate's center holds. The two-conductor plate is the standard pair's, and the quad's opening is the one the run's four conductors reach. The wall's opening is the standard single-gang the plate covers, and the jack's form is the figure the cutout takes at the count the run's conductors state.
Need a spec-matched hub, cable or adapter for a project? Our engineering and B2B sales team provides datasheets, compatibility notes and volume pricing. Browse the full product list, or review our certifications and test reports before you specify.