Speaker Wire Wall Jack: The Plate the Run Ends In

Quick answer / TL;DR: A speaker wire wall jack is the wall plate the in wall run terminates at: an 86-series cover seating a connector – the spring-loaded or the binding post two-conductor form, or the quad for the bi-wire run – in the box the drywall's opening holds. The jack takes the run's conductors on its back and presents the post or the socket on its face, and the speaker's lead plugs or clamps at the front. The count follows the run's conductors, the type follows the install's connection, and the plate is the run's finished end at the room's wall.

The speaker wire wall jack is the plate the in wall run ends in: the cover the run's conductors are terminated at, the connector the speaker's lead plugs into, and the wall's opening the run's dress finishes at. The jack is the run's visible end – the point the concealed wire meets the room's cable – and the figures are the plate's form, the connector's type and the conductor's count the run carries.

This is the jack's view: the plate's form and the box it seats in, the two-conductor and quad counts the runs take, the keystone and binding post types, and the install the run's end is dressed at.

The Plate, the Box and the Connector

The jack is three pieces, and each carries a figure the run's end reads. The plate is the 86-series cover – the standard wall's face, the screws the box's mounts take – and its figure is the opening's finish at the wall. The box is the opening's frame – the low-voltage bracket or the standard box the drywall's cut holds – and its figure is the opening's size the plate's cover seats over. The connector is the plate's center – the jack the run's conductors terminate at, the socket or the post the speaker's lead meets – and its figure is the count and the type the run's conductors state. The plate, the box and the connector are the jack's three pieces, and the run's end is the figure they are selected at together.

The table is the jack's four figures, and the reading is the run's end at each. The plate is the finish, the box is the opening's frame, the connector is the count, and the type is the lead's meet. The jack is the four figures selected together, and the run's end is dressed at them – the plate's cover, the box's frame, the connector's terminals and the type's socket or post.

The Count, and the Run's Conductors

The count is the connector's first figure, and the run's conductors are the one it follows. The two-conductor jack is the standard speaker's – the plus and the minus the run's pair carries, the terminals the two conductors seat at – and the quad is the bi-wire's, the four conductors the 16/4 run takes. The count is the run's own figure, and the jack's connector is the one the count selects: the two for the standard pair, the four for the quad's two pairs. The plate's cutout follows the count, and the connector's terminals are the figure the run's conductors are dressed at on the plate's back.

The quad's termination, and the pairs' map

The quad's termination is the four conductors' figure, and the pairs' map is the one the bi-wire's two circuits read. The four conductors seat at the connector's four terminals, and the pairs' map – the front driver's pair and the rear's – is the figure the speaker's two post sets are dressed from. The plate's back is the run's end the conductors terminate at, and the face's connector is the four-terminal jack the speaker's leads meet. The quad's count is the bi-wire's figure, and the pairs' map at the termination is the one the run's end is dressed at the wall.

The Type, and the Speaker's Lead

The type is the connector's second figure, and the speaker's lead is the one it meets. The binding post is the face's terminal – the post the lead's spade, the banana or the bare wire clamps at – and the figure is the connection the speaker's cable makes at the plate. The spring-loaded socket is the push-in form – the lead's bare end the spring's contact holds – and the figure is the quick connection the install's finish takes. The type is the connection's figure, and the jack's face is the plate's front the speaker's lead is dressed at. The binding post is the permanent connection's form, and the spring's socket is the quick one – the figure the install's finish selects.

The plate's back, and the run's dress

The plate's back is the run's dress's figure, and the conductors' terminals are the ones the in wall wire is dressed at. The run's conductors come through the box's opening and seat at the connector's back terminals – the two or the four – and the dress's figure is the strip and the seat at the plate's rear. The plate's cover then seats over the box, and the run's end is the finish the wall's face shows. The back's termination and the front's connection are the jack's two faces, and the run's dress is the one the plate's rear is finished at before the cover is seated.

The Install, and the Opening's Figure

The jack's install is the opening's figure, and the sequence is the cut, the bracket, the termination and the cover. The opening is the drywall's cut at the bay's width and the terminal's level – the single-gang the plate covers – and the bracket is the frame the opening's edge is finished with. The termination is the run's conductors at the connector's back, and the cover is the plate's face the opening is finished at. The install's figures are the same ones the run's end has – the opening's size, the conductors' count, the type's connection – and the jack is the piece the run's end is dressed at. The install is the sequence the opening's figure is read in, and the plate's cover is the wall's face the run's end finishes at.

Speaker wire wall jacks are stocked in the 86-series plate form with the two-conductor and the quad connectors, the binding post and the spring-loaded socket types, and the low-voltage brackets the openings take; the catalog lists the plate form, the connector's count and the type per part number.

Real-World Applications

The living room's pair at the wall: the two-conductor binding post jack, the run's pair terminated at the back, and the speaker's lead the post clamps at the face. The bi-wire tower's wall: the quad jack's four terminals, the pairs' map the two post sets read, and the plate's cutout the four conductors' figure. The retrofit's opening: the drywall's cut at the bay's width, the low-voltage bracket's frame, and the spring-loaded socket the speaker's lead pushes into. In each the wall jack is the run's finished end – the plate's cover, the box's frame, the connector's count and the type's connection – and the wall's opening is the figure the run's dress is read at before the cover seats.

Related reading: The retrofit's opening the jack finishes: how to run speaker wire through finished walls — speaker-wire-through-finished-walls

Related reading: The pre-wired home's ends the jacks dress: house pre wired for speakers — house-pre-wired-for-speakers

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a speaker wire wall jack?

The wall plate the in wall run terminates at: an 86-series cover seating a connector – the two-conductor or the quad, the binding post or the spring-loaded socket – in the box the drywall's opening holds. The jack takes the run's conductors on its back and presents the post or the socket on its face, and the speaker's lead plugs or clamps at the front. It is the run's finished end at the room's wall.

Do I need a wall jack for in wall speakers?

The jack is the run's finished end – the plate the conductors terminate at and the face the speaker's lead meets – and the install that brings the run to the wall's surface takes it. The run the drywall covers without the plate is the wire the speaker's lead is dressed from at the opening, and the jack is the finish the room's wall presents. The plate's figure is the run's end, and the install that wants the wall's face finished takes the jack's cover.

What type of wall jack should I use for speakers?

The count follows the run's conductors – the two-conductor for the standard pair, the quad for the bi-wire – and the type follows the connection the install wants: the binding post for the permanent clamp of the spade, the banana or the bare wire, and the spring-loaded socket for the quick push-in. The plate is the 86-series cover, the box the opening's bracket, and the connector the figure the count and the type select.

Can I use an RCA wall plate for speakers?

The RCA plate is the line-level connection's form, and the speaker run's plate is the binding post or the spring-loaded socket the speaker's lead clamps at. The two plates are the two circuits' – the RCA for the line-level signal, the speaker's post for the amplifier's output – and the count and the type are the figures the run's own end takes. The plate's form follows the circuit the run carries, and the speaker's run is the post or the socket's.

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