12-2 outlet power lines interference with Speaker / Subwoofer in-wall wiring

[DL]

I tried alt.home-theater and alt.home-theater.misc with no results on this specific question.

I am in the process of finishing my basement and have run in-wall speaker wire (Monster CI-Pro) for the speakers and subwoofer lines. Is there a problem running the speaker wiring right next to the normal 12-2 outlet power lines? For a 6' distance, the speaker wires are run next to the power (110v 12-2) wires. Will this cause a problem interference that will be noticable when the AV/Stereo is being used? I was told that this might cause interference with the speaker or subwoofer operation.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

David

[Matt]

David-

It might. It probably will.

Better to avoid running any kind of AV next to power lines.

The problem would be worse if you were running the signal (ie tuner, turntable, cd) output lines near the power wires; however it's always best to keep any AV feeds as far away from AC as possible.

[Bennett Price]

No, you won't cause hum. If you have the equipment at hand, just try it

- put 6' of speaker wire next to an extension cord and listen for hum with and without a load on the extension cord. If the wires were signal (tuner output, e.g.) there might be a problem; if they were magnetic phono cartridge there would definitely be a problem.

[Mark]

Agreed, a speaker lead is not likely to pick up hum. Good suggestion to try it.

Mark

[Jeff Wisnia]

While I too wouldn't think that you could induce enough hum into speaker leads to hear it, especially if you twisted the speaker leads about one turn per foot, it is interesting to see that the Monster Cable Company recommends keeping speaker leads away from power cables. See the penultimate sentence in the second section on this page:

And as you just implied, "One successful test is worth a thousand expert opinions."

Jeff

[Bill]

As others have said you probably won't get any noticeable hum. But have you considered safety? I recommend that you don't have any signal cables in the same wall cavity as power cables. A short is unlikely, but if it happens it could be serious.

Bill Gill

[w_tom]

The issue is safety. Power wires should always remain at least a few inches separated from low voltages. This for both human safety and for transistor safety.

[Matt]

True that. I fail to see the added value of a 10/2 stranded cable from monster at what, $75; and a 10/2 stranded cable over in the wiring section at lowes for $10.

As if anyone really needed 10 guage wire for speaqkers in the first place.

Personally, I just buy standard lamp cord for my speakers.

[Chris Lewis]

According to w_tom :

Treat AV wiring as class II low voltage wiring: As much as possible, it should be kept at least 12" away from power, and cross only at right angles.

It seems particularly silly to buy stupidly expensive Monster Cables to reduce noise, and, yet, put it right next to noise sources - that will induce orders of magnitude more noise (not that it's that much with speakers) than the Monster Cable could feasibly eliminate.

If you're going to spend the money on Monster Cable myth, you might as well go all the way.

[Chris Lewis]

According to Jeff Wisnia :

If one relied on the "one successful test" theory, nobody'd buy Monster Cable either ;-)

[DL]

I purchased the cable I did because it was rated for in-wall and the gauge of the wire, not the brand name, it just happened to be Monster cable. I went to several local retailers and did not find what I wanted. I also feel that I got a decent deal on the internet for the wire. What does this have to do with buying the Brooklyn Bridge. While I do agree that prices on Monster cable can be very high if you don't shop around and buy in larger quantities, it's dirt cheap compared to some of the high end specialty wiring that aduiophiles pay for their cabling. I also don't think it is of the same quality of lamp cord purchased at Home Depot or Lowes.

[w_tom]