Customer Reviews:
 Great Product - Great Price - Good Buy June 27, 2006
Techsavvy (Florida, USA)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
I'm building a new home theater in my home (18'W X 38'L X 10'H) and needed something that would be easy to install and easy to work with.
This is a two wire, 12 gauge, well insulated cable in a 250 ' spool. The insulation covering is cobalt blue on one wire and silver on the other. There are multiple benefits of having colored insulation on the wire, namely it is very easy to distinguish positive (+) and negative (-) posts at each end. No need to look for a serial number or marking on on side of the wire set like so many others, although you can find similar colored insulation covered products from other manufacturers.
The wire itself was easy to work with as well. As this is a fairly long room, and as is the case with any surround sound system (I'm installing 7.1), I needed to run cable in a fashion that equaled roughly 42 linear feet for the longest runs (my front L, C and R speakers). Remember in a surround sound system to get the proper sound effect all wires for each set must be equal in length. That means that the left right and center speakers, as an example, must be the same length of cable run, even though one speaker is closer to the AV receiver or amplifier. The same is true for dipolar speakers on the side wall (7.1 systems only) and the two rear directional speakers (7.1 and 5.1). If you have unequal wire runs you will likely have problems with sound effects and latency of sound distribution. This problem can be remedied in some instances by using your AVR to balance the speakers manually, sometimes with a higher end AVR using and automatic feature (Onkyo, Yahama, Dennon, etc.)and sometimes you can't fix it at all.
To do my installation I used some flexible 1 1/4" PVC to create a conduit (it's much neater and easier to install and maintain in a conduit). The Metra wire, when the ends were taped together, was easy to run through the conduit (no fish wire needed) because of the heavy guage of the wire. Remember if you have to cross AC power run your speaker wire at a 90 degree angle to the AC wire to eliminate interference (noise that sounds like static) from the AC wire.
I found out about this wire when I questioned several high end Home Theater installers to ask them what gauge and brand of wire they used. I saved more than 60% over the lowest price quoted to me (Tweeter) and more than 80% from the highest (HT installer for the wire only - no labor).
Summary. Great product, well insulated, wonderful impedence ratio, easy to work with and a good buy.
Word to the wise. I spent a lot of time planning my system, all the way down to the wire. Don't believe everything you read or are told. Do your own research and compare all the applicable specs. A Home Theater, even if you are only spending $2,500 in a big investment. Don't buy overhyped products (like Monster) that command a premium price but don't have any meaningful technology benefits. The Metra cable wasn't the least expensive I found, and it certainly wasn't the most expensive, but it was just what I needed at a great price. I could have bought thinner wire (14 gauge) with less cabalility (impedence range was a big factor)and saved a few bucks, but I'm glad I bought Metra.
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