Speaker Cabling.

[khrall]

I'm wanting to run cabling for my rears whilst laying some new flooring in the next couple of weeks.

I'll be running from a banana plug wall socket to another socket, about a 3 - 4 meter run, under laminate within channels in the 6mm underlay.

My questions:
What type of cabling should I be looking at?
2.5mm² enough?
Any preferred manufacturers or non-branded suffice?

 

[khrall]

Thanks for your input all, having now done some proper research, instead of last nights "had a drink-must find good cable panic browsing as finally have flooring".

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_wire

Maximum wire lengths for two conductor copper wire[3]

Wire size 2 Ω load 4 Ω load 6 Ω load 8 Ω load
22 AWG (0.326 mm²) 3 ft (0.9 m) 6 ft (1.8 m) 9 ft (2.7 m) 12 ft (3.6 m)
20 AWG (0.518 mm²) 5 ft (1.5 m) 10 ft (3 m) 15 ft (4.5 m) 20 ft (6 m)
18 AWG (0.823 mm²) 8 ft (2.4 m) 16 ft (4.9 m) 24 ft (7.3 m) 32 ft (9.7 m)
16 AWG (1.31 mm²) 12 ft (3.6 m) 24 ft (7.3 m) 36 ft (11 m) 48 ft (15 m)
14 AWG (2.08 mm²) 20 ft (6.1 m) 40 ft (12 m) 60 ft (18 m)* 80 ft (24 m)*
12 AWG (3.31 mm²) 30 ft (9.1 m) 60 ft (18 m)* 90 ft (27 m)* 120 ft (36 m)*
10 AWG (5.26 mm²) 50 ft (15 m) 100 ft (30 m)* 150 ft (46 m)* 200 ft (61 m)*

* While in theory heavier wire can have longer runs, recommended household audio lengths should not exceed 50 feet (15 m).[3]

So for a 5meter run (should be my max) and with 4Ω being the lowest typical resistance for speakers, I'll need a min of 1mm².

So my main limiting factor is the 6mm heigh of the underlay, looks cheaper than I initially though. Especially having found some reasonably priced speaker terminals at b&q http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9686727&fh_view_size=10&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB&fh_search=philex&fh_eds=%c3%9f&fh_refview=search&ts=1250948839986&isSearch=true