So you’ve recently purchased or are looking to purchase an outdoor speaker system. You have the whole setup planned out and can’t wait to get your sound system set up. Before you get started with the speaker installation process, you should be sure that you have everything you need. If you are planning to use the standard speaker wires that come with your speaker system, you will want to reconsider.
If you are serious about your outside speaker system, and want it to last, it is definitely worth buying outdoor speaker wire. While standard speaker wires may work fine in the short term, they will eventually break down and decompose, especially if placed underground. If the plastic coating opens up and the wire breaks, this can easily result in a blown speaker or blown amplifier. It is not worth risking the permanent damage to your speakers.
So what should you look for when purchasing outdoor speaker wire? If you are planning on putting your speakers underground, you will most certainly want to get burial grade wire. Speaker wires in general tend to be composed of copper, aluminum or a combination of the two. The best material is 100% copper, as copper is a better conductor than aluminum. Burial grade wire is most commonly covered with a polyethylene coating, which is crucial in protecting the wire against UV rays (if above ground) and decomposition (if below ground). The polyethylene coating is also water resistant, so you won’t have to worry about rainfall doing damage to your outside speakers.
Outdoor speaker wire such as burial grade wire is most commonly available as 2 conductor or 4 conductor versions. 2 conductor outdoor speaker wire is more prevalent, as this is a standard wire with a positive wire (+) and a negative wire (-). One wire will usually be red and one will be black to avoid confusion when setting up the system. 4 conductor outdoor speaker wire has two sets of positive and negative wires and is useful when setting up your speaker system to multiple channels.
Another great advantage to outdoor speaker wire is that it is offered in multiple lengths. If you have a bigger outdoor area to work with, you will want to get speaker wire that extends up to 500 ft, or even 1000 ft. If you are setting your outside speakers up in a smaller area, then 100 feet of outdoor speaker wire should suffice. Measure the area before you purchase the speaker wire though, because there is a big difference in price. 100 feet of high quality outdoor speaker wire will go for about $35. Parts Express sells 100 ft burial wire with a durable polyethylene coating and is composed of 99.9% copper wire. The 500 ft wire from parts express has the same coating and wire composition, but is much pricier at about $155. So you will definitely want to be sure of the dimensions of the space you are placing the speaker system in so you can avoid overpaying.