Designer in wall wiring - worth it?

@invalid Said:

@jea48  this is the one I was looking at, and it does say it has a EGC.

Where does it say that?

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Audience In-Wall AC cable

 Look at the two pictures shown  in the article. The first one only shows a shielding drain wire. Not an EGC, (Equipment Grounding Conductor) wire.

The second picture you can clearly see the cable jacket says CL3  (rated ???).

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@kennyc  & @zlone 

10/2 AWG solid copper MC (Metal Clad) cable, Aluminum Clad, is very good for branch circuit wiring. Better than Romex, imo.

"MC" NOT "AC/BX"  

Optimized Power Distribution and Grounding for Audio, Video and Electronic Systems       

Pages 11, 12, & 13.

Metal Clad (MC) is manufactured in both steel and aluminum with twisted conductors that help reduce AC magnetic fields. Although the steel jacket helps reduce AC magnetic fields, the twisting of conductors has the greatest effect on reducing these fields. Another benefit is the constant symmetry of the phase conductors with respect to the grounding conductor which greatly reduces voltage induction on the grounding wire. (NEC article: 330

Two conductor plus 1 ground MC (Metal Clad) is a good choice for Non-Isolated Ground A/V systems. MC cable contains a safety grounding conductor (wire). The three conductors in the MC cable (Line, Neutral and Ground) are uniformly twisted, reducing both induced voltages on the ground wire and radiated AC magnetic fields. The NEC article 250.118 (10)a prohibits the use of this cable for isolated ground circuits because the metal jacket is not considered a grounding conductor, and it is not rated for fault current. 

AC Magnetic Field Strengths from Different Wiring Types
AC current flowing through a conductor will create an AC magnetic field along the entire length of the wire, the magnitude of which will vary in proportion to the amount of current. This field may inductively couple noise voltage to signal wires running parallel, which can result in hum and buzz. The longer the run of these parallel wires, the greater the inductively coupled noise voltage will be. Cable shields, whether braid and/or foil type, cannot attenuate AC magnetic fields, they ONLY attenuate electric fields

Phasing of Supply Conductors

.......  Furthermore, if a signal cable is connecting two pieces of
ungrounded equipment powered from opposite phases, the leakage current flowing in it will increase (causing more noise) as compared to powering the equipment from the same phase

Read page 25

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Ground Myths

page 28

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Maybe a 180 turn.

After looking at the Cable Company Audience spec also posted by @jea48 above, then calculating I’d need ~ 70ft of AC wall cable which is ~$1500, and considering both Enjoy The Music positive review and Audience’s established long lived positive reputation, I might go this route if I can verify that it’s completely compliant with government safety standards maybe by a licensed electrician. I’m seeking the lowest noise floor for my highly transparent system.

@jea48  it says it right here 

Hidden Treasure in-wall AC power cable provides high-performance AC power distribution intended to be used from your house breaker to the wall outlet. It features three 10 AWG stranded copper conductors plus a ground making it applicable for 120V and 240V applications plus flexible interlocked aluminum armor. The wire is cryogenically treated to relieve stresses that can be imparted to the wire during manufacturing and to re-align the microstructure in the copper for improved conductivity. The conductors are foil-shielded to provide rejection from external electrical noise. The dielectric (insulation) is made from XLPE cross-linked polyethylene insulation with a PVC sleeve for unmatched durability and performance. Hidden Treasure In-Wall AC Power Cable is also treated by our proprietary EHVP, which applies extreme high voltages at specific pulse modulations, frequencies, and amplitudes in differing ratios. This very special process creates predictable paths through the crystalline grain structure providing continuity and integrity to the AC signal.

Hidden Treasure is flexible and easy to install and has a diameter of 0.72 inches (18.3 mm

@invalid said

It features three 10 AWG stranded copper conductors plus a ground making it applicable for 120V and 240V applications plus flexible interlocked aluminum armor.

That’s a horse of a different color...

That is not the cable shown Here Enjoy The Music positive review, or here,  Hidden Treasure In-Wall AC Power Cable on the "Cable Company" Website.

IT sounds like it’s MC (Metal Clad) cable.

Can you provide an ad, website, that shows the cable and a description of the cable’s make-up.

Example:

10/2 x 125 ft. Stranded CU MC (Metal Clad) Armorlite Cable  

I personally would use solid copper wire, Not stranded.  

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