What is difference between speaker wire 12, 14 and 16 gauge?

[mugupo]

Which is worth the money?
idea for receive hd audio?

link

With those speaker wire, do all i need is to cut them and attach to the speaker, is there other tool i need?

[brett_day]

the difference is the thickness of the wire. the lower the number the thicker the wire. Generally if you have wire runs under 40ft 16 gauge will be sufficient. If you have wire runs longer than that then you would need a thicker wire....14 gauge up to 100ft, 12 gauge anything over 100ft

All you need to do to connect the wire is remove the plastic shielding that covers the wire, and then i normally twist the strands together, then just connect them to your speakers and receiver. You can get a wire stripper if you need to, i just use a sharp knife to remove the shielding

[DavePS3]

There are those who say 12 guage carries bass better than 18 guage. I haven't proven or dis-proven this personally but generally, for small satellite speakers, they often use 16 or even 18 while bigger speakers tend to use 12 or 14. What it also comes down to is what size holes are in the speaker terminals on the speaker and the receiver. Bare wire connections are fine as long as you make sure no loose strands are touching metal or a starnd from the positive touches a stand from the negative. Your receiver will keep shutting down in that case. Bare wire will also tend to oxydize over the years... (get dull brown) but the sound difference is small. If it oxydizes in 10 years, just re-cut and re-strip.

[Disky76]

I use 16 guage in my theatre and my HDTV setup. I have been very happy with the outcome.

[Johnny Vinyl]

The only gauge wire I've ever used is 12AWG, but that is my preference. I've also upgraded that gauge from your standard, basic everyday wire to something more substantial and it has made a difference. But that topic is being discussed in your other thread, so no need for me to elaborate further on that point.

John

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by brett_day

the difference is the thickness of the wire. the lower the number the thicker the wire. Generally if you have wire runs under 40ft 16 gauge will be sufficient. If you have wire runs longer than that then you would need a thicker wire....14 gauge up to 100ft, 12 gauge anything over 100ft

All you need to do to connect the wire is remove the plastic shielding that covers the wire, and then i normally twist the strands together, then just connect them to your speakers and receiver. You can get a wire stripper if you need to, i just use a sharp knife to remove the shielding

Thank's for the info Brett. I was just going to ask about this, but as usual, it pays to use the search......

[Johk]

Originally Posted by brett_day

the difference is the thickness of the wire. the lower the number the thicker the wire. Generally if you have wire runs under 40ft 16 gauge will be sufficient. If you have wire runs longer than that then you would need a thicker wire....14 gauge up to 100ft, 12 gauge anything over 100ft

The proper lengths depend on the load (impedance) of the speaker.

Check out this article on Audioholics for more complete information. The following are the max recommended distance based on speaker gauge (taken from Audioholics).

18 AWG
Distance for 8ohm load: 10 ft
Distance for 4ohm load: 5 ft

16 AWG
Distance for 8ohm load: 20 ft
Distance for 4ohm load: 10 ft

14 AWG
Distance for 8ohm load: 35 ft
Distance for 4ohm load: 18 ft

12 AWG
Distance for 8ohm load: 60 ft
Distance for 4ohm load: 30 ft

10 AWG
Distance for 8ohm load: 100 ft
Distance for 4ohm load: 50 ft

[Hangedman]

What about those cables:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/14-Ga-GAUGE-HIGH-...#ht_4085wt_939

Good enough quality for my new and first ever Home Theatre ?