Speaker Wire Gauge

[daveslounge]

Hi, I just bought a new system, and I'm in the process of hooking up the wiring to the seven speakers. This is a LOT of wiring!
I've spent a lot of money on speaker wire, 16 gauge. But I have run out of the good stuff, so here is my question...
Does it really matter?
I finished the back speakers off with a few feet of radio-shack generic stuff, and it seems to work fine, as sound comes from them!

[ixlegitballinxl]

if it sounds good, your good to go

[daveslounge]

Originally Posted by ixlegitballinxl

if it sounds good, your good to go

Sorry if I messed this up!
So the gauge of the speaker wire doesn't matter?
If this is true, I'm kinda ticked!
I imagine it does matter when hooking up a centre or front.
Thanks....this new surround is nothing but a pain in the bum (Denon AVR-588)...
Not recommended for newbies (such as myself!)

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by daveslounge

Sorry if I messed this up!
So the gauge of the speaker wire doesn't matter?
If this is true, I'm kinda ticked!
I imagine it does matter when hooking up a centre or front.
Thanks....this new surround is nothing but a pain in the bum (Denon AVR-588)...
Not recommended for newbies (such as myself!)

Really it's more important to have thicker cable for the longer runs (i.e. surrounds) but I use larger wiring all-around, but it's not going to make a big difference regardless (or noticeable difference I should say)

[Moefiz]

I used 16GA and it work's great.I got it from Amazon for 30.00 bucks for 100ft and I also used banana plugs which are a pain in the ass to plug into the reciever but its worth it.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Moefiz

I used 16GA and it work's great.I got it from Amazon for 30.00 bucks for 100ft and I also used banana plugs which are a pain in the ass to plug into the reciever but its worth it.

If it's a pain to connect them, how is it worth it?? The only real benefit is the "convenience" they give you to connect/disconnect.

[johnnymech]

When it comes to speaker wire, do a Google search for the test where someone used a metal coat hanger to attach speakers. People listening couldn't tell the difference between the speakers that used the coat hanger, and Monster brand cable.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by johnnymech

When it comes to speaker wire, do a Google search for the test where someone used a metal coat hanger to attach speakers. People listening couldn't tell the difference between the speakers that used the coat hanger, and Monster brand cable.

I think that whole experiment was rather dubious, myself. I have performed my own experiements with different speaker cables and identified differences most times I changed cables.

IIRC, the article to which you refer says nothing about how the equipment was set up, or what the equipment was. In other words, very unscientific.

[rogman]

Originally Posted by daveslounge

Hi, I just bought a new system, and I'm in the process of hooking up the wiring to the seven speakers. This is a LOT of wiring!
I've spent a lot of money on speaker wire, 16 gauge. But I have run out of the good stuff, so here is my question...
Does it really matter?
I finished the back speakers off with a few feet of radio-shack generic stuff, and it seems to work fine, as sound comes from them!

I'd never use anything less than 12 gauge. Especially for longer runs. Sure, you'll still get sound, even from a coat hanger, but is that really the way to go?

[chasarms]

Originally Posted by johnnymech

When it comes to speaker wire, do a Google search for the test where someone used a metal coat hanger to attach speakers. People listening couldn't tell the difference between the speakers that used the coat hanger, and Monster brand cable.

A coat hanger is a solid core wire roughly equivilent to 10-12 AWG wiring in thickness. Because it is solid core, it would actually be MORE efficent.

So, apart from the fact that is it not flexible nor insulated, a coat hanger is actually very good speaker wire, and we should not be surprised that it sounded as good as Monster wire.

To answer the OP, as long as you used a speaker wire rated for the output of the receiver, you should expect it to perform just fine.

[b00st]

Originally Posted by richteer

I think that whole experiment was rather dubious, myself. I have performed my own experiements with different speaker cables and identified differences most times I changed cables.

IIRC, the article to which you refer says nothing about how the equipment was set up, or what the equipment was. In other words, very unscientific.

the real challenge comes in when you don't know if its been changed or not...and just listening. otherwise the placebo effect always comes into play. you know its changed therefore it must sound better or worse, etc.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by b00st

the real challenge comes in when you don't know if its been changed or not...and just listening. otherwise the placebo effect always comes into play. you know its changed therefore it must sound better or worse, etc.

exactly......

Reading some of the other threads, people will spend $400 on speakers, but run banana plugs, 16 guage cables, get line filters, etc etc etc.....

Ever hear the saying "you can't shine a turd" ???

[ixlegitballinxl]

i use 16 gauge..sounds great...no speakers are more then 15ft away from receiver....

[chasarms]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

. . .Ever hear the saying "you can't shine a turd" ???

Actually, you can. But, you still have . . . well, a . . .

[Pelican170]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Really it's more important to have thicker cable for the longer runs (i.e. surrounds) but I use larger wiring all-around, but it's not going to make a big difference regardless (or noticeable difference I should say)

Agree!

[jkwest]

the more wire you have in the line, the more juice that you can supply to the speaker at one time. I have 14 on all of my speakers, except my outside ones. I used 16 for that and if I used my speaker switch from one side of the outside to the other, or both, then you can hear the actual degradation of sound coming from the speakers.

The longer the run, the fatter the wire. Anything over 50 ft do not use less than 16...thats the rule of thumb.

[chasarms]

Originally Posted by jkwest

the more wire you have in the line, the more juice that you can supply to the speaker at one time. I have 14 on all of my speakers, except my outside ones. I used 16 for that and if I used my speaker switch from one side of the outside to the other, or both, then you can hear the actual degradation of sound coming from the speakers.

The longer the run, the fatter the wire. Anything over 50 ft do not use less than 16...thats the rule of thumb.

The heavier the wire, the LOWER the number. For example, 14 AWG wire is thicker than 16.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by b00st

the real challenge comes in when you don't know if its been changed or not...and just listening. otherwise the placebo effect always comes into play. you know its changed therefore it must sound better or worse, etc.

True, one must be aware of the placebo effect. But in some of the experiments I've acrried out, I could detect no difference. SO hopefully not all of my differences are due to the placebo effect!

[Tok]

16ga is more than adequate for most HT applications. Again it is extremely long runs that benefit from lower gauge thicker wire and that is primarily due to the resistance characteristics. Lower gauge/thicker/higher strand count wire will have a lower inherent resistive characteristic.

Even with an extremely long run the lower gauge wire may only gain you 1dB. Most people don't detect a volume difference until at normal listening levels until there is a 3dB difference.

Another thing to be aware of especially if running wire in wall is that lower gauge wire is more rigid and becomes a problem if you have to make tight corners in a confined area.

[nezff]

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2
this is what i used