Do I need to change my gauge?

[Zman2k2]

Right now, I'm running 14 ga. to my fronts and 16 ga. to my rear speakers. I've been wondering lately if changing the wiring would benefit me at all, especially going to a larger gauge for all speakers, at say a 12 ga. all around. Would I get any acoustic benefits do you think? Would the receiver run a little cooler with less resistance on the cable runs? Speak up, and help me out please.

[Twitch9]

How long of a run to the rears, 14 is plenty to run to the fronts and 16 is good for under 50', but if it was me i would run 12 to every speaker, but that's my preference.

[solarrdadd]

i'd say it depends on how much your pushing and how far. in most instances #14 would be fine, but, if you've got a really good receiver or a high powered amp and some real nice speakers on the other end of either and your running a 5 or 7.1 then here is what I recommend:

front L & R, Center #12 or 10 (10 for some people might be overkill but...)
surround L & R # 14 or 12 (12 for runs longer than 50' from source)
surround back L & R or one channel surround #14 or 12 (12 for runs longer than 75')

now those were just my recommendations do what you feel. my setup has the following
fronts & center #10 (biwired, please don't ask!)
surrounds and surround backs #14 (biwired, please don't ask!)
All less than 35' from the source. I'm very happy with my choice of wire sizes.

I'm also prepared for the amp I'm getting at the end of this month or the first week of May and it throws out 200wpc x 5 and yes, I mean a real amp! the Emotiva XPS-5

whatever wire you go with make sure you can live with what you use and not have regrets. if you think the bigger wire is better for your piece of mind then it won't hurt a thing and you will sleep better. but remember the larger the wires the more difficult they become to work with and hide.
imo...

[VinnAY]

You should also change the air in your tires, change your blinker fluid, and check your muffler bearings.. That would be about as useful as what you're suggesting.

[DIY_HD]

This topic was covered very well in a sticky.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...e+Gauge+length

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by Zman2k2

Right now, I'm running 14 ga. to my fronts and 16 ga. to my rear speakers. I've been wondering lately if changing the wiring would benefit me at all, especially going to a larger gauge for all speakers, at say a 12 ga. all around. Would I get any acoustic benefits do you think? Would the receiver run a little cooler with less resistance on the cable runs? Speak up, and help me out please.

despite some of the remarks made here, (which were of no help)I think your wires are fine unless your runs from the source are excessive. changing the wire size unless your running incredibley long distances won't make your receiver run cooler. if your receiver is really hot you should make sure it has plenty of space around it for natural cooling and think about the proper a/v type fan if it's really hot. of course that might be a bad sign if it's really hot. as for the resistance thing, i think if your under that 50' range you should be ok even with the 16 gauge. but again, feel free to up the size if you think it will make you feel better there is nothing wrong with doing it. as long as your not causing harm to your system then I say go for it no matter what they say!

[Zman2k2]

Thanks for the help Twitch9 and solarrdadd. VinnAY, I assume from your comments that you're using coat hangers to connect your speakers.

The thought came to me as I was flipping through the manual for my receiver, and it states that in the 6-ohm config. that I'm using right now, I should be getting 150W to each speaker. Then I started wondering, "Am I really getting 150W?" Because if you read Sound and Vision or Home Theater Mag, you see quite frequently that the rated power is alot higher than the actual measured power by these testers. So I started wondering if I should concern myself with running new wire or just continue with what I have. I'll probably leave it, because none of my runs are over 50ft. and the receiver doesn't run too hot. More thinking out loud than anything else I guess.