Which Speaker wire

[jstutman]

Im looking at monoprice and I dont know enough about speaker wire to really tell what guage I would need for home theatre speakers. The higher the guage the thicker? These are just a set of Candence speakers. Center,Right,Left,Surround R, and Surround L. They accept standard cable red/black (The kind you push the button and slide the wire in)

[thideras]

Can't help you much except lower gauge is bigger.

[Xtreme Barton]

Thideras is right about lower gauge being thicker ... some may argue the fact but i think you will be just fine with 12 or 16 gauge ..not a huge deal imo

[Mpegger]

There are simple formulas for calculating wire thickness for run according to the voltage/wattage being used, to get a good idea of what wire size you will need. Do a simple search on Google for those formulas.

That being said, 16 gauge is normal for low wattage or short runs, 14 gauge for medium wattage or long runs, 12 gauge for moderate wattage or long runs, and 10 gauge or smaller (smaller AWG = thicker wire) for heavy wattage and/or very long runs.

The wattage I speak of is constant as well. If your amp/reciever states 70Watts per channel, at normal volume levels its probably only putting out a constant 20-30Watts. So a short run wouldnt need anything more then 16AWG (gauge). A long run could even be fine with 16AWG in that wattage range.

Personally, I always go with 14AWG minimum.

[Adragontattoo]

I got the in wall cable, dont buy that, it is standard low voltage Red/Black cable and NOT actual speaker wire (though I havent noticed any ill effects from it yet).

[bchur83]

I would go with some 14Ga or 16Ga wire from Monoprice. I have bought quite a few rolls of 16Ga from them and it works great. I have a 100W x 7 Yamaha Receiver and it works great. Go with 16Ga if your receiver is less than 100W per channel, and 14Ga if it is more than 100W per channel.

[Mr. Roboto]

I use 14 gauge for my home theater. I would probably be fine with 16, but I just feel better about it heh.

[LandShark]

in my dedicated home theater, I use 16gauge one for all of my front channel speakers which is just a few feet away from the receiver. however, I'm using 12gauge in-wall speakers for my rear surround tho since they are 20+feet away.

rule of thumb is you use the lower gauge (thicker wire) for long distance connection, the higher gauge for short run.

[GreenJelly]

best cable... No name 12 or 14 Gauge cables from a site like http://www.cablesforless.com/

I like the look of 12 gauge wires, though they can have problems depending on how your speaker jacks are hooked up.

Dont buy brand name, look for gold connectors on the co-axle, Speaker cables, and flexibility.

Co-Axle cables are nice with good heads on them, but they are not needed. Their is allot of hype from sales people who want to sell you $1000 speaker cables because their markup is huge. However the real world, scientific tests, utilizing top of the line audio gear and compairing $1000+ cables to coat hangers strung together has shown no difference. These tests are performed with people who have tested way above average hearing, using psychologists, electrical engineers, audio engineers, and acustical friendly environments.... We are talking about a 1/2 million dollar audio system with coat hangers as audio cables...

[jstutman]

Well hello cablesforless.com I normally use monoprice but they are backordered until next month. cablesforless, around the same price and they have them in stock.

Thanks GreenJelly

[GreenJelly]

Monoprice is a great company too.