what gauge speaker wire?

[ctciatti]

Hello again. Ordering speaker wire. Going to get the in wall stuff from monoprice. What gauge should I get? 2112ci pushing Bowers & Wilkins VM1's and M-1's. Is 14 gauge going to work, or should I get 12?

this is what I'm looking at:

For only $21.20 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 100ft 14AWG CL2 Rated 2-Conductor Loud Speaker Cable (For In-Wall Installation)

 

[Steve81]

How long are the runs you're planning?

 

[Pyrrho]

There is a chart here that will tell you:

Speaker Wire

It is based on the impedance of the speakers, and the length of wire that will be used.

 

[gmichael]

For the minimal price difference, I always get the 12.

 

[lsiberian]

For the minimal price difference, I always get the 12.

It can be a pain to feed though if you got some tight holes though.

 

[gmichael]

It can be a pain to feed though if you got some tight holes though.

Heh heh heh... You said ....T.H.

 

[gmichael]

It can be inflexible at times. Even down right tough to work with. But I like overkill.

 

[Steve81]

But I like overkill.

Given the relative permanence of in wall wiring, it's probably not a bad idea.

 

[Rickster71]

I'd go with the 12AWG; since you never know what equipment you'll swap in/out in the future.

 

[PENG]

Agree, go with 12 AWG minimum and larger if length is longer than say 30 ft. I know what the table shows but its okay to over kill it a little.

 

[ARES24]

Overkill is underrated!!!

 

[fmw]

Over kill is a middle name for audio nuts - audo overkill nuts. Nevertheless, I do just fine with 14 ga. wire in my systems.

 

[Pyrrho]

Given the relative permanence of in wall wiring, it's probably not a bad idea.

I agree. If one chooses low impedance speakers in the future, it would be a lot of work to pull out the old wire and put in new wire. With in-wall wiring, I think going with 12 gauge is probably pretty much always a good idea.

 

[BMXTRIX]

14 gauge speaker wire is typically overkill for most speaker runs. I mean, an A/V receiver at the front of the room can drive a 4 ohm load at 40 feet with zero loss in signal quality. Since most family rooms are maybe 15' deep, you are talking about 25' or so for the full run. Not even close to the 40' distance. I certainly don't argue that overkill isn't perfectly fine, but I wouldn't recommend overkill. Instead a sensible solution of 14 gauge wiring for most speaker installations will provide a rock solid solution that is far better than what most homeowners will ever get. Keep in mind a great deal of people couldn't tell the difference between 16 gauge and 12 gauge at 40 or 50 feet I would expect.

 

[fmw]

I agree. If one chooses low impedance speakers in the future, it would be a lot of work to pull out the old wire and put in new wire. With in-wall wiring, I think going with 12 gauge is probably pretty much always a good idea.

Obviously there is no electronic downside to using heavier wire. But we should keep things in perspective. Yes, lower impedance speakers do draw more current. But do they draw more current than 14 ga wire can handle? It would have to be a very, very long run in my opinion. One of my hobbies is flying electric radio controlled airplanes. My larger ones use 12 ga wire from the battery pack to the speed controller. Those speed controllers are pulling as many as 50 amps. That's more than an electrical outlet in your home. That's a lot of current. Way, way more than an audio system has to deal with. Speakers would normally be pulling in the area of 200 milliamps or 1/5 of 1 amp. Like most hobbyists, audio guys tend to take electronics situations to extremes. I know. I've been an audio guy for a very long time and I'm actually ashamed of the extremes to which I've taken some things.

 

[Pyrrho]

Obviously there is no electronic downside to using heavier wire. But we should keep things in perspective. Yes, lower impedance speakers do draw more current. But do they draw more current than 14 ga wire can handle? It would have to be a very, very long run in my opinion. One of my hobbies is flying electric radio controlled airplanes. My larger ones use 12 ga wire from the battery pack to the speed controller. Those speed controllers are pulling as many as 50 amps. That's more than an electrical outlet in your home. That's a lot of current. Way, way more than an audio system has to deal with. Speakers would normally be pulling in the area of 200 milliamps or 1/5 of 1 amp. Like most hobbyists, audio guys tend to take electronics situations to extremes. I know. I've been an audio guy for a very long time and I'm actually ashamed of the extremes to which I've taken some things.

It is not a question of the wire not being able to handle the current; it is a question of the resistance of the wire becoming a significant percentage of the speaker impedance, causing the frequency response that one hears to rise or fall with the impedance of the speaker (that is, the sound at the frequencies with the lowest impedances is diminished relative to the sound at the frequencies with the highest impedances). See:

Speaker Wire

 

[Rickster71]

One of my hobbies is flying electric radio controlled airplanes. My larger ones use 12 ga wire from the battery pack to the speed controller. Those speed controllers are pulling as many as 50 amps. That's more than an electrical outlet in your home. That's a lot of current. Way, way more than an audio system has to deal with.

True.
However it's due to that 12AWG wire being only a few inches long.

 

[fmw]

It is not a question of the wire not being able to handle the current; it is a question of the resistance of the wire becoming a significant percentage of the speaker impedance, causing the frequency response that one hears to rise or fall with the impedance of the speaker (that is, the sound at the frequencies with the lowest impedances is diminished relative to the sound at the frequencies with the highest impedances). See:

Speaker Wire

And I agree with that on a theoretical level. But the lengths of wire required to rais the resistance of 14 ga wire to meaningful levels would go well beyond the distances in a room or even a house. When I buy a spool of wire I always measure the restance of the spool of wire to make sure nothing is broken inside. The last time I did that the measurement was something less than .01 ohm. In other words the meter was flashing back and forth between 1 and 0 on the last digit. The author of the article is talking about 2 ohm resistance. It would take a mighty long length of 14 ga wire to get there. My point was audio guys tend to push things to extremes. I used to do it myself.

 

[fmw]

True.
However it's due to that 12AWG wire being only a few inches long.

And that wire does get warm to the touch. In the R/C world we use powerful batteries and drain them quickly. I don't know the formula off hand for increases in wire restance with wire length. I doubt it matters in a home theater scenario but I'd be happy to be shown the error of my ways.

 

[Rickster71]

And that wire does get warm to the touch.

I don't think there's an error in your ways with regards to HT speakers or wiring.
However with your RC stuff; if the wire is heating up.
The wire's gauge is too small, or it's connections aren't made well enough.