Do rear speakers need heavy gauge wire?

[lestat0521]

I am wondering if i need to go out and buy another length of wiring to wire up the rear speakers. I have 14 gauge wires for my fronts and center but ran out and only have the stock wire which looks like 20 gauge.

Should i go out and buy better wire? I know the rears do not handle that much as far as sound goes.

Also would it make a difference if i spliced together two strands of the same wire using wire nuts or should i only use solid strands? I happen to have enough length of 16 gauge but its already cut in smaller pieces.

 

[j_garcia]

It depends on the speaker and the length of the run. 20 AWG will not be sufficient IMHO, for most surround speakers for anything over 20ft (8 Ohm speaker). 14 AWG should be plenty for nearly anything.

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#wiretable

 

[lestat0521]

one speaker would be on 20ft of wire and the other on 36ft.

Great article answered all my questions, thanks!

 

[Guangui]

Assuming 8 Ohms: Use 16 AWG, also keep the same length of wire for left & right. If one speaker is at 36' and the other at 20', then use 36' for each.

 

[Alex2507]

keep the same length of wire for left & right. If one speaker is at 36' and the other at 20', then use 36' for each.

This link addresses that.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6520

It takes some reading but IIRC the gist of it was that you need not match the lengths used as you will not hear the difference. Check it out.

 

[Guangui]

This link addresses that.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6520

It takes some reading but IIRC the gist of it was that you need not match the lengths used as you will not hear the difference. Check it out.

Thanks, always heard and read differently from what that thread says and never made much sense to me, as at the speed the signal travels you would need hundreds maybe even thousands of feet of travel (length) to be able to hear a difference. Will read the thread.

 

[rnatalli]

It depends on the speaker and the length of the run. 20 AWG will not be sufficient IMHO, for most surround speakers for anything over 20ft (8 Ohm speaker). 14 AWG should be plenty for nearly anything.

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#wiretable

I agree. 14 is pretty much all a regular theater would need.

 

[j_garcia]

They don't need to be the same length; it makes no difference, or at least such a small one that you would never be able to tell (or even measure anything meaningful?). I've had one run that was 20ft and one that was 40ft and no difference could be heard - the only way it would be an issue is if the wire AWG was too small for the speaker and distance.