Wiring Questions - Should I take the time to re-run my wires?

[pipplo]

So I have a house and had some wire ran for the surround sound already when I had first moved in. At the time I didn't know 18ga was not recommended (i hadn't done any research yet)

So now I'm getting my system actually setup with this equipment

Onkyo SR-607
EMP ECA4 5.0 surround

My question is will I have a very noticeable quality issue with 18ga wire? The room is 18x12 or so, so I think the max wire length run is about 40-45 feet

Would I have a noticeable quality degradation, is it worth replacing and running a thicker gauge wire instead. (I dont think it would be hard to snake it through, but time consuming)

My thoughts at the moment are to setup and see how it sounds before I decide, but I'm not sure what I would be missing out on since I've never really had a good setup, so what kind of issues would I listen for to tell if I need to upgrade the wire size?

Thanks for replies guys!

 

[markw]

Probably not, but you have probaby been playing it at a slightly higher level than you would otherwise need.

If you can do it without major surgery then it wouldn't hurt. Got for 12 - 14 gauge.

 

[pipplo]

It's 18 ga wire right now

 

[markw]

It's 18 ga wire right now

I caught that immediately after I posted. Note updated post.

 

[pipplo]

Cool. Thats what I thought. I'll go ahead and try it out with the 18ga wire as is. But I'm not an audiophile so I'm not even sure how to tell if I need an upgrade.

So do you think main issue I might see (hear) is that the volume could be louder at a slightly lower level?

I'll see how it goes this weekend! Thanks!

 

[highfigh]

So I have a house and had some wire ran for the surround sound already when I had first moved in. At the time I didn't know 18ga was not recommended (i hadn't done any research yet)

So now I'm getting my system actually setup with this equipment

Onkyo SR-607
EMP ECA4 5.0 surround

My question is will I have a very noticeable quality issue with 18ga wire? The room is 18x12 or so, so I think the max wire length run is about 40-45 feet

Would I have a noticeable quality degradation, is it worth replacing and running a thicker gauge wire instead. (I dont think it would be hard to snake it through, but time consuming)

My thoughts at the moment are to setup and see how it sounds before I decide, but I'm not sure what I would be missing out on since I've never really had a good setup, so what kind of issues would I listen for to tell if I need to upgrade the wire size?

Thanks for replies guys!

For the surrounds, don't worry about it. If you'll be cranking the snot out of it with a high current amp and difficult speaker loads, maybe but only if it's easy to do.

 

[highfigh]

So do you think main issue I might see (hear) is that the volume could be louder at a slightly lower level?

Doubtful. Even if you do, you can adjust the setup for speaker levels and compensate for it.

 

[pipplo]

Thanks guys!