Does speaker wire match speaker (output) power?

[reilly67]

I am DIY-ing a Living Room system with built in subwoofers (2); 4 mid-range speakers; and 4 tweeters. I have run 12 ga speaker cables to the subs and have enough for the mid-range, but in the back of my mind lurks a thought that the tweets don't utilize a lot of power, so cabling for these can be much lighter (and thus easier to run and conceal. Am I correct?

I have a spool of 16ga speaker wire which I could use. The runs range from 15 to 35 feet.

 

[j_garcia]

It might be worth it for the subs, but even they are probably already going to be fine at 14AWG for short runs. 16 will be plenty for the smaller speakers.

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

 

[jcl]

Here's what Audioholics has to say :
Speaker Cable Gauge (AWG) Guidelines & Recommendations — Reviews and News from Audioholics

Seems to indicate that 16g might be a little light, but I think they are erring on the side of caution. You could always try your own comparison of 12 vs 16 and see if you can hear a difference, and if so if the difference is worth spending money on.

 

[nezff]

I always stay with 12 for everything.