Speaker wire question!!

J

Joseman37

Audioholic Intern
Hi there.
I was looking online to purchase speaker wires but I see cables with different gauges. Which type of cable would suit what I'm looking for?

Thank you
 
Last edited:
W

warnerwh

Full Audioholic
Scroll down just a little bit and you will find a list of gauges and lengths. Many people buy from Monoprice and Blue jeans cables. Whatever you do don't buy in to the snake oil which comes with expensive speaker cables with some costing thousands. Any wire of the proper gauge is all you need and the sound quality will be the same as expensive wire. You can even buy speaker wire cut to length at Home Depot. I'd go there before Best Buy.
 
JerryLove

JerryLove

Audioholic Samurai
Just get copper cable. As to gauge, there's a guide:


I tend to just get 12ga in spools because it's reasonably cheap and works for any realistic length / ohm combination I'm likely to use.
 
-Jim-

-Jim-

Audioholic General
Just in case you don't know, make certain it's stranded and not solid. For Shorter runs 14ga is usually more than adequate with 2-8 ohm speakers. Let the chart JerryLove posted be your guide.;)
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
I also use 12ga, but have 14 for random stuff and smaller systems in my home. 14 is pretty good for almost anything. Even 16 is good most of the time unless you have longer runs.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
@Swerd nailed it!

Don't spend the money on Copper Clad Aluminum.
Good quality Copper (as in ALL-Copper) is readily available at very reasonable prices.

Monoprice Choice is a good way to go, imo.
Or:
If there are going to be any long runs, and especially if your speakers may dip lower in Impedance, go with 12AWG:
 
Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
Just get copper cable. As to gauge, there's a guide:


I tend to just get 12ga in spools because it's reasonably cheap and works for any realistic length / ohm combination I'm likely to use.
I barely can fit 14 awg into banana plugs how do you get 12 or 10 to fit ??
Ahh which sure do you prefer ? Is monoprice or russels cheaper ??
My satellite speaker system uses 16 awg and some small runs or 14.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
Not that it matters much, but I prefer the wire in a jacket that is CL2 rated...

You can also get it in black...

The excellent color markings are a huge plus in my book, and I like to run wiring in walls, so having it up to fire code to do so is a real plus.

Oh, and if you are connecting to a receiver or speaker which accepts banana plugs, pick up some decent ones like these Sewell Silverbacks:
 
davidscott

davidscott

Audioholic Ninja
Not that it matters much, but I prefer the wire in a jacket that is CL2 rated...

You can also get it in black...

The excellent color markings are a huge plus in my book, and I like to run wiring in walls, so having it up to fire code to do so is a real plus.

Oh, and if you are connecting to a receiver or speaker which accepts banana plugs, pick up some decent ones like these Sewell Silverbacks:
Sewell also makes some nice pre assembled speaker cables with banana plugs. I have a set and it sounds pretty much the same as my audioquest type 4 at a lower price.
 
JerryLove

JerryLove

Audioholic Samurai
I barely can fit 14 awg into banana plugs how do you get 12 or 10 to fit ??
Ahh which sure do you prefer ? Is monoprice or russels cheaper ??
My satellite speaker system uses 16 awg and some small runs or 14.
It hasn't generally been a problem; but I'm not adverse to side-connecting on banana plugs, and those holes are generally larger.

Roger Russel (who is what I presume you are referring to with "russels") doesn't sell wire.. he is an engineer who has written about McIntosh and electronics. I've purchased a good deal from Monoprice and been happy with them.
 
J

Joseman37

Audioholic Intern
Just get copper cable. As to gauge, there's a guide:


I tend to just get 12ga in spools because it's reasonably cheap and works for any realistic length / ohm combination I'm likely to use.
Could I use 14 AWG or 16 AWG if my runs are below 50 feet?
 
J

Joseman37

Audioholic Intern
How can we without the information about the impedance of your speakers you're thinking about? :)
I'll be using 2 (8 ohm) speakers for the left and right channels, 1 (6 ohm) speaker for the center channel, and 2 (8 ohm) speakers for the surround left and surround right channels.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I'll be using 2 (8 ohm) speakers for the left and right channels, 1 (6 ohm) speaker for the center channel, and 2 (8 ohm) speakers for the surround left and surround right channels.
Keep in mind a speaker's nominal impedance rating doesn't mean it doesn't spend time at lower impedance....personally I'd consider dropping it a couple ohms on your speaker ratings, say 6 and 4 ohm for the speakers you mention and use the gauge that makes the sense for the lowest impedance/longest run you need and then use that for everything.
 
J

Joseman37

Audioholic Intern
Keep in mind a speaker's nominal impedance rating doesn't mean it doesn't spend time at lower impedance....personally I'd consider dropping it a couple ohms on your speaker ratings, say 6 and 4 ohm for the speakers you mention and use the gauge that makes the sense for the lowest impedance/longest run you need and then use that for everything.
According to what you said and the table I should be using 12 AWG wire, right?
 

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top