Wire Guage HELP

[luvdodo]

I am installing a 5.1 satellite system (infinity Modulus II) in my basement (single garage townhome - if that gives u a idea on the size).

What's the guage of the wire that would appropriate 16 AWG, 14 AWG or 12 AWG?

The speakers max o/p is 125W I guess. I was planning on using Taperwire 16 AWG.


Appreciate your help.

 

[jonnythan]

14 gauge will be more than sufficient.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023902&p_id=2791&seq=1&format=2&style=

 

[markw]

I am installing a 5.1 satellite system (infinity Modulus II) in my basement (single garage townhome - if that gives u a idea on the size).

What's the guage of the wire that would appropriate 16 AWG, 14 AWG or 12 AWG?

The speakers max o/p is 125W I guess. I was planning on using Taperwire 16 AWG.


Appreciate your help.

It's the length of the run that is important, not the make/model of the speaker. Remember, you may have to go over, under or around some items so the overall size ofthe room has less to do than the overall length.

Time to invest in a tape measure but, all in all. anything 16 gauge or greater should suffice for runs up to fifty feet.

 

[j_garcia]

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

 

[Grimis]

good reference table for the wire guide... my experience is if your debating between two different sizes of wire, always pick the bigger of the two. Better to spend a little too much money than to choke the speakers and possibly clipping issues

 

[Tom Andry]

It's the length of the run that is important, not the make/model of the speaker.

True as long as the binding posts will accept the larger gauge. Not all speakers will accept 12 much less 10 gauge wire. With those satellites, it might be a tight fit with the way they are threaded through the bases for 12 gauge.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Not all speakers will accept 12 much less 10 gauge wire. .

You need a bigger hammer

 

[mtrycrafts]

than to choke the speakers and possibly clipping issues

I seriously doubt the speakers would clip because the wire ga is 24ga instead of 12ga.

 

[3x10^8]

I am installing a 5.1 satellite system (infinity Modulus II) in my basement (single garage townhome - if that gives u a idea on the size).

What's the guage of the wire that would appropriate 16 AWG, 14 AWG or 12 AWG?

The speakers max o/p is 125W I guess. I was planning on using Taperwire 16 AWG.


Appreciate your help.

I'd follow the advice above, but to specifically answer your question:

AWG = American Wire Gauge

So... 14 AWG = 14 gauge

...at least that's what I think you're asking.

 

[j_garcia]

I seriously doubt the speakers would clip because the wire ga is 24ga instead of 12ga.

It isn't going to clip, but that isn't the problem.

What happens when the resistance gets too high? First, there is power lost in the wire and the speaker will not play as loud. More important, as the resistance in series with the speaker increases, it makes the amplifier look more like a current source. This means the speaker frequency response will tend to follow the rise and fall of its impedance curve.
.....

As the wire resistance increases, it becomes significant compared to the speaker impedance. It will affect the areas of lower impedance values first and eventually will be audible. Speakers with small impedance variations versus frequency, and that don't dip below the nominal impedance, will be more tolerant of higher resistance in the speaker wire. On the other hand, speakers with large variations in impedance that dip below the nominal value will be much easier to notice. If the speaker has constant impedance versus frequency, the only change will be reduced output.

 

[xboxweasel]

For 16AWG the wire resistance for 1km would be 13 ohms.

So..

3281 feet = 13 ohm

The longest run I have (which you could argue is a pretty common length for any given speaker run) is about 50'.

So..

At 50 feet, the resistance of 16 AWG would be 0.20 ohms. That should not make any difference in voltage drop, power consumption, etc, etc.

 

[majorloser]

It all comes down to the weakest link. The connections are where the electrical transfer takes place. Those speaker look like they have a form of 5-way binding posts. A good set of crimped spades, locking bananas or even bare wire will work fine and give you the most contact area. The only problem with bare wire is they need to be cleaned and trimmed back to prevent corrosion. (I'm not a real fan of pin connectors)

14 or 16 AWG will be plenty big enough as long as they'll fit in the terminals.

 

[luvdodo]

Thanks!

Thanks everyone, finally ordered the 14AWG flat wire today, 150' for $200 (INSIVIWIRE).

Appreciate your feedback.