Speaker wire length vs gauge?

[gazix]

I have an hk reciver (avr130) and it only puts out 50watts per channel. Because of my room, I need 25 feet for the fronts (floor to ceiling, across and down side wall...) And the fronts are routed through my polk psw202 sub then to my receiver (so the surrounds pick up as much bass as they can and the sub does the "heavy stuff")

I just bought four new speakers (polk monitor30). Should I upgrade from my 16 awg wire now to 14 or 12 awg? Would the sound be at the same loudness at less volume with the higher gauge? I would run the speaker wire across the floor and only use 18.5 (14 or 12 gauge) feet if that would also make a difference (vs the original 25 16 gauge).

I could even go 8 gauge for the fronts and 12 or 14 for the surrounds (would have to be different brand of cable though)

I'd be ordering cable online and they wouldn't want it back after I section it up, so I'd appreciate some help for you knowledgable folks

Thanks

[Stoney]

There are some calculators on this page that may help. It was designed for car audio, so not sure.

http://www.bcae1.com/wire.htm

[eddiem67]

Obviously the the bigger the gauge the better, but min run should be 16awg. The bigger the gauge is, more power you can get to the speaker (reserve power) I currently run 8-10 awg for the fronts and 14awg for the rears.

[spyboy]

16 is fine for many applications. 14 is good for at least 40 feet.
The idea that real thick wire allows more "reserver power" (whatever that is) to get through is just wrong. For the vast majority of applications, 14 gauge is more than enough.

[Leef DaLucky]

I had a house built 2 years ago and thought that 16ga would be fine for surrounds. Hindsight being 20/20 that it is, i now wish i had've been smarter and put in 12ga through all the walls.
I'd play it safe. Use 12 for all. And use the exact same cable.

see, you've upgraded your speakers, you're upgrading your cabling. what happens if, later, you decide to upgrade your reciever? You may end up needing a thicker gauge. And it would be a shame to have to re-do all this work. Stay away from 16ga if possible.

just my $0.02

[spyboy]

What difference would it make if he upgraded his receiver? If the length of the runs is appropriate for the gauge of the wire, thicker wire will make no difference at all.

If you are running in wall, then sure, going 12 gauge won't add much to the cost and keep you from worrying. And 12 is good for runs of 75 feet and more. Leef, unless the runs for your surrounds are more than 35 feet you are not missing anything, (and that is a conservative estimate).

IMHO, speaker wire is not like water hose. Water hose, the larger the diameter the more water can get through. We already know, using the hair dryer model that 16 gauge can pass at least 1500 watts.

But, if the OP really wants to be sure he has thick enough wire, partsexpress has 100 feet of 12 gauge speaker wire for $37.50 (plus shipping). I won't mention the brand out of respect for Doug as he sells speaker wire himself.

Gee, I've only been a member for 2 days and I'm already on the verge of trouble here

I have been following Doug for a hand full of years, since he was Lexman on someone elses forum.

[Kens1]

The new speaker wire I had made for my main speakers is a lot thinner than the monster (very thick) wire I had previously. I did a comparison when I brought the new wire home and the new thinner wire sounded better. Not hugely, but the bass sounded tighter and the highs not as harsh. Why? I have no idea but I don't beleive thicker is better anymore.

[eddiem67]

The new speaker wire I had made for my main speakers is a lot thinner than the monster (very thick) wire I had previously. I did a comparison when I brought the new wire home and the new thinner wire sounded better. Not hugely, but the bass sounded tighter and the highs not as harsh. Why? I have no idea but I don't beleive thicker is better anymore.

+

Maybe you should just hook up 22awg to your speakers, I'm sure the bass will get even tighter. :B

[Snap]

If you are running in wall, then sure, going 12 gauge won't add much to the cost and keep you from worrying. And 12 is good for runs of 75 feet and more. Leef, unless the runs for your surrounds are more than 35 feet you are not missing anything, (and that is a conservative estimate).


But, if the OP really wants to be sure he has thick enough wire, partsexpress has 100 feet of 12 gauge speaker wire for $37.50 (plus shipping).

I think you need to check your run lengths again, and pricing! depending on the house, and electrical work! There are certian items in a home that can not be drilled through. And you would have to go around those items. You also might want to aviod the HVAC, and heavy electrical work so that you can avoid the dreaded 60hz hum!

Now don't get me wrong some places a 100 feet will work fine, but more than likely you are going to use 200 plus for a 5.1 system prewire. Leave a good 12 inches out for the sheet rock guys.

[Mark1Ace1]

I ran all my cables through flexible conduit in the wall. This helped eliminate interference from mains cables etc, etc!!...By the way, I say around 14awg is a good standard to work with...

Mark

[JetFlyGuy]

There is more to consider with regard to speaker wire than just guage. Remember that all wire has impediance and capacitance, which are the same properties used by passive crossovers. The longer the lengths are, the more effect these properties will have. Given a long enough distance, the wire will create audible attenuation in specific frequncy ranges.