What gauge and length for speakers?

[cxz001]

Hi, I heard that the lower the gauge the thicker the wire, and therefore the better quality? Is this true?

Also, why is it the speaker wires come in big rolls? What if I don't need that much? But it seems like much better deal to buy a big roll of 100ft than get like 12 feet... can I cut 12 feet out of 100 ft roll and save the rest for later? And also what further stuff I need to put on the 12 feet segment I cut to make it usable? I have standard clamp inputs on my receiver and speakers.

 

[ambientZ]

Yes, you can cut off what you need, and save the rest.

You'll probably want wire strippers to remove the insulation from the end.

I don't know the technical term for the connectors on my speakers & amp, but i just used the bare wire ends to connect to my speakers & amp. You will want to be sure the stranded wire doesnt short against another cable.

You can buy banana? plugs to put onto the ends of the cable, i did not.

For any normal speaker setup, you shouldnt need super thick gauge, i wound up with a 50' 18 gauge spool from best buy. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dynex&#...Wire/8428551.p?id=1181832841773&skuId=8428551.

You will want to make sure you match the polarity on the speaker & amp side. (+ to +, - to - ).

 

[Bighitter]

Check to see what gauge wire your sony speakers will accept, many entry level speakers will using clips instead of binding posts and they usually stop at 14/16 gauge.

With the Sony receiver you have posted in other threads and the short distance you plan on running you could easily get away with 16 or even 18 gauge wire, you won't be pushing enough power through the wire to make 12 gauge wire a necessity.

 

[e2g]

Hi, I heard that the lower the gauge the thicker the wire, and therefore the better quality? Is this true?

Also, why is it the speaker wires come in big rolls? What if I don't need that much? But it seems like much better deal to buy a big roll of 100ft than get like 12 feet... can I cut 12 feet out of 100 ft roll and save the rest for later? And also what further stuff I need to put on the 12 feet segment I cut to make it usable? I have standard clamp inputs on my receiver and speakers.

wow, you are full of questions.

The lower the gauge, the thicker the wire. Not sure about it being better quality. I would imagine that's false. You probably see a lot of ppl do like to get thick wires even though they are not making longer runs. A lot of ppl like to dress up their speaker wire and like that "beefy" look that some $500 cables sell for which you can make much cheaper than that.

Here is some more info about speaker wire and length, etc.: http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

Speaker wires come in shorter lengths, but usually they are more expensive and ppl usually buy speaker wire in bulk. This is just me guessing.

Yes, you can cut some, save the rest for later. Usually, you strip off the insulation how much you want on each end, exposing the wire, twist it, insert it into your avr's speaker terminals and the speaker itself.