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Speaker Wire advice and help

patriciadiaz1919

I need speacker wire not sure what awg or format number I need as I see there 8 to 20 range of cable mass as some say 12 agw enough as not sure will this matter for long distance and high qqquailty audio which best work and why.

 

my stuff

Denon AVR-S760H 7.2-Channel Home Theater AV Receiver 8K Video Ultra HD 4K/120 - (New 2021)

Klipsch Reference R-26FA 5.1 Home Theater Pack

 

 

wires.jpg

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it's only 400w total so you can use pretty thin stuff , you aren't pumping a whole lot of wattage through each channel anyway

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2 hours ago, emosun said:

it's only 400w total so you can use pretty thin stuff , you aren't pumping a whole lot of wattage through each channel anyway

What does that mean I may upgrade to 7.1 as will 12 awg enough for both.

 

 

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57 minutes ago, patriciadiaz1919 said:

What does that mean I may upgrade to 7.1 as will 12 awg enough for both.

meaning each speaker really won't need anything too thick seeing as the wattage isnt very high and distance isnt very far.

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1 hour ago, emosun said:

meaning each speaker really won't need anything too thick seeing as the wattage isnt very high and distance isnt very far.

What short and far distance.

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You could very likely get away with 22 AWG for this and it would probably be fine if the runs are short. Yes, the peak currents are very high in a speaker wire, but the average current is quite low, so the (I^2)*R losses aren't very high. 

 

The short answer is that if you go with 18 AWG or heavier, in a domestic application (I'm not talking about running a bunch of Turbosound 24" subs in a 20,000 seat hall), you'll be fine.

 

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18 gauge is plenty unless you're pushing a lot of current or you have 50' runs.

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1 hour ago, circeseye said:

recommended speaker wire gauge vs length
 

speaker-cables.png

Where did you get this? That all seems very short

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1 hour ago, ShearMe said:

Where did you get this? That all seems very short

https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/usa/en/blog/speaker-cables

also

https://www.audioholics.com/audio-video-cables/speaker-wire-gauge

i went by this site when i did mine

pretty much majority of audio sites say the same thing
basically the longer you go, the bigger the wire you need because of resistance

i have a 20x20 room 7.1.4 i used 12 gauge all around just so least resistance but i could have gotten away with using 14 guage. 16 guage was cutting it to close on all the sides and rears

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IMHO, if you're using the same gauge (or larger) speaker wire....than the actual wire running between your outlets and your breaker box....you've got other issues.

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The wires inside the walls of your house are likely to be 14 awg (15 amp circuit) -12 awg (20 amp circuit), unless you paid an electrician to change it to 10. I'd personally go with 12 awg for speaker wires in your case, and pay an electrician to have a dedicated line straight up to your audio system. Get a decent power cord, and you are good. I've experienced considerable noise floor reduction with an AudioQuest Niagara 1200 and Monsoon cables (amp to power conditioner, power conditioner to wall), so I can vouch for these specific items. I've talked to people that tried more expensive stuff, and didn't see much of a difference...which probably means my place has considerable more noise.

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