Speaker wire gauges

[Deacon]

I am going to be running 14awg inwall speaker wire for my surrounds etc and I plan on terminating all the wire at a wall plate right behind the equipment rack.

Something similar to this:

Now if I run all 14awg to the plate, which some runs will be in excess of 25ft, can I then use a banana terminated patch cable that is 16awg?

Is it necessary for the gauge to match before and after the wall plate?

 

[Batman]

If the wires come out behind the rack, why even bother at all? Not being a smartass, it's just such a pain in the ass to do everything twice. I could see if the home was being sold and the room was bare, it looks nice and neat. But for a retrofit where the spot is concealed it seems like an unnecessary extra step. I'd also bump the gauge up to 12ga if it were me if the budget allowed. Although I'm sure 14ga will be fine for surrounds.

I'd use a 2-gang hood, with an "old work" low voltage box and run all the wires through it.

:text-link:

 

[Flint]

Bigger is always better, but there is always that point of diminishing return. How big is big enough? That depends on the impedance of the speakers and the length of the wire, low impedance speakers need heavier wire (to pass more current for a given wattage). If your speakers are rated at 8ohms nominal impedance, then 14AWG for 25 feet is probably more than sufficient. If your speakers are 4 ohms nominal, then you are cutting it close with 14AWG for that length.

As for the wire between the wall plate and the amp or the speaker, once again it is all about length and impedance. If you have 90% of the wire length at 14AWG and 10% at 16AWG, that is MUCH better than 100% at 16AWG. A short length of higher resistance wire is less impactful than a long length of that same wire. So, you should be fine with 16AWG for a patch wire from the wall plate, assuming the length is kept as short as possible - like under 2 to 4 feet.

 

[Flint]

Or... you could be like me and just eliminate all doubt and go with an overkill approach and know that the wire is absolutely heavy enough. Put 12AWG or dual 14AWG wire in the walls and use 12AWG for patch wires.

 

[Towen7]

Each connection point introduces signal loss and a potential failure point. I think those connection plates look good and in some cases make sense. But Unless you plan to be swapping out amps frequently or need frequent access to the speaker cables at the equipment end (for level tests or swapping speaker setups) than I'm with Bats.

 

[Deacon]

Each connection point introduces signal loss and a potential failure point. I think those connection plates look good and in some cases make sense. But Unless you plan to be swapping out amps frequently or need frequent access to the speaker cables at the equipment end (for level tests or swapping speaker setups) than I'm with Bats.

Yeah I realize the fewer connections the better. I currently (well did) have the wires coming straight from the wall to the receiver before and even using split loom to wrangle the cables it still looked cluttered. I think it was because of the difference lengths of wire.

With the wall plate everything will be terminated behind the wall and I will just need 1ft patch cables from the plate to the receiver.

My rational:

This the last time I am running wire so it is going to be permanent. Once I seal everything behind the wall that is where it is going to stay so I don't any connections exposed outside the wall.

Wall plates are cool!

I was going to use presealed and banana terminated patch cables so there would be no chance of oxidation due to wire exposed to moisture.

 

[Zing]

Or... you could be like me and just eliminate all doubt and go with an overkill approach and know that the wire is absolutely heavy enough.

That was my line of thinking when I bought 10 AWG from Blue Jeans Cable.

Each connection point introduces signal loss and a potential failure point. I think those connection plates look good and in some cases make sense. But Unless you plan to be swapping out amps frequently or need frequent access to the speaker cables at the equipment end (for level tests or swapping speaker setups) than I'm with Bats.

I'll echo everything stated in Tom's post. I'll even throw in a :text-+1: for good measure.

 

[Deleted member 133]

Each connection point introduces signal loss and a potential failure point. I think those connection plates look good and in some cases make sense. But Unless you plan to be swapping out amps frequently or need frequent access to the speaker cables at the equipment end (for level tests or swapping speaker setups) than I'm with Bats.

My rational:

This the last time I am running wire so it is going to be permanent. Once I seal everything behind the wall that is where it is going to stay so I don't any connections exposed outside the wall.

Permanent? What happens when that 7.1 system needs to become a 9.1 - or 11.1?

 

[Rope]

Purchase a $600.00 3' power cable. This will make everything sound sweet, imaging becomes a non-issue, presence is unsurpassed and dynamics become deafening.

Rope

Oh, don't forget $1,200.00 interconnects from Wireworld, I believe they're referred to as Black Momba.

 

[Flint]

Purchase a $600.00 3' power cable. This will make everything sound sweet, imaging becomes a non-issue, presence is unsurpassed and dynamics become deafening.

Rope

Oh, don't forget $1,200.00 interconnects from Wireworld, I believe they're referred to as Black Momba.

Veils will be lifted off your speakers.

 

[Rope]

^^^
Ahhhhh, yeah, that too.

(Damn, Flint is good.)

Rope

 

[malsackj]

And then there is the 18 gauge used in the speaker and at the crossovers.

 

[Flint]

And then there is the 18 gauge used in the speaker and at the crossovers.

It is all about the total resistance of everything between the amp and the speaker. A short length of 18 or 20 gauge wire will have a low resistance compared to 8 feet of 16 gauge wire, so it doesn't add an appreciable amount of resistance to the entire wired circuit. Switching 12 gauge wire for 18 gauge wire inside the cabinet or in the crossover typically won't matter at all.

 

[Rope]

Where cables really makes a hugh difference is the 3' gap from 110v outlet to control/pre amp/receiver. You'll need to spend at least $600.00 on the power cable (providing you can afford "smart electricity") to take full advantage of your electronics. Night and day sonic improvement, in fact it may do your laundry and iron. bscene-buttred:

Rope