felipe Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 What would be the minimum AWG I can go before I notice any change in SQ? The runs are less than 10ft long, and the source is an AVR. Speakers are of course Klipsch TIA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I would say 16awg minimum but prefer 14 and 12. Bill 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthews Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Many will not agree with me... I won't running anything smaller than 10 gauge quality cables with soldered terminals. NO lamp cord here! This pair lying in wait of soon to arrive 12 watt per channel mono blocks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) You would not be able to tell any difference between 18 gauge zip-cord and welding cable at 10 feet, 20 feet or more. You can buy a lot of music with the money saved. Of course, whatever you get needs to be suspended on little wooden supports and you need to hold your tongue a certain way to get the right air and maximum separation between the instruments. PWK used 18 AWG zip-cord inside Heritage for decades. :-) Buy more music! Edited March 12, 2016 by DizRotus 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I am in the 16 g wire camp and like to use 14 g wire. I like 10 g for large subwoofers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) I agree with Derrick. I use 14 AWG for most things, but the answer to your question is 18 AWG (or smaller) before you would notice any change in SQ. I bought a large spool of Carol 14 AWG years go for almost nothing. I've bought a lot of music with the money not spent on boutique cables. Edited March 12, 2016 by DizRotus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorm Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I ran just Home depot 14 AWG wire all over the basement for the home theater. Upstairs, the wire is a little different. Decided to go with silver wire instead of just the run of the mill wire. Didn't get anything too crazy expensive, but the sound IMO of course, did improve from my old monoprice cords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) Many will not agree with me... I won't running anything smaller than 10 gauge quality cables with soldered terminals. NO lamp cord here! cables (Medium).jpg This pair lying in wait of soon to arrive 12 watt per channel mono blocks. Well, If you really believe that you need these to get the most out of your soon to arrive 12 watt mono blocks (BTW mono blocks are not "per channel". Mono blocks have only ONE channel - that's why they're called "mono" blocks), then you really, really need to get these in order to maximize performance from those cables. http://www.musicdirect.com/p-971-cable-elevators.aspx and these http://www.vhaudio.com/wa-quantum.pdf Make sure you use these on your soon to arrive 12 watt mono blocks too! And everything else, including all room surfaces for acoustic treatment and even your refrigerator any other appliances to make sure everything sounds its best and doesn't interfere with anything else. Might as well stick a few in your ears and on your head while your at it. After all, that's where the sound is going, right? Sorry, I just couldn't resist. I wish I had the low moral character to fill my bank account with other people's money selling them this ******* ****. Edited March 12, 2016 by artto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 10ft? I've used 28AWG magnet wire at those lengths and had no issues. sounded great too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthews Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 If you really believe just my preference no need for ridicule Perhaps, I just like em'... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krispy Kirk Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) I am not an Electrical Engineer, but... There are other factors to consider when deciding on speaker cable. Parallel capacitance (Cp), series inductance (Ls), total reactance (Xt), and DC loop resistance (Rdc) all sound like things you'd be asked to calculate on a Freshman Physics final but they are important. In fact, many listeners might find they have a bigger affect on perceived sound quality than simple wire gauge. If a cable designer optimizes for one or two of these factors and neglects the rest, you end up spending too much on a flawed cable. Yes, thicker is better. And yes, you can get away with some poorly designed cables if you keep your runs short (say under ten feet). I've used everything from chopped up extension cords to $12 a foot audiophile cable. In one of my bedroom systems, I am running a set of 22 ga. no-name wires from one side of the room to the other because that seems to be the heaviest gauge you can lay under a rug without feeling/seeing it (I'm too lazy to hunt down flat cable). That system is an old Pioneer rack system and a pair of 8" 2-way bookshelf speakers rebuilt with all Dayton parts. And it makes "real bass" - even with skinny wires! I think of that bedroom system and how counter-intuitively acceptable it sounds whenever the cable gauge debates begin. For an all-around recommendation, I'd say 14 ga. is the crowd-pleaser. This gauge will serve 99% of home stereo users without reducing them to poverty. But some of us are vain and must have our "audio jewelry". That's why there are 10 gauge cables like the Kimber 8PR I use in my primary system. Sure, it costs ten times more than 14 ga. Monster XP but I prefer the Kimber - not because it's "thick" but because it is designed to optimize so many of those other factors I mentioned earlier. Edited March 12, 2016 by Krispy Kirk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I use 16 to the speakers, 10 for the jumpers. The garage uses 18 though. I try not to go below 16 in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) What would be the minimum AWG I can go before I notice any change in SQ? The runs are less than 10ft long, and the source is an AVR. Speakers are of course Klipsch TIA. The answer is stil 18 AWG, or even smaller, " . . . before [you] notice any change in SQ?" Everything else, including my recommendations, are merely unsolicited preferences. Edited March 12, 2016 by DizRotus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 If you really believe just my preference no need for ridicule Perhaps, I just like em'... No need to ridicule? EXCUSE ME? You most certainly provided the "need". Besides that, it's FUN!!! And if you "just like em" that's fine with me. Try the recommended WA Quantum chips and you'll like em' even more. Since it's your money, not mine, I'm good with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Wouldn't one be a mono block and more than one be mono blocks? So two of these would equal two channels and if both are the same model would it not be x watts per channel? Or should we change our ways for stricter semantics and say two mono blocks with x watts each? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 You don't want to be anti-semantic. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) Or how about "a mono block for each of my channels which crank out x watts?" Too wordy---revise it to "a x watt mono block for each channel." Edited March 12, 2016 by oldtimer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthews Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 EXCUSE ME? You most certainly provided the "need". Besides that, it's FUN!!! And if you "just like em" that's fine with me My apologies, "artto". I was reading a little voice inflection into your post. Sincerity is sometimes lost in type. Matt ♪ ♫ ♪ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORE KLIPSCH PLEASE Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 so here is my 2 cents on cable/speaker wire.... I have invested thousand of bucks in bad @ss speakers...... thousands in bad @ss amps and a bunch more $$$ in other gear.... I for one will not have some "puny little" wires connecting my speakers to my amps. I want some cables that have some balls to em ... Over the years I have used 22ga to 14 ga..... and no I can't tell the difference in sound. I got most of my cable a few years ago. I found a guy on e-bay selling all of his Monster XP new on the rolls for like 1/2 price. So I got all four of the 50ft rolls he had. I've put some nice ends on them and I use banana plugs. I got some long runs in the house connecting my Wall-O-Klipsch to my amps. At the shop I used one roll to hook up the KP's to the Carver... I've seen those guys that have spent a ton of money on there audio cable and those little blocks to keep it off the carpet and that's all good..... it's not me... The most I have spent on cable was last year... I have a set of EV i's and a Crown amp for the deck. I needed some Speakon cables to connect them up. The party was that weekend and it was the 1st time I was using the EV's and the Crown... I went up to the local music shop and I had to buy them there. Two 50' er's at a $150 ... hey it's "ok" ya pay to play... Cables/speaker wire......gotta have em.... MKP :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 OMG. Banana plugs? Are you deaf? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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