Hi Guys,

I am almost finished wiring my 5.1 setup and set up my 2 main fronts and the SuperSat 3C with 14-2 gauge wire. I have 50 feet of this wire and I am running a little low for my back speakers (2 SuperSat3) and was wondering if it's ok for me to get the BestBuy 16 gauge wire for my sorrounds.

Will it cause any issues?

Let me know.

Thanks!

Marco,

Longer speaker wire runs usually require a thicker gauge wire for equivalent performance. I used a 12-gauge wire from Monoprice.com that worked very well and was reasonably low cost. It will probably be cheaper than the Best Buy cable. That would be my recommendation; however, I'm sure 16-gauge would work also if you're in a time crunch, but better to spend a little extra and take your time the first time versus doing it a second time. Just my .02.

www.audioholics.com/audio-video-cables/speaker-cable-gauge

Cheers,

T Cobe

If I estimate the lengths, each back speaker should require about 20-25 feet of wire...I think 16 gauge is ok and shouldn't affect the final product.

When you mention "longer runs", is 20-25 feet considered long? The mains are about 10 feet each from the amp as a point of reference.

Thanks again!

Marco,

My guess is that by the time you run th speaker cables to and through the walls and through the ceiling, you will likely be over 25 feet. If it were my space, I would run 12 gauge. If you follow the link I attached to my first post, it goes a bit into the science. GET speakers tend to fluctuate in impedance and dip down to 4 ohms at certain frequencies. I always err on the side of caution and go a bit over the minimum necessary.

Will you notice the difference between 12 and 16 gauge? Maybe not, but how easy would it be to upgrade once your done with the project? I absolutely trust the quality of the Monoprice wire and value over Best Buy. Here's a link to their Nimbus speaker wire. This is what I intend to use for my Atmos speakers (the HTR-7000s). You can get 100 feet for $50. That may be enough to run you whole system.

www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=13708

Cheers,

T Cobe

Hey, Marco

I'm with T Cobe.

Some extra gauge on long runs is good insurance. I have 12 gauge runs (50' with the up and down runs)) to my surrounds (T2's), and there is NO discernible loss of SQ. Do it once, with adequate gauge wire.

Happy listening!

Rick

There is extensive discussion about cables at the audiogon forum. Generally accepted belief is that 12 gauge would be the way to go for longer runs, which would be your case if running 50 feet. Personally I would use 12 gauge even for much shorter runs. Blue jeans cable sells all types and speaks to the "voodoo" and "snake oil" sold elsewhere. www.bluejeanscable.com/ At some level wire is wire, however, if you want to spend thousands, even tens of thousands on perhaps cutting edge technology such as Graphene Cables, you certainly can do it www.cerioustechnologies.com/