Is audio store guy crazy? A wire gauge question.

[SoundingGood]

I've searched around the forums... and it seems this could be a hot button topic for some, but I really need some advice.

I've got a Marantz SR7002 (http://us.marantz.com/Products/2205.asp) receiver and a polk RTi set up (with A7s for fronts). This claims to deliver a true 110 watts per channel. Woot.

So, I told a guy at an audio store that I was looking for speaker wire for my home theater set-up and that my longest run would probably only be about 25 feet. He told me generic 16 gauge wire would be more than enough and that I should just go grab it from an Ace Hardware or Home Depot. So I did. It cost me $20 bucks.

It felt weird spending so little on the cable when I spent so much on the rest of the equipment. Was the audio guy right about only need 16 gauge or did he think I just picked up a $400 dollar HTiB? Should I have gone 14 gauge or even 12?

Note that I haven't hooked anything up yet... my speakers are still in the mail.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

[Zero]

SoundingGood,

He gave you good advice. Standard 16 gauge wire has more than enough capacity to get the power from your amp to your speakers safely. 14/12 gauge wire in your situation is over-kill.

[nooshinjohn]

I picked up 70 feet of monster cable for 14 buck at menards. 12 guage as I remember...

[Fongolio]

:eek: uh oh someone said the "m" word!!!:eek:

[candjhuntley]

Yeah - for as short as your run was, 16awg is all you need

It's cool that the guy came out and told you that when i'm sure they had some higher end cable there that he might have got a commission from - pretty honest guy

[candjhuntley]

:eek: uh oh someone said the "m" word!!!:eek:

Lol - had he said he bought it for $54 then the flames would come i'm sure - but i don't think $14, whatever the brand, is too much to spend on 70ft of 12awg cable at a store. You can't always wait for that extra cheaply priced cable to come in from your supercheap online source

**DOH - sorry for the double post - i thought this was editing the above post, not creating a new one**

[ben62670]

I picked up 70 feet of monster cable for 14 buck at menards. 12 guage as I remember...

He drank the coolaid.
Gage don't me shit. It is the quality that maters...

[SoundingGood]

Yeah, the guy straight up said he had high quality stuff laying around, but for my purposes I wouldn't suffer any loss of sound quality... which in this case is definitely all that matters. I appreciated his honesty, but I just wanted to double check. It really feels weird spending thousands on audio equipment (not to mention a couple grand on a TV) and then to hook it all together with some $25 dollar cable from a hardware store, lol.

I've always been a bit more of a videophile than an audiophile, primarily because I didn't have the budget to be a audiophile. It's effing expensive!

Fortunately, I can afford it now. My speakers should be here within the next ten business days (I couldn't justify the couple hundred bucks extra for fast shipping), but the wait is killing me... grrrrrr... gaaaaaah!!!

[SoundingGood]

Oh... and as you might have guessed... it wasn't a chain, just a local place. That kind of honesty is refreshing.

[comfortablycurt]

Oh... and as you might have guessed... it wasn't a chain, just a local place. That kind of honesty is refreshing.

That's how my local audio store is. I live in a smaller town of only 16,000 people...there's only one dedicated A/V store here in town...they get a lot of my business and I spend a lot of time there...lol

They're just an independent dealer...which I like. I can actually go in there and get honest opinions about things rather than a salesman that has no idea what he's talking about, trying to sell me something that he knows nothing about...kinda refreshing.

Oh, did I mention they're also a Polk dealer?:D



To answer your question...Gauge wise, you're alright, but you could probably stand to get something of higher quality still. The gauge isn't as important as the actual quality/construction of the cable itself. I'm sure you'll be just fine with that you have for the time being though. You might consider upgrading to something nicer sometime down the road though once the bank account recovers from the beating you just gave it.;)

[SoundingGood]

Curt, what dictates a higher quality wire? Is it the type of insulation it uses? Obviously, at 20 bucks for 100 feet, the wire I bought is probably pretty mediocre. Will better quality give me cleaner sound or louder sound or both?

Sorry, I'm such a noob. :)

[mhardy6647]

Obviously, at 20 bucks for 100 feet, the wire I bought is probably pretty mediocre.

Obviously??

[phipiper10]

You could try something else if it leaves you wondering. There is only one real way to know for sure. Try some.

[comfortablycurt]

Curt, what dictates a higher quality wire? Is it the type of insulation it uses? Obviously, at 20 bucks for 100 feet, the wire I bought is probably pretty mediocre. Will better quality give me cleaner sound or louder sound or both?

Sorry, I'm such a noob. :)

Well...I don't claim to be an expert on the subject...I'm still a newb myself.

Insulation is a factor, the general construction and design of the cable itself is more important than the gauge.

You can't really judge cable by it's specs though...it can give you an approximation of what it will possibly sound like, but interaction with the individual components in your rig is going to play a bigger part. The most expensive option isn't always the option that's going to sound the best in your rig.