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speaker wire length

post #1 of 15
1/9/13 at 6:19pm
Thread Starter 
Im about to wire up some rear surrounds in my living room but the routing of the cable is proving to be a bit of an issue. The easiest way to do it is to go from one side of the room to one speaker and then follow the same run to the other. Is there some rule of thumb for a percentage different in wire length? Im running 14 ga to both, one is going to be about 20 ft and the second is going to be around 35 if I do it this way. Is this difference going to be an issue?
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post #2 of 15
1/9/13 at 6:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luken8r View Post

Im about to wire up some rear surrounds in my living room but the routing of the cable is proving to be a bit of an issue. The easiest way to do it is to go from one side of the room to one speaker and then follow the same run to the other. Is there some rule of thumb for a percentage different in wire length? Im running 14 ga to both, one is going to be about 20 ft and the second is going to be around 35 if I do it this way. Is this difference going to be an issue?

your fine.

http://www.roger-russel.com/wire/wire.htm
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post #3 of 15
1/9/13 at 9:20pm
None what so ever.
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post #4 of 15
1/10/13 at 6:02am
My surround speaker wire runs are almost exactly the same lengths: 25ft and 40ft run from the same side of the room using 14 ga wire. No problems.
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post #5 of 15
1/10/13 at 6:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luken8r View Post

Im about to wire up some rear surrounds in my living room but the routing of the cable is proving to be a bit of an issue. The easiest way to do it is to go from one side of the room to one speaker and then follow the same run to the other. Is there some rule of thumb for a percentage different in wire length? Im running 14 ga to both, one is going to be about 20 ft and the second is going to be around 35 if I do it this way. Is this difference going to be an issue?

The issue is not the length, but the resistance of the wire which is dictated by its length and conductivity.

Electrical signals flow through speaker cable at over 100,000 miles per second so the time delay is negligible in any reasonable situation.

As others have pointed out, 12-14 gauge speaker cable is almost a certain guarantee that no matter what, the speaker wire (if properly hooked up) isn't a sound quality issue.

The most common problems with speaker cable is the connections, especially shorting, loose connections, or polarity reversals.
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post #6 of 15
1/10/13 at 7:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luken8r View Post

one is going to be about 20 ft and the second is going to be around 35 if I do it this way. Is this difference going to be an issue?
Only when the distance differential is at least a thousand miles, give or take. cool.gif
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post #7 of 15
1/10/13 at 8:57am
If one of your wires is about 15ft longer you can correct for that by moving the speaker ~5 microns closer to you.
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post #8 of 15
1/23/13 at 1:10pm
I have a speaker run of about 60ft and I'm planning to use 14AUG. I read that website and they mention >50ft isn't a good idea. I should be alright in my 60+ft run?
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post #9 of 15
1/23/13 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spider9 View Post

I have a speaker run of about 60ft and I'm planning to use 14AUG. I read that website and they mention >50ft isn't a good idea. I should be alright in my 60+ft run?
Use this:
http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwireselectorassistant.swf
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post #10 of 15
1/23/13 at 3:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Fitzmaurice View Post

Use this:
http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwireselectorassistant.swf

Bill,
I did look at that site and when I plug in my numbers, the output doesn't make much sense to me except the db loss. it's 0.16 and I read less than 1db is not audible!
Honestly speaking, I'm leaning towards the 12 gauge. I don't mind spending the $30 extra to buy the 12 gauge but my concerns is if it's too thick for the receiver or speakers. I have 6 ohm speakers and an old Denon receiver which I'm planning to upgrade with a decent 7.2.
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post #11 of 15
1/23/13 at 7:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spider9 View Post

Bill,
I did look at that site and when I plug in my numbers, the output doesn't make much sense to me except the db loss. it's 0.16 and I read less than 1db is not audible!
Exactly. The reason you want to avoid going beyond 50 feet if possible is to minimize capacitance and inductance losses, and a larger gauge won't help with that.
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post #12 of 15
1/24/13 at 8:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Fitzmaurice View Post

Exactly. The reason you want to avoid going beyond 50 feet if possible is to minimize capacitance and inductance losses, and a larger gauge won't help with that.

So do you suggest I stick to 14 gauge? I would like to order the wire today from Monoprice.
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post #13 of 15
1/24/13 at 9:11am
There would be big arguments about this issue on audiophile forums. Nice to have AVS.

For 60 feet I would likely get 12 AWG just because it's still very affordable. Get CL2 in-wall wire if running through walls or floors.
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post #14 of 15
1/24/13 at 10:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by spider9 View Post

So do you suggest I stick to 14 gauge? I would like to order the wire today from Monoprice.
You won't hear any difference.
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post #15 of 15
1/24/13 at 7:12pm
Thanks master Yoda and others. and apologize for thread crapping. I would use the same type cable for sub, correct?
Edited by spider9 - 1/24/13 at 7:26pm
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