[jfarnsworth1020]

im gonna have a 7.1 home theater system in a room above my garage and im not sure what wire i should run to the speakers?

 

[darknite9099]

im gonna have a 7.1 home theater system in a room above my garage and im not sure what wire i should run to the speakers?

That really depends on the length of the runs from AVR to the speaker.
For short runs under 15' 16gauge is OK. For larger runs up to around 30' 14gauge.

I wouldn't mess around and just go straight to 12 gauge.
Don't bother with $10 a foot fancy scmancy brand names promising ethereal sound clarity.
Go to any big box home improvement place and get the low voltage outdoor stranded 2 conductor 12 gauge black sheath wire. Its about .65 per foot, and works great unless you are running over 250 watts per channel, at a distance of 100' or greater.

 

[holt7153]

Check out Monoprice or Blue Jeans Cable.

 

[Doradoguy]

After extensive research, I ordered 12 gauge. I was about to braid twist and whatever else to have the perfect wires but when the rubber hit the road I was just spinning my wheels. If you are going in wall you might want to go with in wall wire. Otherwise grab whatever is cheap.

 

[darknite9099]

+1 to Doradoguy, if going in-wall hit monoprice or parts-express for the 12guage CL3 rated in wall cable.

 

[cshepard]

16- or 14- gauge speaker wire is more than adequate for most bonus room surround systems. Of the thousands of systems I've installed, I bet 12-gauge wire would have made sense in less than .5% of them. The OP may have a theater in a box for all we know.