Speaker cable for Boston Acoustics 120X Micro satellite (1 Viewer)

[iamkk77]

I have a pair of Boston Acoustics 120X Micro speakers which I want to use as Front Surround. The user manual recommends 18 AWG speaker cable for less than 25 feet and 16 AWG for more than 25 feet. But in forums I see people recommending 16 or less for better performance. My receiver is Sony STR-K840P 100W per channel. What would you recommend and why?
Thx!

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

It depends on what the meaning of "less" is.

When it comes to wire gauge, the higher the number, the thinner the wire. 12 gauge is thicker than 16 gauge, which is thicker than 18 gauge. So are the forums you've read recommending 16 gauge or thinner, or 16 gauge or a lower number (which would mean a thicker wire)?

For standard speakers most folks here recommend either 12 or 14 gauge wire. I don't know if micro speakers like yours are supposed to take thinner (higher-gauge) wire or not. The posts you've seen could be suggesting that you use a wire no thinner than 16 gauge or that you should use something no thicker than 16, depending.

Regards,

Joe

 

[iamkk77]

hey, thanks for the reply. i know the "gauge confusion". i know that lesser the gauge thicker the wire. forums recommend 16 or thicker wire. but the user manual for Boston speakers recommend 18 for lengths less than 25 feet, which is the length that i will be using (about 6-10ft). so can i use 16 instead of 18. i mean should i follow the user manual which is what the manufacturer recommends (they must have done research on that and decided on the optimum) or should i follow forums where most people say use 16 or thicker for any lengths.

 

[iamkk77]

by the way, the ratings of the speakers are as follows -
Frequency Response - 125Hz - 22kHz
Recommended amplifier power - 15-100 watts
Nominal impedance - 8 ohms
sensitivity - 89dB

 

[chuckg]

You can never have wire that is too thick. Unless, of course, it's so thick it won't bend around corners! I would personally never use anything thinner than 16 gage on any speaker hookup, and I cringe to go that small.