speaker wiring, interconnects (1 Viewer)

[vpulipati]

I'm looking to buy speaker wire and interconnects, and wondering what to look for in them.
How do I figure out what AWG I need? Checked with a friend and he says 16 AWG should be good for any room. Is it ok to go with lower numbers like 14 or 12 AWG just to be on safe side? Or would that cause any problems?
2 conductors or 4 conductors? and, is it always better to get with Oxygen free copper cable?
For the banana plugs, which one is better? closed screw or open screw?

For HDMI, again what AWG? Is Silver plated better than gold plated?
I'm planning to get all the wiring in-wall.

Thanks for helping.

 

[SethH]

For in-wall runs I would go with 14awg. 16 is sufficient for most situations, but the cost difference is typically quite small. Unless you're bi-amping 4 condutor wire is simply increasing your awg.

HDMI is a little trickier. For an in-wall run I would probably use something like the Belden Series 1 from BlueJeans Cables which is 23.5awg.

 

[gene c]

I would think the thicker gauge would be better, but I'm not the best one to answer that. Here's their fine selection of hdmi cables. As for silver or gold, I would also think gold would be better, but again, I'm not sure why.

 

[vpulipati]

Does it mean the quality of speaker wire at monoprice is not that great? Where could I find better quality wires if I don't mind spending more?

This is probably a dumb question.. when they say 16AWG 4 conductor wire, does it mean each conductor is 16AWG? If so, then it would be like 8 AWG or 10 AWG (if I'm not bi-amping), right?

Thanks for the responses.

 

[gene c]

I'm sure each wire would be 16 g, which is the thinnest I'd use under any circumstances. Dual 16 g would add up to about a single 12 g if I remember correctly (I read it in an electrical wiring book many years ago). 2 X 14 = 10 g and 2 X 12 = 8. Or there abouts. If I were bi-amping I'd still use 12 g for both. It's not that much more so I would want to do it right the first time.