Antonio_B

Gauge 14 and Gauge 12

Will i notice a significant difference in sound quality if i get a Gauge 14 instead of a Gauge 12 for speaker cables?

Craig Chase

Depending on the length, perhaps. You surely WON'T regret getting a good 12 guage cable...

Craig Chase

Garrett Lundy

You shouldn't notice any difference in sound quality unless you're running a very long wire distance (100+ feet), or are using a high powered amp (250 watts +).


And remember the wise man's take on audio wire: "No wire, no matter how expensive will never make anything sound better. Good wire will only make the sound less bad".

"Did you know that more people are murdered at 92 degrees Fahrenheit than any other temperature? I read an article once. Lower temperatures, people are easy-going, over 92 and it's too hot to move, but just 92, people get irritable."

LanceJ

This should help make your decision.

Craig Chase

I love that article... Which is why I use 12 gauge wire from either Radio Shack or Lowes. The price difference vs. 14 guage is about $5 - $25 for a typical home theater.

EXCEPT... for doing a review, then I use Better Cables stuff... just to keep from getting harassed.

Craig Chase

Chu Gai

More than one reviewer has said that. Off the record of course.

Craig Chase

If you want to see some eye rolling, try a "speaker cable" test around your wife. Picture this, I have a pair of Infinity IRS Sigmas, and a Audio Refinement Pre-5/Aragon 8008 combo... and I am doing a blind test between the 12 Guage Radio shack stuff, Better Cables, and a local dealer who was a 25 year friend (he passed on a couple years ago) lent me some Audio Quest mega-buck sire that he could not sell...

Blind tests... no difference.

But the best part was my wife... the look on her face... and the question... "Ummmm... Honey ? Doesn't the wire take the electricity from the amp to the speakers ?"

Answer ... "Yep"

Next question... "So.... Some of your little friends think that they can hear the difference in the electricity from one wire to the next ?"

Answer... "Yep"

Final question ... "Ummmmmm... "You guys are serious aren't you ?"

Answer ... "Yep"

Her final response... Don't EVER challenge me as to why there are 478 shades of blue again.

Craig Chase

Leo Kerr

When I first read that, I assumed that you meant that there were 478 shades of blue because she was drinking Romulan Ale that ended up, shall we say, forcibly ejected all over the wall when she burst out laughing at you.

But on another note of useless trivia, there is a moderately rare mutation on the "X" chromosone that, oh, what was it? 0.00001% of the female human species has four different color recepters instead of the normal three?

Leo

Craig Chase

Great, Now I can tell her she made the top 99.999999%

Craig Chase

john_FE

I just bought a big roll of digital grade 14 awg from home depot, not the 33 cents a foot stuff. I have runs less than 25 feet so I am sure I will not hear a difference. I do have 12 awg for the fronts and center which is monster brand.

Unless your run is really long I seriously doubt you would hear the difference between 14 and 12 awg.

Nathan W.

Digital grade wire? Now that's funny! It must have been made from that newly discovered digital copper ore. Man! Slap "digital" on it and it will sell.

frank manrique

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Will i notice a significant difference in sound quality if i get a Gauge 14 instead of a Gauge 12 for speaker cables?
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There will be absolutely no sonic differences between 14 and 12 ga. speaker wires with runs of 50' or there abouts, and is also doubtful that there would be even with 100' lengths either.

Anyway, I'd stick with 12 ga. just to have the lower impedance afforded by such gauge, although 14 ga. will be just fine. It usually sells for less too.

You could obtain a 500' spool of 12 ga. speaker wire for $124 from Cable Wholesale (CableWholsale.com), for example, but there are a myriad of other sources you can get from, including on-line vendors.

Good luck on your quest!...

-THTS

"...hi, my name is Frank...and am an SVS bassaholic..."