16 Gauge Efficient? (1 Viewer)

[Clayton G]

Just got my new Paradigm System, but still hunting for the right cables since my DVD is down. I'm curios if 16 gauge cable will be sufficient for my needs? The longest runs will be no more than 30 ft. Also does anyone have any experience with Ixos cables? Thanks.

 

[Clayton G]

Forgot to ask, what is the difference between bannana pins, and just pins?

 

[Chu Gai]

16 isn't terrible, but 12 gauge all around just makes matters easier. ixos works too but it'll cost you more. Sometimes they're on sale somewhere and you may be able to cut an attractive price. i mean, its tough making a living in the cable business unless you jack up the price. not sure what banana pins are...maybe a poor halloween joke? no seriously, i'm not sure what you mean. the cables you may want to terminate to facilitate things. Myself i'm partial to bananas on the receiver/amp end of things and spades on the speakers. Of course this depends if what you have permits this.

 

[Clayton G]

Chu,
Sorry, meant Bannana Plugs vs. Pins. The pins look very slinder so I can't quite figure out how they would connect. I found some Ixos-603 13 gauge cable for 59 cents a foot. That doesn't seem to ridiculous. It has a pretty high strand count too.

 

[Chu Gai]

the high strand count makes for greater flexibility. some people like putting the wire into the speaker via spring clips. thing is its a little messy and you always have the risk of a stray wire shorting things out. so one can either tin the ends of the wire or attach the wires to pins. i've heard, not confirmed and undoubtably speaker specific, that pins may wiggle out over time. If you look at the back of the speakers or in the manual, it'll tell indicate or tell you the options you have to connect. Like i said, for myself, i like spades, but that's just me. To me, on the speaker end, spades make for a nice secure connection. On the amp end, bananas make for a bit more convenience. sonically, there's no reason to prefer one to the other.
Ixos is fine, so is HomeDepot 12 gauge (made by Carol) or SoundKing. 100 foot rolls are around $40 which you can terminate yourself. For those not comfortable with a soldering iron, there are screw type products out there. Myself I enjoy the security that a good solid crimp and a solder job gives. Or if you happen to have a buddy with a little arc welder...

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Several speaker sites (not trying to sell wire) recommend the following gauge based on the run-length:

1-10 ft: 16 ga
11-20 ft: 14 ga
20+ ft: 12 ga

But most of us just buy a spool of 12 ga and use it everywhere.

You CAN get away with 16 ga wire, but the long run will reduce the higher frequency sounds more than the lower frequency ones. This will "slant" the sound.

For the rear speakers in a HT system - you can get away with this. Critical sounds like dialog/music dont usually go to the rears.

Pins: Some receivers have "spring-clips" for speaker outputs. Pin connectors work for these. You can also un-screw the cap on a binding post and insert a pin into the exposed side hole.

Audiophiles believe bare wire is the best, and I agree to a point. But I cannot "knit" 12 ga wire into the side holes of my posts without leaving a few strands of copper sticking out. This is dangerous.

I use the dual-banana plugs from Radio Shack for behind my speakers, and the single-bananas for behind my receiver. It makes it easy to do a neat/safe job. Highly recommended: xxx-308 - dual bananas. xxx-306 - single bananas.

PS: Buy 1 set of the dual bananas and take it home to make sure it fits your speakers/receiver. The spacing is NOT standardized so be sure it works before you buy 5 of them.

 

[Mark Fitzsimmons]

I like speaker cables from www.knukonceptz.com I have their basic 12 gauge in my system and its very good for the money. At 50 cents a foot it can't be beat. It has a high strand count making it flexable and easy to work with (twisting the ends is much easier)
I am not a believer in high end cables sonically making a difference so these work great for me. I also have their banana plugs too, they are some of the best I've seen and the price is awesome.
Edit: I just checked their site and its on sale for 40 cents/foot through the month of July.

 

[Chu Gai]

Many good reasonably priced solutions

 

[ThomasL]

Clayton, 16 gauge should be fine for those length of runs but if you can get a good deal on 12 gauge then go for it. I use a combination of 14 gauge in-wall and 16 gauge for all of my runs, none of which are more than 50 feet.

good luck,


--tom