# what speaker wire guage do I need for my surrounds?



## genjix (Nov 23, 2010)

Hello, 

I just order a very budget system Energy Take Classic System 5.1 Home Theater System .
The rear 2 surround speakers will be around 40' - 50' run. what speaker wire guage do i need? and is RCA brand good enough?

thanks everyone



specs below
http://www.amazon.com/Energy-Classic-Theater-System-Black/dp/B001202C44


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Hello, 14awg will be just fine for that distance even 16 would work. RCA cable or wire from Monoprice.com is also fine. If your running this wire inside a wall or ceiling it should be "in wall" rated.


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## genjix (Nov 23, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> Hello, 14awg will be just fine for that distance even 16 would work. RCA cable or wire from Monoprice.com is also fine. If your running this wire inside a wall or ceiling it should be "in wall" rated.


Ok thanks, I see a deal for $5.50 for RCA 16 gauge 50' so I guess Ill order 2 of those. Thanks.


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> Hello, 14awg will be just fine for that distance even 16 would work. RCA cable or wire from Monoprice.com is also fine. If your running this wire inside a wall or ceiling it should be "in wall" rated.


:T Tony hit nail on the head with this one:sn:, Also this can be one of those highly debated topics i'm allmost suprised it hasn't had more hits:huh:.


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

bambino said:


> :T Tony hit nail on the head with this one:sn:, Also this can be one of those highly debated topics i'm allmost suprised it hasn't had more hits:huh:.


It is rare that someone recommends less than 16-18 ga. for a surround run. Speaker wire gauge isn't highly debated. :scratch:


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

tesseract said:


> It is rare that someone recommends less than 16-18 ga. for a surround run. Speaker wire gauge isn't highly debated. :scratch:


Hmm! My mistake but recall reading several places where folks tend to disagree about wire size and what should be used or what is adequete for the job:huh:.


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## I=V/R (May 25, 2011)

You could go with the Audioquest Everest series wire. I am unsure of the gauge, but it is ONLY $21,000 for 3 meters! Anything that expensive HAS to sound nice right?! Actually, compared to the radio shack wire the normal person can probably detect no discernible difference. It is just prettier lol. I have to admit that I do like the way that the copper is bundled. Maybe if I was Bill Gates rich...


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

Don't you think he could get by spending half that much? After all, it is just surrounds.


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

For balance he should spend at least twice as much, because less than half the sound goes to the surrounds.


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## NegativeEntropy (Apr 22, 2009)

Joking aside, here's a reference I've found handy for both it's explanation of why as well as just using the table to find the appropriate wire gage for a given speaker impedance and length of run:

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#wiretable


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