# 16 ga stranded speaker wire for 100ft run?



## easytim (Oct 31, 2011)

I have been everywhere on the internet, it looks like 16ga wire will work for a 100ft run, but no more.

I'm using this wire to power a 8in ceiling speakers, not a big box type speaker with several other speakers inside


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

easytim said:


> I have been everywhere on the internet, it looks like 16ga wire will work for a 100ft run, but no more


100 foot is pushing it, but really 16 gauge wire is good for most home theater situations. many of us just buy a big roll of 12 or 14 gauge wire from monoprice because it's dirt cheap and over kill is under rated. in all reality it's not gonna be a big deal if you use 16 gauge to wire your system.


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Agreed, I used 16/4 to wire my room because it was $0.10/ft...cheap. My longest run is about 45 feet by the time I made all the turns. I used in-wall rated wire, make sure you do that.


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## easytim (Oct 31, 2011)

I bought a lot of the 16ga wire it's shield, I have a total of 16 speakers for whole house music. I'm also going to use this wire to power 12vdc LED strip lighting in many places throughout the home. I paid $92.00 for a 1000ft roll, CLP3 rated


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

Be careful of any wire marked "16 ga." That could be any size wire unless it says "AWG 16." There are a number of off shore manufacturers that do not adhere to US wire size standards. I bought some Chinese "12 ga" wire a while back - it was more like 18 AWG. AWG is "American Wire Gauge" and any wire with that label will be true to the size you think you are getting. Otherwise, all bets are off.

Also, be careful of copper coated steel - it will have higher impedance (more loss) than pure copper.

As the old saying goes, "buyer beware."


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