What gauge speaker wire??

[tmorefi]

I am going to run in-wall speaker wire under my floor for about 30 ft. to get to my rear speakers. My rears are Polk Audio 100watt 8" in-wall speakers. Will 16 gauge in-wall wire be ok or should I go with 14 or 12? Thanks...

[trevorg]

> I am going to run in-wall speaker wire under
> my floor for about 30 ft. to get to my rear
> speakers. My rears are Polk Audio 100watt
> 8" in-wall speakers. Will 16 gauge
> in-wall wire be ok or should I go with 14 or
> 12? Thanks...

16 should be fine. im runnin like a mix of 18 and 20 for about 18 feet for my rear sourounds and they sounds fine and the wires are fine.

[ericjuberseder]

Why fool around? The cost is minimal. Get 12 gauge house wiring.

If you were only going to go two feet maybe, but 20.....

> 16 should be fine. im runnin like a mix of
> 18 and 20 for about 18 feet for my rear
> sourounds and they sounds fine and the wires
> are fine.

[timsimmons]

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


> I am going to run in-wall speaker wire under
> my floor for about 30 ft. to get to my rear
> speakers. My rears are Polk Audio 100watt
> 8" in-wall speakers. Will 16 gauge
> in-wall wire be ok or should I go with 14 or
> 12? Thanks...

16 is too small, use 14

check out the link

[johnnyrichards]

16 awg should be fine... Doubtful you will run more than 100 wats through it.

[thehammer]

I've done several in-wall installations with several different products and I've settled on this.
<A HREF="http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=100-762">http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=100-762</A>
It is a good comprimise of price, size and workability. The 14ga is not much more expensive or harder to work with than 16ga. I find 12ga to be more diffucult to work with and terminate, and I only use it for the longest runs.

> I am going to run in-wall speaker wire under
> my floor for about 30 ft. to get to my rear
> speakers. My rears are Polk Audio 100watt
> 8" in-wall speakers. Will 16 gauge
> in-wall wire be ok or should I go with 14 or
> 12? Thanks...

[nodsetse]

> 16 is too small, use 14
> check out the link

If I read it correctly, the chart indicates 16 is fine for up to 48ft. using 8 Ohm speakers. If that's correct, I don't know why you'd recommend 14.

[biff]

> I am going to run in-wall speaker wire under
> my floor for about 30 ft. to get to my rear
> speakers. My rears are Polk Audio 100watt
> 8" in-wall speakers. Will 16 gauge
> in-wall wire be ok or should I go with 14 or
> 12? Thanks...

Hammers recommendation for the 14-2. It pulls real easy around corners and through tight spots. I also like the 14-4, especially if your main run has left and right together and split close to termination. Some just use the 14-4 cause it pulls easy and then pair them for an effective lower guage.

[timsimmons]

> If I read it correctly, the chart indicates
> 16 is fine for up to 48ft. using 8 Ohm
> speakers. If that's correct, I don't know
> why you'd recommend 14.

You are correct, I screwed up. I would still use 14 though, why not? it's only a little more $$