HDTV and Home Theater Podcast #366 - Speaker Wire Myths Busted

Today's Show:
Speaker Wire Myths Busted

Today we tackle some of the myths we have heard related to speaker wiring.

Use the heaviest gauge wire that you can - While it is true that thicker wire has lower resistance it is also true that based on the length of the run you can use higher gauge wire. The following is our recommendation for speaker wire gauge:

Distance	Gauge
Less than 100 feet	16
100 to 200 feet	14
greater than 200 feet	12

For real short lengths (less than 10 feet) you can use 18 gauge wire.

Speaker wire needs to be the same length - Electric impulses traveling down a speaker wire are moving at close to the speed of light. When you account for resistance in the speaker wire, the electrons can travel about 130,000 miles on one second. In other words a meter or two or 100 will have micro seconds of delay.

You need to break in your cables - This was probably developed by a manufacturer and is equivalent to the length of time that you have to return your real expensive cables for a full refund. This one always makes us laugh when we hear it! Electrons going down the line will not change the composition of your speaker wire.

Silver Wire is better - This is true but not necessary. Silver is a better conductor so smaller wire can be used on longer runs. With that said, it will cost more and it won't produce better sound. Save your money and go with thicker copper wire.

Oxygen Free Wire is Better - Again, like Silver wire this is true. Removing oxygen from wires removes iron impurity in the wires which will reduce the resistance. Like silver wire you will be paying more for the wire without being able to hear the difference.

Expensive Speaker Wire produces better sound - For this we look to an article (Audiophiles can't tell the difference between Monster Cable and coat hangers) that was going around the Internet a few months back. A double blind test was conducted where 12 self professed audiophiles were told that they were conducting a blind A/B test between Oxygen free Belden stranded wire and Monster 1000 speaker cables. In actuality the experts were comparing the Monster 1000 speaker cables and a pair of coat hangers. The end result, none of the experts could tell the difference.

The bottom line - The more hype surrounding speaker wire does not translate into a better listening experience. But it certainly translates into higher prices. You will be well served by going to Home Depot or Radio Shack and buy in bulk!