What gauge of speaker wire should I use in my system?

For the best speaker damping and least amount of power loss you will want to use the heaviest gauge that is practical. Length is an important consideration (isn’t it always !).

The longer the run the heavier the gauge required. Also, the larger the amp the heavier the gauge.

Then there's cable resistance. Generally speaking, for runs of under 10m a 2.5mm conductor will suffice. Over this length and if the total load is below 4 ohms then going up to 4mm per conductor is good practice.

Stranded cable is best and for the very best results use only good quality cable. For longer runs better results will be achieved if the total load is higher (8-16ohms) as the overall resistance of the cable becomes less significant compared to the load.

For very long runs considering a constant voltage system may be the only solution although this is not practical for anything other than a fixed installation.

If you wish to compare American wire sizes with European sizes, we have a handy coversion chart available on the website. Please click HERE.
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