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In general you should use the heaviest gauge speaker wire that will fit in the connectors
(remember, the smaller the AWG number, the heavier/thicker the wire). Using pin plugs,
spade terminals, and cable lugs can allow use of heavier gauge wire.
Rather than using fixed length speaker wires, it is best to get a roll and cut the wires to the
length you will need them. This ensures that there is a minimum amount of excess wire.
However, even if your amplifier is off-center, the lengths of wire used for each speaker pair
(front mains or surrounds) should be identical. This keeps the impedance on each channel
the same, which ensures that the volume levels, frequency ranges, and tonalities are
identical. Any excess wire should be snaked back and forth, but not coiled, to avoid
creating an inductor/antenna for stray radio signals.
Before making the actual connections, cut each length of wire to size. Note the markings
on the wire that differentiate between each conductor. Sometimes the marking clearly
identifies a positive and negative side. Some common clearly positive and negative
markings or identifiers are:
Wire Gauge
Distance (feet)
18 AWG
16 AWG
14 AWG
12 AWG
10 AWG
Positive
Negative
Red
Copper
+ + +
9
10
20
35
60
100
Black
Silver
- - -
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