A Short Guide to
Speaker Wires and Speaker Connectors

Each speaker connection requires a two-lead interconnect between the positive and negative terminals on your home theater receiver or amplifier, and the speaker unit. 

Polarity: Maintaining the correct polarity is important especially in a multi-channel system such as in home theater surround sound.

Incorrect polarity will throw the respective speaker in an out-of-phase mode with the rest. For this reason, speaker cables and terminals are normally color coded - black for the -ve terminal and red for +ve side.

Gauge: Wire is identified by its gauge or thickness; normal thickness range from gauge 18 to 10. The smaller the number, the thicker is the copper conductor, and the better its capacity to pass the amplified audio signal. Most speaker wires provided with HTiB systems are normally gauge 18; this is too thin to be of any use except for very short lengths - typically less than 25 feet.

A thicker wire gauge is definitely required for longer lengths; in other words, which speaker cable gauge to use depends mainly on your speaker wire length. You can use the following chart as a guideline:

Gauge 16 is the minimum we recommend with short runs and often represents the best option for moderately priced systems when speakers are placed close to the AV receiver. Gauge 16 speaker wire is relatively inexpensive, apart from being thinner, which makes it easier to work with e.g. to pass along door frames and under fitted carpets.

Using the length factor as a guide to help you determine which speaker cable gauge to use should generally suffice under most applications. However, we suggest using the next thicker gauge to that indicated in that above table with lower impedance 6 and 4 Ohm speaker loads. And in the case of 2-Ohm speakers, gauge 12 is the minimum we recommend for distances up to 30 feet.

The main reason is that any connecting speaker cable represents an additional load on the amplifier - which load is in effect added in series to that of the speaker impedance. Ideally, the total speaker wire resistance should only represent a very small percentage in relation to the connected speaker impedance. In his very interesting and detailed article on Speaker Wire - A History, Roger Russell recommends a total speaker wire resistance of less than 5% of the nominal speaker impedance though as he admits, this is somewhat on the conservative side in that some amplification systems would even tolerate twice as much resistance (i.e. up to 10% of the speaker load) without any noticeable audible effect.

In any case, the fact remains that the thicker and most practical wire you use for your speaker connection, the better in that it reduces the load on your amplifier while helping to deliver more of the amplifier output to your speakers. Not only, this may also help your system deliver the fine musical detail audiophile-quality music systems are capable of as well as those blasting effects in multi-channel surround sound.

Selecting Your Speaker Wire

There exists a variety of speaker cables and wires - ranging from standard pre-terminated cables and in-wall speaker wires to ultra-flat speaker cables with self-adhesive backing which can be easily concealed by being painted over, run underneath flooring and carpets, or covered with wall paper.

Speaker cables are generally pre-terminated with the appropriate speaker connectors while speaker wire is cut to custom length and then terminated with the appropriate connectors by the user. At the same time, some use the term 'cable' to refer to a more robust and higher quality speaker wire.

Pre-terminated Speaker Cables and Standard Speaker Wires

You can buy complete speaker cables in standard lengths pre-terminated with the respective speaker connectors. However, if you order pre-terminated speaker wire, always check the type of connectors for compatibility with your equipment. In addition, it you are after in-wall installation, ensure that the end connectors will pass through the access holes you have in the wall.

Dayton SCP-6 Speaker Cable Pair w/Banana plugs - 6 ft.

Alternatively, you can purchase the required length of wire - always adding a little extra per speaker to allow for a margin of error when measuring cable runs, and then connect the required plugs or terminals to suit your needs.

We also suggest going through our detailed Home Theater Speaker Wiring Guide for additional information on speaker cables and cable connection basics.

In their attempt to enjoy the best sound performance, some may want to consider expensive exotic speaker cables using oxygen-free copper or even silver wire. But apart from an extremely expensive price tag - in particular when it comes to speaker cables using silver wire, we say that the use of these expensive speaker wires do not lead to any noticeable difference in audible performance.  Why?

Oxygen-free copper wire comes with a slightly lower resistance than standard copper speaker wire but the difference is too small to make any difference in speaker applications.  For this reason, oxygen-free speaker wire can be considered to be the same as standard copper wire when it comes to resistance. The lower resistance arises not because of the removal of oxygen but because the process used to remove oxygen helps remove other impurities present in standard copper, which impurities lead to a minimal increase in the copper wire resistance.

In contrast, silver wire has a lower resistance compared to that of the same gauge of copper - meaning that a thinner silver wire may be used in replacement to thicker standard copper wire. But the use of silver would make even standard length speaker cables extremely expensive especially in a multi-channel speaker setup without actually leading to any benefits in audible performance.

The reality behind these often very expensive cables is that exotic AV cables are associated with huge profit margins - profits that are possible thanks to the 'magical' hype brought by professional sales people that praise the 'magical' benefits of such cables without any scientific proof to substantiate their claims.

Cable Quality and Sonic Performance:

At this point, one very valid question that may arise is: What kind of speaker wire is best?

The simple truth is that irrespective of whether you use silver, standard copper, or oxygen-free copper, there is no difference in the audio quality as long as the speaker wire resistance is just minimal compared to the speaker impedance.

The only difference that may arise with different speaker wires is between multi-stranded and solid speaker wire. But this difference is one of convenience and not sonic quality. Due to its rigidity, solid wire is generally more suitable for in-wall applications while the added flexibility offered by multi-stranded wire would make stranded wire more suitable for the end termination between say a speaker wall-plate and the speaker unit.

This does not mean that any low quality speaker wire will do. Some wires, despite their thick insulation, still come with a thin copper conductor inside. So be aware of such manufacturers' tricks and do not be mislead by the wire external thickness alone.

This does not mean that insulation is not important. Rather, one major issue with cheap speaker cables is that with some poor quality speaker wires, the wire insulation does not offer a sufficient barrier to atmospheric elements to prevent the copper strands inside from corroding along the full length of the wire. Worst still is that with some cheap wires, the insulation itself may be the cause of copper corrosion, a clear sign that materials used in the making of the speaker wire were not researched correctly. These low quality speaker wires should be avoided.

In addition, some low quality speaker wires are not coded to help you identify the correct polarity to maintain proper phasing between speakers. This means that unless you trace each separate wire, you risk inverting speaker polarity.

Speaker Terminals and Amplifier Speaker Connectors

More important than the use of oxygen-free copper or silver wire is the quality of the connectors used to connect the speakers to your amplifier or AV receiver. These often use a pressure device - either through a spring loaded mechanism or through the use of a binding post type connector. Spring terminals will only accept pin connectors or tinned base wire ends. Binding posts may accept many types of connection, including pin, banana plug and spade.

Whether it is spring loaded or binding post, the result is always the same, creating a connection by forcing two metals against each other. Unfortunately, this is not the ideal way - though it is the most practical - of providing the best connection between your amplifier and the speakers.

A pressure connection often deteriorates with time. This also explains why in some cases, simply removing and cleaning the wires and terminals and reconnecting them can make an audible difference - the same difference many hear when replacing their speaker wire with some expensive speaker cables. A soldered connection - possibly using silver solder - straight from your amplifier output direct to your speaker would surely provided a lower resistance connection. The problem is that this type of 'soldered through' setup is not practical.

The use of good quality speaker terminals and speaker connectors is thus more important that the use of some exotic speaker wire.