What Speaker Wire To Buy As Fast As Possible

If you're looking to upgrade your home audio system, you might be surprised by just how important your speaker wire choices are...

[vwestlife]

The insulation on speaker wire does not "protect against interference", because speaker wire is not shielded. The insulation only serves to keep the wire from oxidizing and prevent it from shorting against itself or other objects. Also you should note that the wire gauges shown in the video are measured in American Wire Gauge (AWG). British countries use Standard Wire Gauge (SWG) which is different.

[mroctavio]

You really missed a lot of information that could've been useful

[anzeg-]

Feet? Really? You're Canadian, at least show both damn measurement units....

[TheLawnWanderer]

One of the best none bullshit videos I have seen from Linus media group
10/10

[Torbox]

Really think you missed a lot of things in this, you should avoid CCA (copper clad aluminum) wire as it can cause a large amount of impedance even over short runs and go with plain copper or OFC (Oxygen free copper) wire, just go on amazon, anything that is 100% copper is fine, don't get tricked by fancy super expensive name brand wire. Most speakers are between 4-8 ohms, a lot more are 4 ohms than you think. The impedance of the speaker is not as much of a concern with wire as it is with the comparability of your amp. Your wire gauge has a lot less to do with speaker impedance as it has to do with power output/rating of your speakers. If you amp outputs 1-100 watts per channel 14 gauge wire is fine, if your amp outputs anywhere from 100-175 watts per channel you should go with 12 gauge wire. Higher strand count is better for the wires as they are more flexible and less prone to internal breaking. 3:06, is literally the worst stock photo you could have used considering that is not at all how speaker wires go into those terminals. And using connectors like banana plugs does make it easier but also introduces more resistance, just plug wires in properly and you are fine.

[michaelthomas]

Thanks for making it simple to understand. I was trying to explain this to a friend for a system I installed in his new house. Went with 14 guage crutch field or Amazon basic spool sounds great no issues. But he did get sold a 500 dollar HDMI cable from the place he bought his TV. Unfortunately I wasn't there to tell him it's not worth it. I do like how some expensive cables look but never worth the price. Anyway thanks again 👍👍👍

[BASTMD.]

As a professional installer, I usually run 16/2 or 14/2 depending on the length of the run and amp rating on the speakers the customer wants to install. I normally deal with Episode, proficient, paradigm, sonance speakers. All recessed interior or bracket or recessed exterior (decks, patios). Love the video and the explanation you gave to describe impedance.

[ognjengalic]

For everyone reading this: IMPEDANCE IS NOT THE SAME AS RESISTANCE!

[Falcrist]

Good video... though interference (an electromagnetic phenomenon in this context) isn't going to be stopped by simple electrical insulation.
Fortunately it doesn't matter for speaker wires, since EM interference is typically SEVERAL orders of magnitude weaker than the actual power that wire is carrying. EM interference is typically only a problem if it's introduced BEFORE the amplification.

[animeluv]

I just use monoprice 12awg oxygen free copper wire it's cheap and it works. It sounds obviously better than the 16awg stuff that had steel wire and copper plated wire on the other side from Canadian Tire. I also use some banana plugs from monoprice and some rg6 subwoofer cables

[frank]

Insulation doesn't protect against interference, shielding does, there's a big difference there.

[urinstein]

I'm confused. Do I need less cable, if I have small feet?

[SteadfastWL]

I love how one of the tags is "snake oil"

[RazorStrap]

Most of the length/gauge spec you gave are for copper wire.  Most of the speaker wire in the consumer market is CCA (copper clad aluminum) which requires 2 gauges larger for the same length.

Examples:
18 gauge copper or 16 gauge CCA; up to 32 feet
16 gauge copper or 14 gauge CCA; up to 48 feet

The general rule is to keep the wire impedance (each conductor) less that 2.5% of the speaker impedance (5% total for both conductors).

[mygetrichslowplan]

Luke, you look soooo tired in this episode. Maybe it's just the lighting, or maybe Linus is working you too hard, you know, at the office and *outside* the office...

[andrewpolitano]

It would have been important to note that cheaper speaker wire doesn't always use copper or even better OFC (oxygen free copper). The Amazon Basics 16awg speaker wire for instance, uses 42 stranded CCA or, "Copper Clad Aluminum", which as we all know is less conductive than what you really want anyway. The real answer is look for 14awg all around, OFC construction and a decent jacket to combat snags and tears/some interference issues. Brand name doesn't matter as long as you're getting the bases covered. For reference, I currently use Monoprices' Core Series OFC 14awg. It's a dollar more than the Amazon option and you get everything you need, nothing you don't need to pay for.

[MightySquirrel]

Fun tip: Those 6' 2 wire $1 extension cords for 2 prong electrical outlets at the dollar store can be cut and made into super cheap, effective speaker wire.

[DaemonCross]

Here's something to consider for your next videos - Computer port Oxidation. How to Maintain, Fix and the effects.

[jerma]

This video didn't help at all, I couldn't hear it because I used the wrong wires for my new speakers.

[vinayakaamr]

I bought F&D T-60X Bluetooth Home Audio Speaker, which has 55w *2
output (I'm not sure of the OHMS but looks like its 8omhs), i want to
know which speaker wire is best to connect these 2 speakers in india?
what gauge speaker wire should i purchase. they will be placed at a
distance of approx 5-6 meters from each other.