| Re: Different Wire Gauge
Rarely will the wire gauge make a huge difference in sound, especially for lower volume levels.
What happens when you move to larger wire is the speaker will sound louder IF the previous wire was too small. Basically, the small wire is too thin for the current (more resistance) heats up, and raises the resistance even further. So it limits the dynamics of the speaker a bit, but not much. Keep in mind, we're not talking about heating up the wire enough to start a fire.
The larger wire has a lower internal resistance and can handle the larger current loads, thereby allowing the speaker to get loud when it needs to.
The only time I noticed this difference was when I moved from throwaway lamp cord (18 gauge) to 12 gauge. Big improvement and I was hooked (this was over 10 years ago). I was worried when I "downgraded" to 14 gauge for my in-wall runs, because 12 gauge wouldn't fit in the conduit I ran. My worries were unfounded, the speakers sound great and I don't miss any of the music or movie.
So don't fret over it too much. When you feel the itch, I'd upgrade to 14 gauge all around and be done with it. If you want to put that off, you won't be hurting anything.
AC
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