Mixing 12 and 16 gauge wire

Hilbert
Hilbert Posts: 316
Celebrating promotion to Polkster by asking the sort of stupid question only a Polkie should be allowed to ask.

I have some speakers coming from ebay Polk direct (today!! 4 days to NC from San Diego!!) and when they arrive I'll have five + sub. Haven't enough 12 gauge to connect all 5. If I use 16g for either the fronts or the surrounds, and 12g for the other 3, will anything bad happen? I'm thinking of fireballs engulfing the amp or molten speaker wire, not sound quality---this is I hope merely a temporary fix.

I'm assuming there won't be any problem. But better safe than sorry and asking is free.

Thanks in advance.
Post edited by Hilbert on

Comments

  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited December 2008
    You should probably be fine.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited December 2008
    I would use the thicker wire for the fronts.
  • Hilbert
    Hilbert Posts: 316
    edited December 2008
    leroyjr1 wrote: »
    I would use the thicker wire for the fronts.

    Roger that. Thanks guys.
  • WilliamM2
    WilliamM2 Posts: 4,781
    edited December 2008
    Use the 12ga on the longest runs.
  • Hilbert
    Hilbert Posts: 316
    edited December 2008
    Uh oh. Contradiction and confusion.

    Actually my "long" runs are quite short. One will be perhaps 10 feet, the other just a couple of feet (he room is small and oddly shaped). So I shall use the 12g for the channels carrying the most info.

    Thanks again for the replies; it's nice to feel confident I can turn on the amp without having a fire extinguisher handy.
  • WilliamM2
    WilliamM2 Posts: 4,781
    edited December 2008
    With the runs that short, it really won't matter.
  • Hilbert
    Hilbert Posts: 316
    edited December 2008
    Do you suppose there's anything to be gained by replacing the 16g with 12 eventually?
  • mmadden28
    mmadden28 Posts: 4,283
    edited December 2008
    Hilbert wrote: »
    Do you suppose there's anything to be gained by replacing the 16g with 12 eventually?

    Its certainly possible, although you'll get arguments on both sides.

    For now, and if you have enough 16awg cable, you can double the cable up. 2 x 16awg cables will be equivalent to a 13awg cable. You could even do quad and get 10awg ;).

    Longer runs should get higher gauges due to increased resistance and other physics involved.
    Its been said that too large a gauge can affect the high frequencies, but then again on short runs its usually not an issue.
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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited December 2008
    Also just because it thicker doesn't always mean it's better.
  • Hilbert
    Hilbert Posts: 316
    edited December 2008
    mmadden28 wrote: »
    You could even do quad and get 10awg ;).

    A guy who quadruples his cable on a 2 foot run to achieve 10g would have to be considered an audiophile, would he not. :)

    Come to think of it (duh) I shall have to buy ICs for the new speakers, and new 12g wire would be a not terribly significant additional expense, so that's what I'll do. The Blue Jeans ICs I got a couple months ago made a huge improvement.
  • RETXAB
    RETXAB Posts: 11
    edited December 2008
    leroyjr1 wrote: »
    Also just because it thicker doesn't always mean it's better.

    Copper is copper. The electricity runs on the outside edge of the wire, so a solid wire will have slightly more resistance than braided...
    TV: Sharp 46" Aquos
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  • Eric W
    Eric W Posts: 556
    edited December 2008
    RETXAB wrote: »
    Copper is copper. The electricity runs on the outside edge of the wire, so a solid wire will have slightly more resistance than braided...
    Not quite. If you're talking in the gigahertz range, yes (that's skin effect- and this is why satellite coax cable's center conductor is copper clad steel core). As you get closer to DC (or 0 Hz) the signal travels closer to the center. Audio is 20-20kHz and in the grand scheme of things, that's pretty low in the spectrum.

    Further, a solid wire will have less resistance than a stranded wire, but then it'll be so stiff you can't work with it.
    -Eric
    -Polk Audio
  • Eric W
    Eric W Posts: 556
    edited December 2008
    mmadden28 wrote: »
    Longer runs should get higher gauges due to increased resistance and other physics involved.

    Did you mean longer runs should use lower gauges?
    Its been said that too large a gauge can affect the high frequencies, but then again on short runs its usually not an issue.

    Depends on the electrical properties of the cable, if it has alot of inductance then it may roll off the highs. But you're right as such a short length, there will likely be no difference at all. Ever see how thin voice coil wire is? :D
    -Eric
    -Polk Audio
  • mmadden28
    mmadden28 Posts: 4,283
    edited December 2008
    Eric Wong wrote: »
    Did you mean longer runs should use lower gauges?

    Doh-my bad--:o Yes, that is what I meant to say--lower guage/larger diameter for longer runs-thanks for catching that. It's one of those phrases-in my mind I was thinking higher guage or larger diameter, not higher guage number/smaller diameter.

    Ya know its funny--another term/phrase that's oft misunderstood in my house is when asking somebody to turn the air conditioner down-Do they mean turn the coolness level down or turn the degree setting down (increase coolness). Usually not a problem when talking about heat. ;)
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