The most important things to consider when you choose the material for your speaker wires are thickness and length. You will choose the length of wire based upon the size of your room, and length of wire will determine the necessary gauge or thickness of the wire. Almost all speaker wire is made from some type of copper compound, but different connector materials and designs offer certain advantages.
Instructions
1. See what type of terminal your speaker wire will have to connect to. The two basic kinds are snap clip terminals and binding post terminals. You can insert the bare wire into a snap clip terminal, and binding post terminal will require some type of connector.
2. Determine what type of connector you will need. The four basic kinds of connectors are spade connectors, banana plugs, double-banana plugs and pin-type connectors. Spade connectors and banana plugs require a binding post terminal, but pin-type connectors can be placed in either type of terminal.
3. Determine the amount of space your wires will have to cover. If you are wiring speakers in multiple rooms you will obviously need a longer wire, but there may also be obstacles within a single room that will require more length.
4. Measure the length of wire you will need by using string. Unravel a length of string from the terminal in your stereo system to the location of your speakers. Place the string in the exact same place your wires will be.
5. Decide what gauge of wire you need based on the length it will have to travel. Without getting too technical, we can say thicker wires are generally better, as they allow for better flow of electricity. Gauges increase in thickness as the gauge number decreases.
6. Choose 16 gauge wire if you the length you need is 80 feet or under. Choose 14 gauge wire if your length is between 80 and 200 feet. Choose 12 gauge wire if your length is over 200 feet.
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