QuestionI was thinking the reason too why I didn't hear a difference is that the length of wire from the amp to the fronts is about 10 feet. That goes for the center and sub too. I guess with that length you wouldn't hear a difference between 18 GA and 16 GA wire. I don't know.
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Followup To
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I would like to apologize for my recent e-mail saying that I could hear a difference between 18 gauge wire and 16 gauge wire, after hooking up one of each kind to a speaker and then listening one at a time. I had one speaker hooked into the left channel on the amp and the other speaker to the right channel on the amp. I actually did this test again just yesterday and I decided to switch the channels, meaning switch the speakers. The wires, by the way, stayed in their respective speaker. I did not switch that. After listening I could not hear a difference. Both speakers in the same channel sounded the same. I guess the way cd's are recorded, sometimes musicians intend for certain frequencies to come out of a certain channel, or more strongly out of a certain channel. I think too, that if I had a really high end speaker system that I would hear a difference. I have the Athena Micra 6 system, which I would say is not low end or high end, but somewhere in the middle, I guess. My amp is a Kenwood VR-615, which is not high end, but is not a bad amp. Am I correct that only on the high end speaker systems you would hear a difference with wires? A lot of people have been telling me that. Thanks very much for all your expert help.
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I had recently written an e-mail asking what gauge of speaker wire I should buy for my speaker system. The wire that came with my system is 18 gauge wire. Just for a test I went to Lowes and bought a strand of 16 gauge wire. Then I hooked up the 18 gauge wire from the receiver to a speaker, and the 16 gauge wire to another speaker. I then listened to one speaker at a time to see if I could hear a difference. I did. The speaker that had the 16 gauge wire attached to it, the sound was louder and the highs were crisper and the bass louder. Go figure. How could this be? Both wires were about the same length. The 18 gauge wire was tinned at the ends, but the 16 gauge wire was just bare wire. Did that have something to do with it? I am planning on buying a strand of 14 gauge and 12 gauge wire to see if I hear a difference between those and the 16 gauge. How much better do you think it will get? I thought all wire was pretty much the same. I hear a lot of people say they really can't hear a difference between wires, but I did for sure. Thanks.
Answer -
Dear Dave,
Although I'm not surprised that you heard a "difference", indeed several "differences", between the 18AWG and 16AWG wire--as I've said before, 16AWG is the minimum--, I'm not sure that the "differences" between 16AWG and 14AWG or 12AWG will be as profound.
Be careful of what we call in the biz the "conditioned response". Unless your listening tests are conducted by a neutral party through a double-blind testing device, called an ABX Box, you can't be sure if the differences you heard were real or what you were expecting. Psychoacoustic research has overwhelmingly verified that the conditioned response, hearing what you think you're going to hear, can easily overpower bona fide acoustical differences (tone, timbre, "loudness", and so on).
I mention this not to dismiss what you heard, but to make you aware of the conditioned response fallacy, one that has been exploited by gear and wire manufacturers for many years. For instance, manufacturers would have you believe that a $5,000 CD player delivers "better CD performance" than a $100 DVD player. Yet, all the testing I've read would indicate that their sounds are indistinguishable. There are similar claims for solid state receivers and amplifiers and of course interconnects and speaker wire. There really isn't any evidence to support claims that there are many, if any, audible differences among those products.
That having been said, you'll probably hear some improvement in the sound by upgrading to 14AWG wire, but from that to 12AWG should not yield anything nearly as distinct. Frankly, the differences between the 16AWG and 14AWG will be fairly subtle.
As always, your ears are the best judge of what you hear, all the theoretical arguments aside. Go with what you feel delivers the best sound and don't worry about what I or anyone else thinks. It's your system, your sound...your money.
Have fun. That's the point, no?
Kindest regards,
Kevin
Answer -
Dear David,
It is my opinion that speaker wire is an indifferent component: it neither adds nor substracts from the sound. I have a fairly sophisticated system (Sunfire amplifier, AVA Omega Star III EC preamplifier, Parasound C/DP 1000 CD player, and Legacy Classic speakers). When I review other speakers for "The Sensible Sound", I'll sometimes switch wire in and out just for grins--and to keep myself honest. I've even switched wire with the Classics. If wire makes any sound difference at all, I've never heard it.
I've suggested that you use generic 14AWG wire because that's what I use. It works. You can spend a lot more money, and there are plenty of wire makers out there just waiting to take it from you, but you won't get any better sound.
I know "a lot of people" swear by wire. I don't. No one whose audio judgment I trust does.
Kindest regards,
Kevin
AnswerDear David,
Okay, I give up. You want to believe that wire makes a difference. You're asking my expert opinion, and my expert opinion is that it simply doesn't.
No, I don't think you'd hear much difference between 18AWG and 16AWG over a 10' run. However, a 100' run of 18AWG might (note: "might") limit the speaker's ability to capture all the nuances of all frequencies. But, as I've said before, (1) I don't recommend anything thinner than 16AWG, and (2) I do recommend that you use 14AWG. With the latter, larger wire, you'll effectively eliminate any, infintesmally remote chance that wire gauge will affect the sound of your system.
Kindest regards,
Kevin
