Crutchfield Speaker Wire

The gauge of the speaker wire isn't determined by the speaker; it's determined by the amplification (wattage). 16 gauge wire is plenty for powering directly off an aftermarket stereo (14-22 watts RMS). When using an external aftermarket amplifier (up to 100 watts RMS) to power full-range speakers, I recommend using the thicker 14 gauge wire. For higher wattage subwoofer applications, you may want to use thicker 12 or 10 gauge wire (depending on the length of the run) For additional assistance and personalized recommendations, feel free to contact us directly: http://www.crutchfield.com/support/ContactUs.aspx I hope that helps My Bio: http://www.crutchfield.com/Support/Bio.aspx?bio=5

Glen, if you've done much research on speaker wire, you've learned that opinions range from lampshade wire is as good as you really need, to you'll hear a profound difference if you spring for cable like ten feet of McIntosh for $1,450 from "the finest of the fine pure copper." Articles on Crutchfield and many sites that sell indisputably superb audio gear will explain that your real cable needs (and sound quality) depend in large part on your equipment and hearing. Plenty of deep pocket audiophiles will express the view that at some point the subjective experience of music can be affected by the placebo of how much you spent. As for me, as I've been upgrading, my emphasis for spending as been on speakers and delivery more than cable (my system, btw, is all music, not home theater). So, is this the "Best home theatre speaker wire?" Nah, no way, I guess. But at what price point for my ear and equipment would I stop really hearing a difference? I don't know, and for my speaker cable budget, I never will. For a short run on a new phono preamp, I went for some AudioQuest in the middle of their line, considerably more per foot than this. However, for my speaker wire, I discerned a noticeable improvement from this oxygen free pure copper 12-gauge, above the cheaper 14-gauge I had before, and this was the best place and price I found for custom lengths. I'm happy for now, and better speaker wire is a ways down on my mental list of priority upgrades.

I can't say that it is the best but I can tell you it was great to work with and delivered great results.

Yes indeed. It is designed specifically for audio application. Read a comprehensive description below. It is more info. than you may need but informative. Wire gage is an index which shows, indirectly (inversely and logarithmically), the cross-sectional area of a round wire. In the case of solid conductors, measurement of this area is pretty straightforward: the area is the radius of the wire squared, times pi, and for the sake of ease of expression, a measure called "Circular MIL area" is instead often used instead; one circular mil is the area of a circle with a diameter of one mil (1/1000 inch), and the circular mil area of a solid wire, consequently, is always the diameter of the wire, in mils, squared. Stranded wire is another matter. For any given AWG size, a stranded wire will occupy more space than a solid wire, because the wire gage is measured by summing the cross-sectional area of the strands. Because there are air pockets between the strands, any given cross-sectional area of wire will take up more overall space in a stranded configuration than it will in a solid wire. Consequently, when we talk about "diameter" relative to wire gage, it's well to remember that diameter will vary not only with gage but also with stranding. In this article, when we talk about relative diameters, our examples are based on solid wire for the sake of simplicity. The relationship of gage to wire size is, for a lot of people, counterintuitive. The larger the gage number, the smaller the wire. What's more, the relationship isn't linear, but logarithmic. Two 16 AWG wires, combined, amount to a 13 AWG conductor. If you're familiar with decibels (dB), this will make good sense. If we go up or down 10 gage sizes, we increase or decrease the area of the conductor by a factor of 10. If we go up or down 3 gage sizes, we increase or decrease the area by a factor of about 2. For some reason (we're not really sure why) the relationship isn't precise, but it's close enough, for most purposes, to a straight logarithmic formula. For example, a 40 AWG solid wire has a circular mil area, as specified by the National Bureau of Standards, of 9.61; a 30 AWG wire has a circular mil area of 100.5, a 20 AWG wire comes in at 1020, and a 10 AWG at 10380. Incidentally, it's important to remember that it is the size of the WIRE, not the size of the wire with its insulation, that is measured in AWG.

Yes, it's a true 12awg speaker wire.

No! This is for inside the Home or within an Automobile use only. Again not rated for any outdoor use whatsoever! Go to the applicable use and ratings via American Wire Gauge standards.

It is not the gauge that determines that. It is the jacket the stranded wire is in. Direct burrial low voltage wire is a heavier insulation usually black ,however it should clearly state if it is on the rating sticker . Also if it's a long run allow thicker gauge wire for voltage drop. Good luck happy new year

Sorry, I have no idea. I used in vehicle

Our in-wall rated speaker wire is available in a 4-conductor version but is not sold by the foot: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_007IW414C/item.html

They're marked

Thanks for your question. No aluminum here. Crutchfield wire is made of oxygen-free copper, with no impurities that could raise its resistance to a signal's flow or add interference. Crutchfield wire meets all Consumer Technology Association (CTA-2015) standards for size, resistance, and insulation quality.

No. The wire I purchased ran parallel and not twisted

16 gauge

I always use a "thicker" wire, or lower gauge wire for my speakers. Go with the 14g, then if you get speakers that handle more RMS or power, your signal won't be decreased due to "thinner" wire. Hope this helps Trevor

I used a sharp wire cutters. Nothing special required.

It's 2 conductor wire but, yes, you can pull it apart for use as separate power & ground leads for the LC2i. I hope that helps. My bio: https://www.crutchfield.com/bio/Ryan

Depends on your application. Please reach out to an Advisor by phone (1-800-324-9695) or online chat. They should be able to help answer your question.