I currently have 18 gu wire in my walls running to where I am going to mount my QS4 surround speakers. Would this be a foolhardy move or could I get away with it?

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M22v2, VP150, QS4s

You'll probably be just fine, but the discerning factor is the length of the run!

Sorry for my "newbie-ness", the runs from the Receiver to the speakers are around 35 feet (Surround Right) and 15 feet (Surround Left)

You might be fine but the max run with an 8 ohm load using 18 ga. wire is recommended 32 feet.

Thank you guys!

wire is wire...pssstt

Wire is not wire... Well, I guess at a strand level it might be close.

There are documented benefits to larger wire and scientific proof to back it, but in real life applications, unless really pushing the limits of one gauge wire, most (if not all) people wouldn't hear a difference. Unless of course they have a golden ear, or maybe doing a blind test of large gauge wire vs. specification exceeded wire.

Oh boy! I won't go there.

Hi jeet,

Given the proportion of surround content vs. the main left and right and center channels, you should be OK with the AWG18 gauge wire. Using thinner than recommended wire simply results in increased resistance, in ohms, which means you'll be "wasting" some amplifier power because your receiver's surround amplifier has to "push" the AC audio signals harder to overcome the increased resistance of the thin wire.

You certainly won't hear any difference, nor will there be an degradation of the audio signal's frequency response over the audible bandwidth.

The wire won't heat up significantly because of the thinner gauge.

Regards,
Alan

Alan,

Thanks for providing the technical details in easy to understand terms. I can sleep with a clear conscious tonight!

Cheers
Jitu

Hey Jitu, if you are loosing sleep over wiring thickness, then you should have out here more often, especially the Water Cooler section. Lots of things to take your mind off of stuff. :-)