Amazon 14 AWG out of stock..Ok to go with 16 AWG and want opinion on non amazon brands

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arnprasad

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Hi,
I have the Pioneer 1020K AVR for 12 years now and have used Amazon 16awg. I am no audiophile and I dont have a dedicated HT room and hence dont think I need to fret about great cables.

Now I have bought the Denon 1700H and moving my Pioneer downstairs and hence want new cables.

The Amazon 16 AWG cable is available pretty cheap as usual..500 for 100 feet.

Had my eyes on the 14 AWG cable but that is out of stock.

I understand the 14 AWG cables is needed for long distance. But then when one does not have sound proof dedicated room and I can hear any loud traffic on the road in front of my house or even dogs barking...even if the distance from AVR to surround speakers is say 30-35 feet..do I need to worry what cables to buy given the setup?

Alternatives including Fedus OFC cable which is 1600 for 50 meters and on flipkart we have MX which seem to have below 4 star reviews.

Given my setup, let me know if its worrying about what cables or just go with Cheapo Amazon 16 awg cables.

Want to order it by tomorrow evening as part of the ongoing sale.




 
arnprasad said:
Hi,
I have the Pioneer 1020K AVR for 12 years now and have used Amazon 16awg. I am no audiophile and I dont have a dedicated HT room and hence dont think I need to fret about great cables.

Now I have bought the Denon 1700H and moving my Pioneer downstairs and hence want new cables.

The Amazon 16 AWG cable is available pretty cheap as usual..500 for 100 feet.

Had my eyes on the 14 AWG cable but that is out of stock.

I understand the 14 AWG cables is needed for long distance. But then when one does not have sound proof dedicated room and I can hear any loud traffic on the road in front of my house or even dogs barking...even if the distance from AVR to surround speakers is say 30-35 feet..do I need to worry what cables to buy given the setup?

Alternatives including Fedus OFC cable which is 1600 for 50 meters and on flipkart we have MX which seem to have below 4 star reviews.

Given my setup, let me know if its worrying about what cables or just go with Cheapo Amazon 16 awg cables.

Want to order it by tomorrow evening as part of the ongoing sale.




Click to expand...
hi...16 AWG should be absolutely fine for the job as these are just surround speakers without much bass content being played on them.
 
arnprasad said:
Hi,
I have the Pioneer 1020K AVR for 12 years now and have used Amazon 16awg. I am no audiophile and I dont have a dedicated HT room and hence dont think I need to fret about great cables.

Now I have bought the Denon 1700H and moving my Pioneer downstairs and hence want new cables.

The Amazon 16 AWG cable is available pretty cheap as usual..500 for 100 feet.

Had my eyes on the 14 AWG cable but that is out of stock.

I understand the 14 AWG cables is needed for long distance. But then when one does not have sound proof dedicated room and I can hear any loud traffic on the road in front of my house or even dogs barking...even if the distance from AVR to surround speakers is say 30-35 feet..do I need to worry what cables to buy given the setup?

Alternatives including Fedus OFC cable which is 1600 for 50 meters and on flipkart we have MX which seem to have below 4 star reviews.

Given my setup, let me know if its worrying about what cables or just go with Cheapo Amazon 16 awg cables.

Want to order it by tomorrow evening as part of the ongoing sale.




Click to expand...
I would suggest a 14 awg wire. Thicker wire does make a difference for longer distances. Especially if your sorround speakers are good quality, a thicker wire will do justice. I have done the same.
Good sorrounds make a system sound good. I have switched from satellites to bookshelves and a 14 awg wire.
The difference is very pronounced.
 
I will save you all the boring math behind Transmission Line Theory-
For bandwidth upto 20KHz , any measurable differences between cable A of 14 vs Cable B of 16/18 AWG will start affecting the audio frequency range only after lengths beyond 1.5 Km (YES 1,500 meters) mark. Others with gifted hearing range from well under 1 Hz to UHF/VHF and even beyond may disagree.
For those who advocate thicker the better , the dreaded "skin effect" is more pronounced in thicker cables than thinner cables.
Engineering is all about making compromises, mostly a choice between disastrous and unpalatable aka proverbial red vs blue pill.
Take a printout, starting from RHS column , mark a circle on the max frequency with 100% ( or less) skin depth you want, Max current , the resulting compromise that you have to make with the Resistance (heat loss) and you will get your golden AWG figure! (Warning - Might be unpalatable for some, or disastrous for others)
1697365825546.png

*Note - The chart is for a solid single core conductor. Stranded cables, twisted / untwisted pairs, braided, looped, entangled, knotted etc. may have slightly (or more-debatable) different specifications/ characteristics. Chart , courtesy Google and https://metersuk.co.uk/american-wire-gauge-awg-cable-conductor-sizes/
 
Last edited:
₹1600 for 50 ft of OFC cable sounds like a good deal, but be cautious. I've learned that some manufacturers wrap a thin sheath around the copper wire, which avoids contact with air, and they might label it as OFC. A vendor on SP road once showed me this. The open ends can still be exposed to air.

I purchased a JNM OFC cable for ₹85 per meter and a non-OFC one from AudioLine for ₹45 per meter on SP road. These rates apply to shorter lengths, and you can likely get even better rates for longer cables.
 
Many thanks for all your responses! before starting this thread, I have gone through other threads where people have got very technical.

Some reseller VLE something had the amazon 14 awg listed as in stock which I dont believe. I anyway paid 1499 for 100 feet for the 14awg Amazon to this reseller. Let me see if they have it in stock or will return the money back.

Strange that the cable on Amazon itself is out of stock.
 
Yes sir, even I had my eyes on 14 AWG cable but they were out of stock for so long, so I brought 16 AWG cable
 
arnprasad said:
Many thanks for all your responses! before starting this thread, I have gone through other threads where people have got very technical.

Some reseller VLE something had the amazon 14 awg listed as in stock which I dont believe. I anyway paid 1499 for 100 feet for the 14awg Amazon to this reseller. Let me see if they have it in stock or will return the money back.

Strange that the cable on Amazon itself is out of stock.
Click to expand...
Don't make the mistake to buy Amazon cables. They are fake. The cables are not OFC, but CCA, ie Copper Coated Aluminum, which is inferior. Look at other genuine brands.
 
sudokpr said:
₹1600 for 50 ft of OFC cable sounds like a good deal, but be cautious. I've learned that some manufacturers wrap a thin sheath around the copper wire, which avoids contact with air, and they might label it as OFC. A vendor on SP road once showed me this. The open ends can still be exposed to air.

I purchased a JNM OFC cable for ₹85 per meter and a non-OFC one from AudioLine for ₹45 per meter on SP road. These rates apply to shorter lengths, and you can likely get even better rates for longer cables.
Click to expand...
I purchased Extron speaker cables from SP road for very nominal rate.
 
I am using good quality 2.5 sq mm copper electrical cable and doing fine. You can tin the edges if you want. Anything under the pvc jacket doesn't get oxidized.
 
Sorry, forgot to mention. Main thing to check in any speaker cable is voltage drop over distance. Just check online charts/calculators. You increase the gauge as distance increases. Thats the general theory behind speaker cable gauge.
 
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