I know in 2-channel mode, it is best to use speaker runs of equal length. Does this same rule apply to a HT setup - should the length of speaker wire to the farthest speaker dictate the length of all speaker wire runs? Does it not matter because the electronics will compensate for differences? Am I really going to notice that one run is 2 feet longer than another?

Also, is there an audible difference between 10 gague and 12 gague wire? Should I use lugs, or go with bare wire connections?

Speaker cable length isn't an issue - the added feet of conductor length will not cause a measureable delay in the signal getting there. I also doubt you would here much difference going from 12ga wire to 10ga - 12ga is pretty widely accepted as a good, heavy choice. As for how to terminate the wire, that's up to you. Spades can be a bit easier to work with (and bananas even easier, if you have the space behind the speaker), but bare wire is certainly an option. Personally, I use spade lugs at both ends of the speaker cables for my mains and center, bananas at the amp end of my surround cables, and bare wire at the surround speakers themselves (because there's not space between the speaker's binding posts and the wall for anything else).

I do my best to keep relevant pairs of speakers using cabling of equal lenth:

In my current setup:

mains = 6ft
surrounds = 22ft
rear surrounds = 30ft
center = 3ft

I figure it's more critical for the mains since you're more likely to listen to those in bypass mode and do critical listening. In theater mode, the electronics are SUPPOSED to enter a delay so it seems a bit pointless to worry about a few nanoseconds here or there at that juncture.

I use banana plugs for everything because of the convenience factor. The truly anal would stick to spades. I also use the equivalent of 11AWG cabling since the length and resistance of speaker cable can audibly influence the "mushiness" of bass in my experience. I'm a big fan of Canare star-quad speaker cables.

Good luck with the setup!!

Cheers,

The processor's delay setting is intended to deal with the delays caused by the speed of sound (a very small number at the distances we're talking about, but a few milliseconds here and there lands just on the edge of perceptibility). Delays due to electrical signals traveling an extra few feet, on the other hand, are going to be massively smaller - rather than dealing with the speed of sound, we're moving much closer to the speed of light for the signal traveling along the wire. When Ritz mentioned nanoseconds, he wasn't kidding. The best numbers I could turn up in some searching was on the order of one nanosecond of delay per foot of wire - based on that, you'd need to run one thousand feet of wire (two tenths of a mile) to yield one microsecond of delay - which is still only 1/1000 of a millisecond.

Gonk is correct (as usual). Signal propagation in a wire is at the local speed of light, or about 70% speed of light in vacuum. Moving one speaker an inch further away from your listening position will create more delay than adding 100 feet of wire, so don't worry about it.

I do recommend keeping wires similar length, but only because it helps match series impedance on both sides. 20 vs. 10 feet of speaker cable might add a tenth of an Ohm or so, which can theoretically change a speaker's voicing a tiny bit. Is it audible? Almost certainly not, but if you can make them similar, do so. So I agree with Ritz above about matching pairs of speakers.

This assumes you're using identical speakers in all five (or seven) locations. If not, don't worry about it at all; differences between speakers are greater than you'll notice with extra cable length. My mains have matched lengths but the rest are all different.

12 gauge is fine for just about anything. I use spade lugs, they're cheap and work well. If you go with bare wires, solder the ends solid to keep a lone strand from fraying and shorting out your amplifier... seen it happen...