There's no reason to match the lengths of the speaker wires. Electrons zip through the wires pretty quick, so they should arrive at the speakers about the same time, regardless of differences in length The only 'matching' of length I would bother with is between sets of speakers, like the main left and right.

It really depends on the impedance of your speakers what the best gauge of wire is. 14 gauge is OK for that run if your speakers are 8 ohms rated, if they are lower, like 4 ohms, you might consider 12 gauge. Contrary to opinion in the audiophile community, the most important characteristic of speaker wire is it's that it's gauge is high enough so that the resistance of the wire is minimal compared to the impedance of the speaker. I wouldn't spend a fortune on
'designer wires'.

[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited January 30, 2003).]