i ran out of long lengths of speaker wire, is ok to splice together two shorter lenths? will it affect the sound quality? also, i ran out of 12 gauge wire. is it ok that my left main will use 12 gauge wire and my right main will use 14 guage wire from a different company? what do you guys think? thanks. i want to make sure i get it right.

The most important thing the speaker wire can do is deliver the signal through a reasonably small resistance. If the speaker wires aren't very long, the resistance will, one, be low regardless of whether 12 or 14 gauge, and two, the difference between the resistances of the two different gauges over a short distance would not ever be discernable. Similarly with a splice, if the connection is good and no discernable resistance is added, no difference will be noted – but with a splice, you’ll want to make sure that the connection is not only well made for the moment, but will stay well connected over time and that there won’t be any insulation failure.

If the speaker wire must run over a long distance, then a very low resistance wire over the whole length becomes important.

Whew! So glad to hear that, bestbang4the buck. My shit is all pieced together, from different lengths of Monster cable acquired from my wife's graduate-school art installation. Sounded fine to me, but what did I know?

Like bestbang4thebuck, my only concern would be with making sure those splices are solid. The rest should be fine.

when i splice them together should i use electrical tape or something else? by the way the run of wire is about twenty feet and using diffferent brands of wire if also ok? thanks bestbang4forbuck and gonk

when i splice them together should i use electrical tape or something else? by the way the run of wire is about twenty feet and using diffferent brands of wire if also ok? thanks bestbang4forbuck and gonk

I know this is probably a silly question, but if you're concerned about it, why not just buy new cable? You can buy Canare 4S11 for $1/foot, and other decent cable for even less.

Patching different brands and gauges happens all the time in installations. Wire run through walls and terminated at wall plates is likely to be totally different from the wires from and to amps and speakers anyway. Electrical tape or a wire nut covering the splice ought to do the trick, but spray electrical contact solution on the bare wire if you think it will be in place long term.

A great source for good quality cbales and speaker wire is TOTAL SIGNAL .

I bought not only DVI and HDMI and adapters, but also 12 ga speaker wire in 100 foot spools. I decided to spring for it and go from bits and pieces to one single for each run. Glad I did. Simplifies.

Write to them and ask if they have in stock and the cost. Email is on their website.

It probably won't mater as long as your connections are solid. If they are not buried in the wall or under the floor you can check them from time to time. If you want to replace them go to a Home Depot / Lowes type place and buy a 12 gauge extension cord cut it to length add your choice of end connections or none and your done. Plus you can have yellow, orange, black or pink depending on your decor. At the risk of starting another debate wire is wire for the most part.

I am sure that it would work technically but I would not do it in my system.

Use wire nuts or compression connections. Stake-on makes some good ones. Don't recommend just electrical tape. Jim