What is AWG in speaker cables?

AWG is short for American Wire Gauge. AWG is the standard grading used on speaker wire. Used since 1857, it indicates the diameter of round, solid or stranded electrically conducting wire.

The smaller the AWG value, the thicker the wire is. Thick wire of 12 or 14 gauge is recommended for long wire runs, high power applications, and low-impedance speakers (4 or 6 ohms) since thicker wire carries more current because it has less electrical resistance over a given length. For relatively short runs to 8 ohm speakers, 16 gauge wire will usually do just fine. It’s cost-effective and easy to work with .

Refer to the table below for the recommended cable distances for different speaker wire gauges in accordance with the speaker's resistance. 

The lengths given above can be varied by +/- 20%.  These values are based on what has generally worked best for us but it may vary according to the setup. Therefore,  use these recommendations as a guideline and not a biblical source.