How to buy speaker wire
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"Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer chances...."

Actually, even with something as basic as speaker wire there is more to it. I'll state my basic recommendation up front: Except for special circumstances the best recommendation is usually 16 gauge standard speaker wire. If you are going in wall you want Cl3 rated twisted pair cable.

The problem is, there are lots of special circumstances.....

Let's start at the beginning. Please use wire for speaker cable that is actually made for the purpose. Nothing is wrong with making your own if you know what you are doing. Standard speaker wire has several attributes manufactured in to ensure proper performance with speaker systems rated at 8 and 4 ohms. The spacing between the wires and the size of the wire is such that the impedance and capacitance of the cables do not cause a problem with finicky amplifiers that could oscillate or have other problems if the cable used ends up having the wrong impedance or capacitance characteristics. The insulation is properly flexible and the wire will be marked for polarity.

• Are you going to use the speaker wire in wall?
  If you are, you want properly rated speaker cable, which for home installations means CL2 or CL3 rated. Commercial installs in plenums require plenum rated cable. You should see the appropriate fire codes if your install falls into another category. In addition, cable made for in wall use has special construction in several areas. It will have the proper fire rating to not produce toxic fumes in case of a fire. It also uses a "self shielding" technique called twisted pair construction. This helps prevent interference caused by other in wall electrical cables. The jacket will be round, flexible and durable for pulling the cable. The extra outer jacket will help protect the cable from damage while work is being done on the residence. It will also be supplied in a pull box or spool.Click here to see our in wall speaker wire

• Are you going to make a long cable run?
  If so you may want to use a cable larger than 16 gauge. See our speaker wire length chart.

• Do you need to hide the cable?
  If so you may want to use a flat cable or a white cable to hide against drywall. Flat cable may be run under a rug. Please don't go down to 24 gauge cable unless you are willing to suffer significant sound quality reduction. If a wire run is very short 18 or 24 gauge wire could be used with benefit. I personally would not use 24 gauge for anything longer than perhaps 5 or 6 feet. We carry some flat white cable on our speaker cable page.

• How good is your system?
  If you are running a set of small computer speakers, you might as well use 24 gauge speaker wire as you will not notice the sound quality loss. For an under $1000 dollar system you will be fine with 16 gauge standard cable unless you are doing a long run. See our speaker wire distance chart. For a system over $1000 for the amp/receiver and speakers you may want to consider larger or better quality cable. This is discussed in more depth in our speaker wire article that contains the wire distance chart.

• Do you need speaker pins or other accessories?
  Check to see if you can use a bare wire connection at the speakers and receiver. This is usually the case. You may want connectors or pins to avoid potential wire shorts and to ease connection and disconnection of cables. You may also want a speaker wire wall plate if you are installing in wall.