What gauge of speaker wires do I need?

[Thomsoad]

Yamaha RX-V550 6.1 receiver (90W x 6 but sounds like more)

The center speaker is no more than 4 feet.
Both fronts no more then 10 feet.

For the rears I will have to take it thru the attic:
The left, right, and centers 60 feet at most.

My question is do I need to buy seperate gauges for the fronts and the rears? Or can I just run one size gauge to all? Also, will 12 gauge be enough for the rears or should I go 10 or even eight. Can anything negative happen if I go too low on the gauge of cable?

Please do not mention Monster cables or specific name brands. Just the gauge. Thanx!!

[jamison]

I would go with 16 or 14 gauge on the fronts and center, and maybe 12 gauge for the surrounds or rears.

[Pat D]

Yamaha RX-V550 6.1 receiver (90W x 6 but sounds like more)

The center speaker is no more than 4 feet.
Both fronts no more then 10 feet.

For the rears I will have to take it thru the attic:
The left, right, and centers 60 feet at most.

My question is do I need to buy seperate gauges for the fronts and the rears? Or can I just run one size gauge to all? Also, will 12 gauge be enough for the rears or should I go 10 or even eight. Can anything negative happen if I go too low on the gauge of cable?

Please do not mention Monster cables or specific name brands. Just the gauge. Thanx!!

Nothing will happen if the wire is larger than needed (gauge lower than needed) except that the thicker wire can be more difficult to work with.

Surround speakers are not as critical for cables. I would think 12 guage would be fine. You can also use it for the shorter lengths.

There is a table in the following article. Look up the maximum recommended lengths for the impedance of your speakers:

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

[tpcounty]

I would go with 16 or 14 gauge on the fronts and center, and maybe 12 gauge for the surrounds or rears.

Why do you recommend larger wire for the rear speakers? Is it due to the length of the cable?

[bargainseeker]

Why do you recommend larger wire for the rear speakers? Is it due to the length of the cable?

Yes.

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I would recommend using 12 gauge throughout just because it is cheaper to buy wire in bulk. I would specifically recommend the 12 gauge wire from Parts Express because I have found it to be more flexible and easier to work with than the equivalent wire from Lowes and Home Depot. Audioholics has a very detailed description of preparing your own DIY speaker cables that you may be interested in. They also have tests comparing this wire to other more expensive speaker cables.