Yes, I'm a relative newbie and pretty darn stupid when it comes to some of this stuff. I have Yamaha NS-100XT (or something like that) floor-standing speakers with a matching Yamaha center channel. I have a decent (cost about $250) Sony Receiver (5.1). I'm presently using Acoustic Research Performance Series 18 gauge speaker wire terminated with banana plugs. Should I purchase heavier gauge wire? Will it make a difference? I'm planning to upgrade my receiver and speakers in the next few months (probably will buy the Yamaha 5760 and Axiom Millennia M40ti loudpeakers with matching center but I'm still shopping) - should I wait until then to purchase better wire?

Also, how in the hell does one tell which strand is positive and with strand is negative. These wires aren't color-coded (most I see aren't) and I can't tell the difference. I tried to make sure I matched red to red and black to black - am I missing something?

Thanks again! This forum has been a lifesaver for me! I appreciate all of the advice!

w