Speaker Cable Questions

I know I'll probably take just a little heat for this, but...  Home Depot 25' 12ga (yup, orange extension cords) should be sufficient and it's definitely a little more affordable than some of the other things mentioned above.  And we're not talking about the 12ga speaker wire that you can now buy there - buy a couple of 12/2 extension cords, fix the ends, and connect up. You can probably Google to find the former references to a past audio show in England where a certain speaker manufacturer was showing their wares using essentially that cable (and where we learned of this trick).  I've had those flat interwoven cables, proper fat speaker cable, etc. and we have to admit that the darned 12/2 is as good as all that ('specially if you're over 30 and by definition have non-teenager hearing).

Sorry - 12/2 is just a reference to "12 gauge/2-conductor" extension cords, that classic HD orange cord.  There are also (and maybe more prevalent today) 12/3 cords that also have that separate ground wire and connection.  The 12/2 cord is usually just a little bit more affordable and all you need for speakers.  Also, you probably would do just fine with 14/2 at your 20-25' range and save a little more.  I've used soldered spade lugs and screw-type banana plus in the past and both worked well (the soldered lugs never came undone while a couple of banana screws will probably loosen over the years).