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Can I use 24 gauge speaker cable?

I’ve been trying to google this but I only get vague answers.
I want to know if I can use 24 gauge cable as speaker cable. And if not: why not?
Usual answers are “no, you should use xx gauge”, but I’m looking for why is that? Will the speakers of the amp go off in flames if the resistance is too high? I don’t even get that because the resistance isn’t even that much of a difference between speaker cable sizes, compared to the speakers resistance.

I’m talking about ca 16ft / 5m distance between amp and speaker. By the way should that measure 16 ft or double (32ft because one cable is plus and the other minus)?
sjeesjie
1extreme's avatar
1extreme
161 posts
 
Yes, but only with wireless speakers.
larry5729's avatar
larry5729
1,000 posts
 
I would use this group to help you.  I noticed a big difference when I purchase a decent set of cables.  Kind of like buying a 1/4" garden hose verses a 1: diameter garden hose.  It is like buying an expensive car and putting cheap oil in it.  If you buy cheap cable you might as well buy a $400 amplifier or receiver.  If you buy cheap cable you will never hear what you could have heard if you had upgraded your cable.  I think you should listen to experience of this group.  They are just trying to help you.
danvignau's avatar
danvignau
935 posts
 
As long as you use no more than the speaker uses, a few inches.
rwwear
2,847 posts
 
Actually you would need a bigger amp because the wire would have so much resistance it would burn up a lot of power and probably get hot. If you could quadruple the wire it would be fine.
vassils's avatar
vassils
41 posts
 
http://www.audio-consulting.ch/?Parts:Silver_Wire
Speaker wires. They provide better bass than any higher diameter. For systems above 96 dB/W/m a non twisted pair of up to 3 meters will outperform any other speaker cable. And it costs you CHF 72.00 per side!
For lower speaker efficiency you may use two or three runs per polarity.

This is a 24 AWG wire. 
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