How can the same gauge speaker wire be different in diameter?

[ghart999 10+ year member]

I have some 16G speaker wire from parts express that is nice and thick. I need more 16G and saw that Lightening Audio (at Sounddomain) had 16G for dirt cheap. So I order 100 feet and its the thinnest crap I have ever seen. I mean I have 20G that looks thicker.

I want to return the Lightening Audio junk and get some real 16G. Isn't that the point of a gauge system, so all wire of the same gauge is the same thickness?

And I am not talkign about the jacket thickness either. If I strip some of the jacket away the actual diameter of the copper wire is very different. Thanks all.

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[ghart999 10+ year member]

Here is a real world example.

Check out http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-142

It is 16G wire that says a Construction of 105 x 36 ga. I assume this means 105 strands of 36 gauge wire right?

Then look at this one: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-116

 

[mikeyboc 10+ year member]

Seems like "you get what you pay for" holds true here. I had the same thing happen to me when I ordered 1/0 and 4 ga from Parts Express, and then ordered some more from knukinceptz. The knu wire was noticeably thicker and better constructed IMO. And the price difference wasn't that great.

 

[ghart999 10+ year member]

105 x 36 gauge = 15.788 gauge26 x 30 gauge = 15.850 gauge

Sorry to disprove you, but they're the same gauge //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

The one using 36 gauge strands should, theoretically, be more flexible, assuming the jacket is not the limiting factor.

Geez I never thought you could just multiply them up like that. Make tons of sense to me. So the only diff is that more strands that are smaller in gauge allows for more flexible wire and nothing else? I guess that makes sense. So technically I could have a single strand of 16ga wire that would be the same just have no flexibility.

 

[Hydrastas 10+ year member]

the flow of electricity would make them different besides just flexibility... with more sources for the electricity to travel through, it would be better on the resisitve side by means unnoticable to the human ear, so it doesn't matter anyway, but that difference would be there whether or not you notice it so it's not just more flexible!

 

[da12b 10+ year member]

There are small differences. One wire may have little more strands then the other, but the voltage loss is so little it will not make a difference; and the insolation.

 

[OldOneEye 10+ year member]

Price of copper has gone up quite a bit. Instead of raising their prices, you can remove copper to still get at a "nominal" 16 gauge rating.

Some guys are oversized, some are undersized. My money would be on someone being exactly 16 guage and someone else cheating by being under.

Juan