In article ,

Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:
thinking I may go to a 600 watt/channel model. ...
Considering the additional information I've provided, would you still
recommend using the #14 wire? ...

Bob Engelhardt wrote:
Never mind what I said before, I definitely think that you would not be
happy with anything less than #10 wire. (How's that for not answering
the question?)

Oh, heck, run some 4/0 welding cables...Or just put the conduit to hold
them in place, slap the speaker on one end of it, and a speaker grille
on the far end ;-)

Actually, I think the earlier suggestion to run shielded signal cables
and place an amplifier near the far-away speakers is the best solution
for long runs.

Your long run is "about 120 feet". Here's the resistance for 120 feet of
copper wire, and the effect on 600 watts into 8 ohms. 600 watts into 8
ohms is 69.76 volts at 8.6 amps. The volts are the voltage drop for 120
feet of wire at that amperage, and the watts are the power dropped in
the wire, out of 600 watts. I suppose you should double all this since
the wire is to and fro, or 240 feet total.

14ga = 0.3 ohms 2.66 volts 23 watts
12ga = 0.2 1.67 15
10ga = 0.12 1.05 9
8ga = 0.07 0.66 5.6
6ga = 0.05 0.41 3.5
4ga = 0.03 0.26 2.2
4/0 = 0.006 0.05 0.4

So if you really want to satisfy the criteria (someone mentioned, don't
know how much it matters, personally) that you should keep speaker wire
resistance to 0.1 ohms, you'd need to go to 6ga for the 120 foot (240
feet round-trip) run. And you'll have to run back to the house to change
the volume. If you put in a sheilded signal cable, carrying essentially
no power, you can use tiny wire, and you'd have direct volume control in
the shop, where those speakers are (if I understand your setup
correctly).

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