Will I really notice a difference between 14, 16 or 18 gage speaker wire?

I purchased 16 gage wire for my new HT system and wow does it seem large compared to the wire they included with the system. Sure I know enough to upgrade from the included stuff but 16 sure seems overkill.

The only place I will really "see" the wire is on my rear surround speakers. The house is prewired so I only need to run a 3 foot wire from the mounted speaker to the connections in the wall. Do you think I could get away with using the smaller diameter wire there and the 16 gage for the front and center speakers where it will be hidden?

Enlighten me please! Thank you!

In your situation where the house is prewired guage doesn't really make much of a difference because you will only have very short runs. In your instance I would say use whatever guage wire you want. I think your description of the wire you want to use will work perfectly. if the smaller gage wire is used and a higher is needed it could cause a fire or short out the speakers so its up to you the type of wire that is made of and thickness example: some wires are made of copper and some are made of plain steel and thickness of the wire The thicker the wire, the less resistance you'll have in the wire. As a result, your speakers will get a better signal. You may not think it'll make a big difference, but when I switched from standard speaker wire to Monster Cable I REALLY noticed a difference... Ok, if the house is prewired what gauge was used? What ever the house was wired with is all you will need because it only allows that mush signal flow anyway. Kind of like it doesn't matter how fast your car can go when you are in a 25 MPH speed zone. Any speakers hooked up directly from the stereo might be different. The reality is, if the speakers have small cones, like a book shelf speaker it is not as important becasue their drivers do not need the same amount of current to push them. If you have a subwoofer or regular full size speaker w/ a 8" woofer or bigger then a thicker gauge (14 or 12) would be suggested. The wire that comes with most systems are pretty weak. But the difference between 14 to 18 guage would be hard to tell unless you have very high wattage system. 200 watts per channel or higher. And very good speakers as well. Unless you compare a lot of different systems for a living, you most likely can't tell the difference. simply put... no No, it's a waste of money. Use a thick enough gauge to carry the current..usually 16-18 gauge is more than enough. Check this out Guage makes a difference over distance short runs don't need 12 guage wire but your system will not get any benifit from a 22 guage wire either. I always use a 16 guage wire except for my outdoor speakers which were over a 100' run. And you don't have to spend alot to get good wire. I like monster but it is very over priced. If the wire in the wall was put in buy a qualified tech or electrician he probably used 16 gauge, so that is what I would use. Anything beyond what is in the wall is overkill. If the wall has 22 guage, and you use 16 for the last hop, it won't matter. Take the plate off the wall and see what is in there, then match it. Lot's of good answers here. The thicker the wire, the more current it can carry with less distortion and signal loss. The better the insulation, the same effect. Monster is overkill, you can find great wire at your local Radio Shack. Never mix wire gauges by speaker either (if you are throwing 40watts per channel, all channels should use 18 or better gauge wire 75 + watts and you are into the 16 guage, and 12 to 14 for the 100 watt and up range). Cable design, cable quality, and conductor materials are more important in sound quality than gauge size. Gauge size is most important when determining length (very long lengths) of the cable needed and how much power will be needed to be drawn through the wire.