Speaker cable gauge and amplifier power

Thanks for those responses. Jeffreybehr, in particular, addressed my question helpfully.

I certainly agree that the best way to pick a cable is to audition it in your system. I just thought I might be able to limit the number of choices based on this set of factors.

These are all interesting and enlightening responses. However, they have strayed a little from my original question. I was wondering about the interaction between amplifier and speaker cable. Does the output of an amplifier change based on the size of the speaker cable used (assuming all the other factors involved in cable design are held constant)?

For example, say you have an amp that produces 60 watts into 8 ohms, use an 8-foot run of speaker cable, and a pair of 8-ohm (nominal) speakers. Wouldn't the output of the amplifier change based on the resistance of the wire?

According to Albert Porter and other posters, even relatively thin speaker cable will pass higher amounts of current than most home amplifiers generate. But are there other ways in which using a thicker wire might affect the performance of an amp?

An example of what I had in mind was the way Naim used to design their amps for use with a specific gauge and length of wire. Not only did they sound their best with Naim speaker cable, the amps could supposedly become "unstable" with the wrong wire.

I understand that they have changed their design so that speaker cable is less of an issue. I guess that most amplifiers are designed so that the cable doesn't affect the operation of the amp. Anyone care to take a stab at explaining that?

Also, if anyone can recommend a good primer on the physics involved in audio, I would appreciate it. I thought I knew a thing or two about how stereos worked before I started this thread.