Tri-amped sys. speaker cable gauge question

Since cables are mostly about opinions, I'll go first. It is my understanding that one of the most significant factors in in cable performance is it's resistance. The larger gage cables have less resistance and this actually results is a slightly louder volume in the speaker. I'd say you should keep the gage consistant in order to maintain the relative volume levels that the manufacture intended.

I've heard theory's that the vast majority of the time people will choose the louder cable as the better sound. I've heard that Monster Cable had a demonstration rig in the past comparing their cables to smaller gage wires. What people didn't realize was that the other brand wires were extremely long and simply coiled out of sight resulting in a slightly lower volume.

On of the factors that makes comparing cables a load of BS is that no two cables are ever compared using different lengths to match the resistance. If this was done then the other aspects of the cable could be better evaluated. A slight shift in volume makes a difference, this has been shown in tests.

If you're planning to use a DIY cat 5 based design other factors may be in play that could be significant. I am actually using Cat5 DIY that are made with 4 runs of Cat5 with all of the colors and whites matched up. I left them in the original insulation and then put all four in a shink tube to make it pretty. Four just barely fit. I can't really say how great they sound other than my impression was an improvement over the Monsters that they replaced, but I've never taken them out to do further comparison.

Thanks for your input Mceljo--so for the same volume, the speaker wire having less resistance will place less demands on the amp which results in less distortion. That I get. What about the effects of inductance and capacitance? I've been braiding these cat 5 twisted pairs as my wife makes fun of the affair. I figured a 3x3 braid = 14.5 ga., a 3x5 = 12.5 ga, a 3x7 = 11 ga., and a 3x3x3 would be just over 10 ga. I don't think I can make 3 6-foot pairs of 3x3x3 without going insane. Perhaps, as has been suggested, I make the 3 pairs all the same at 3x5s. Else, I'll have to buy another 100' and then go nutszoid.

Yep, you're on the nutzoid edge. :-) I wouldn't worry about volume as to what size wire to use. Think more in terms of frequency. The lower the frequency the less it matters what wire is used. I have used in the past 14 gauge romex for drivers below 100Hz and rat shack 30 gauge magnet wire for tweets. Keep experimenting.