Does it matter the wire gauge used in interconnects?

Ted, do you need any Mad Scientists? I am available...

ozzy

A note on the 18awg VH Audio COPPER airloc that people keep pushing.  Yes, this wire will work fine and sound very clean, but you are STILL going to lose high frequency extension.  I've done lots of testing with this VH Audio wire.  The 18awg COPPER is too big for full range sound.  The 21awg COPPER is okay, but too small to give an open sound with powerful bass.  If you want to go 18awg, the SILVER VH Audio airloc is really good, but very expensive.  For analog interconnect, I would do a combo 18awg + 21awg copper to cover the entire range.  Otherwise, use 20awg Neotech teflon hookup wire.

auxinput,

Interesting, are you saying to combo copper and silver together?

Ted, I hope you know that I was just kidding. I really like SR products and the innovation.

ozzy

no, I'm saying that if you use VH Audio Copper and want to use 18awg, I would pair it with 21awg.  18awg will give you your bass.  the 21awg will provide high frequencies that the 18awg will not do.

If you go all silver, I think the VH Audio 18awg solid-core Silver Airloc will be just fine for bass and high frequencies, but it's very expensive at $40 per foot.  That means a 1 meter pair of balanced interconnects will cost you $800 for just the silver wire.

That being said, it is a personal preference.  I never really liked silver for use in analog interconnects, but I have found it is required for digital cables (S/PDIF, AES/ABU, HDMI, etc.).