Speaker Wire for a non-anal listener


Okay, so I'm not about to spend mega-flow on super nice speaker wire that I won't be able to tell a difference between it and merely decent wire at 1/10th of the price. My stuff (nor my account) simply doesn't justify spending that much. If I followed the 10% rule (which I don't necessarily think is a rule to follow, but merely an end result in many cases), I'd be spending roughly $0 on speaker wire since I already have a very nice (IMO) interconnect between my CD player and my receiver.
However, I'm willing to spend up to around $100 for speaker wire, which doesn't necessarily have to be factory-terminated, but does include the price of the end terminals.

I am running a NAD T750 and a NAD C523 [soon to be] biwired to a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 3i's through at least 10' of speaker wire, maybe upwards of 15'.

As I understand it, basically I'm in the market for high percentage copper wire in a decent size gauge, though a higher number of strands would make the wire more flexible. How important is the percentage copper versus the size of the wire versus the strands per wire?

So, Monster Cable has some XP/XPHP spooled offerings that seem decent, but they're probably a ripoff knowing MC. They also make some "THX-certified" 16awg wire that I can get on ebaY for $30 for 100'. Since I'm only running 60W, I am wondering if I'll suffer by having 16awg or even 14awg wire.
Also, on ebaY, I found an auction for some high end "car stereo" speaker wire. It has 413 strands per conductor, or 826 strands per factory packaged wire. It is 10awg wire, however I can't find what percentage copper it is. I use their wire for my car stereo, and I like it, though that's not exactly an insulated environment.

So, to conclude, what characteristic of the wire should I be most concerned with, gauge, purity or strandage? Does anyone have any suggestions on a manufacturer?

I could ask a lot more questions, but I think you get the gist of where I am coming from and what I'm looking for. Any opinions are welcome!

Also, if you have any opinions on what type and brand of connectors to get, feel free to throw in a few cents worth of info. I have heard that spades offer the best connection, but screw-adjust banana plugs (not the spring tension ones) seem pretty good too.
erikkellison
I'd go with the AQ Type 4 as mentioned several times above. It really isn't bad sounding wire and can be had on the cheap.
Installation wire from local hi-fi shop sounds pretty good. 16/4 OFC for each speaker. Doubled this makes for a large awg. Allows for bi-wire configuration. Cheap as heck ($0.50/ft). No special connectors to add to complications in signal path. Simple. Easy. Cheap.
Any of the Canare speaker cables would be a good choice and give you the option of easily bi-wiring because each cable has four internal conductors. Even the heftiest of them, the 4s11, is only $.69 a foot at markertek.com. Canare is widely used in commercial audio applications and I've had very good luck with it. Comes in a nice soft gray color and is very flexible.
Canare cable at Markertek
To get maximum bang for the buck, first forget about "terminations" of any kind on either end. Just twist strands together, and apply some solder.

Next get youself some 12 or 14 AWG "speaker wire" from Radio Shack, Home Depot, or the like. Use it for a while.

Finally, if you have the urge to spend more money on wire, challenge any prospective new wire to make a significant improvement before you buy.
Don't forget the Home Depot cable that was reviewed reasonably highly. Beat out a bunch of the higher priced stuff, and it's about $20 for 50ft.
Spades are generally preferred over bananas due to the amount of surface area that's being contacted. Crimp then solder, and that should take care of any potential corrosion problems you'd get with bare wire.