Most of what I have is 12-16awg copper. I mostly use the banana plugs that screw on, no solder, just a mechanical connection.

I don’t fiddle with my gear as much as I used to. I started on banana plugs when I was swapping things weekly.

I go straight, crimpers at most. I believe it’s 12awg. I used the same wire roll as for my car.

This was discussed in Depth 5 days ago. I think you will find all your answers here -

Does speaker cable matters after all?

https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/17bn6c3/comment/k5nagag/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Here is a brief summary. I’ll start with one parameter of Cable -

14ga Stranded Oxygen Free (OFC) Copper can sustain 300w all day long, and has a 1,800w Working Peak Power. That’s covers a vast majority of people’s needs.

Just to show some contrast, common 16ga wire has a Sustained Power of 110w with a Working Peak of 1152w. That’s still pretty good.

However, if you are considering 12ga wire, that has a Sustained Power of 692w and a working Peak Power of 3200w.

Capacitance, and Inductance don’t come into the picture until you hit about 50ft. The losses here are still small but definitely measurable. So, as long as your cable runs are less than 50ft, you are good with either 14ga or 12ga wire. There are link to completed wire, and bulk wire and Banana Plugs.

Are Banana Plugs flawless, no. But they are so damned convenient, and they do make a good solid connection with the wire. At the link, you will find two Brands of Banana Plugs - Sewell and Media Bridge - both good, I have both, and they are similarly priced.

The nice thing about those banana plugs is that you don’t need any tools to install the wire into the connector.

Here is a Video -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxlaFn19JiA

Both brands use the same principle and they hold the wire very tight.

Check the link, and I think you will find what you are looking for.

For my mains and center, pre-terminated spades on 12-gauge Kimber Cable. For my surrounds, heights, etc… in-wall 12-gauge CL-3 certified with block and barrel gold-plated banana plugs. All runs being long-ish, I won’t settle for a smaller gauge cable.

I vote for Canare speaker wire and spade connectors. Crimp and solder spade connectors onto wire. I believe spade gives the best connection because more surface area makes contact and can be tightened down.

There are so many misconceptions about cable. The better your equipment, the more it matters. Your wire will carry often very delicate waveforms. It’s not just if it will carry the current. It if it will carry that waveform intact. Smaller wire will shave off high frequencies, that hurts your imaging and spacial cues. We use 11 gage copper for our low end tabletop systems and 9 gage wire for the super high end system. Don’t think it makes a difference? Try some thin copper plated aluminum wire, then try 12 gage oxygen free cable. Even with mid fi equipment, the difference is dramatic. Good cable will not make your system sound better. Bad cable will make your system sound worse. Also the cable can pickup electrical noise and even radio signals. Think this does not matter? You bet it does. You don’t need to spend hundreds on cable. But if you have nice equipment, don’t cripple it with cheap cable.

The consensus around here seems to be all speaker wire sounds the same, so it really shouldn’t matter how you assemble your cables

I run bare wire, no terminations. Terminations like Hannah plugs are inferior to bare wire. Good spades are ok.

12 awg twisted pair terminated with ITT Pomona banana plugs