Thanks Wayne. I went through the thread you gave me. The information there was highly technical but useful. My conclusion is, for my specific need, 18-gauge or 16-gauge won'tĀ matter much. It's for family use and volume isn't very loud.
What I do so far when I want to listen to good music is to use ear phones. I wish to change this someday with my own set of sub and speakers in an acoustically insulated room