CCA vs OFC SPEAKER WIRE

[AnthonyO 10+ year member]

I may want to rewire my entire truck this summer. New speaker wire into every door. I have settled on 14 gauge. I will be running my 4 channel at 2ohm which is rated for 75 watts by 4. My runs from the doors to the amp would be no more that 16ft.

Would you be comfortable running CCA? Or would you stick to OFC?

Click to read more...

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

I may want to rewire my entire truck this summer. New speaker wire into every door. I have settled on 14 gauge. I will be running my 4 channel at 2ohm which is rated for 75 watts by 4. My runs from the doors to the amp would be no more that 16ft.

Would you be comfortable running CCA? Or would you stick to OFC?

I have seen entry level subs wired with 16AWG CCA with zero issues. I bet you can even get by with 18AWG OFC, so 14 AWG CCA is still overkill IMO.

 

[AnthonyO 10+ year member]

Wire Size​	2 ohm load​	4 ohm load​	6 ohm load​	8 ohm load​
22 AWG​	3 feet​	6 feet​	9 feet​	12 feet​
20 AWG​	5 feet​	10 feet​	15 feet​	20 feet​
18 AWG​	8 feet​	16 feet​	24 feet​	32 feet​
16 AWG​	12 feet​	24 feet​	36 feet​	48 feet​
14 AWG​	20 feet​	40 feet​	60 feet​	80 feet​
12 AWG​	30 feet​	60 feet​	90 feet​	120 feet​
10 AWG​	50 feet​	100 feet​	150 feet​	200 feet​

Wire Gauge Size​	Total Amplifier RMS Wattage​
12 AWG​	100+ Watts​
14 AWG​	60-100 Watts​
16 AWG​	30-60 Watts​
18-20 AWG​	1-30 Watts​

 

[Firewalker]

I still use OFC for everything the 9 wire speaker wire you buy these days is OFC. Cost difference isn't that much either. The 9 wire speaker wire for 20 feet is something like 25 bucks on Amazon and can handle quite a bit so I always keep it around for installs makes them really easy instead of running new wires to each individual speaker.

 

[AnthonyO 10+ year member]

I have 9 wire. But I don't know if I want to use the factory speaker wire. So want to run new speaker wire into the doors.

 

[Firewalker]

I'm running at least 100 watts through mine right now in a '03 Explorer and 2 ohm on my Pioneer GM-D8604. If I was running 200 watts or more yeah I would do that but for 100-150 I've never had an issue on mine or my neighbors where I used it, one is a nissan the other a GM Acadia and last was my adopted nephews kia I think he had before he totaled it.

 

[JasoninDLH]

Wire Size​	2 ohm load​	4 ohm load​	6 ohm load​	8 ohm load​
22 AWG​	3 feet​	6 feet​	9 feet​	12 feet​
20 AWG​	5 feet​	10 feet​	15 feet​	20 feet​
18 AWG​	8 feet​	16 feet​	24 feet​	32 feet​
16 AWG​	12 feet​	24 feet​	36 feet​	48 feet​
14 AWG​	20 feet​	40 feet​	60 feet​	80 feet​
12 AWG​	30 feet​	60 feet​	90 feet​	120 feet​
10 AWG​	50 feet​	100 feet​	150 feet​	200 feet​

Wire Gauge Size​	Total Amplifier RMS Wattage​
12 AWG​	100+ Watts​
14 AWG​	60-100 Watts​
16 AWG​	30-60 Watts​
18-20 AWG​	1-30 Watts​

This is a good chart. So 4 ft of 10 awg to a 2 ohm sub is way overkill?

 

[2023 LTZ]

Personally I don’t see a cost benefit of cca.
$.50/ft or .75? Even 100 ft, did that $ make the build significantly more affordable?
To spend $ on new and improved audio equipment could be considered a hobby. One strives to get the most of the equipment they have personally selected, why cheap out on sections of the upgrade? The sq difference likely isn’t noticeable between 12ga cca and 14ga ofc. For many its preference, having choices is good. Go w what you like or what excites you.

 

[AnthonyO 10+ year member]

This is a good chart. So 4 ft of 10 awg to a 2 ohm sub is way overkill?

That chart is for mids and highs not subs

For what you have 12 gauge would suffice. Probably even 14

 

[HardofWhoring]

CCA is something like THIRTY to FORTY percent less efficient than OFC. ( 30 - 40% ). Not even a consideration. Any amperage chart you see is based on OFC. To get the same protection, you have to go larger, and then the cost is about the same. CCA is for people who see a cheaper price, and don't know the difference. You now no longer get to use that excuse.

 

[Deiimos]

At 100 watts and such short runs, you’d have no perceivable difference between 12, 14, or 16 gauge speaker wire, OFC or CCA, nor worry about overheating it on music. I'd run 16 gauge CCA no problem for that application, but I would aim for a decent brand that is true to gauge at the very least. Obviously nothing wrong going with 14 gauge, and OFC is of course technically better. The KnuKonceptz Bassik wire looks decent for CCA, has 119 strands of 34 gauge which is oversized, true 14 gauge would be 102 strands. It's only 3 cents more per foot than the 16 gauge, so wouldn't even consider the 16 at that price point.

My point here is, at said power level, distance of wire run, CCA will not hurt performance with the 14 gauge wire you planned to go with.

You could probably put in 10 gauge OFC, then swap to 16 gauge CCA and not notice a bit of difference at 100w music.