speaker wire n fuses

[Matador 10+ year member]

I got 2 questions:

they have this twisted speaker wire which especially for the thicker gauges they become thinner for easier connection i guess. i am going to get 12 guage speaker wire, i was wondering if there are any drawbacks of using both twisted n regular (twisted to connect between coils, while regular to connect amp to subs).

also, to fuse the power wire you are supposed to use around the same total amp fuse of the amp. ie: the JBL 1200.1 uses 3 x40amp = 120amp. i m gettin an ANL fuse holder since that seems to be the better option, but they have fuses of 125 n 150 i believe. The higher the fuse the better? or should i just stay as close to the total fuse rating of the amp(~120)?

thanks

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[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by Matador I got 2 questions:

 

they have this twisted speaker wire which especially for the thicker gauges they become thinner for easier connection i guess. i am going to get 12 guage speaker wire, i was wondering if there are any drawbacks of using both twisted n regular (twisted to connect between coils, while regular to connect amp to subs).

 

also, to fuse the power wire you are supposed to use around the same total amp fuse of the amp. ie: the JBL 1200.1 uses 3 x40amp = 120amp. i m gettin an ANL fuse holder since that seems to be the better option, but they have fuses of 125 n 150 i believe. The higher the fuse the better? or should i just stay as close to the total fuse rating of the amp(~120)?

 

thanks

Either a circuit breaker or a fuse equal to, or less than the total amperage. Getting fuses higher than required is a big no-no:nono:

If you're unsure, get a circuit breaker... I'd love to use that too, but can't get any here that's recommended for car use.

 

[Matador 10+ year member]

if i do put a circuit breaker, what size of amp do i neeD? the same as the amp?

also, you use it just as a fuse? power wire from battery to breaker, then from breaker to amp? check this one out

http://www.darvex.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=D&Product_Code=SCB100&Category_Code=CB

or do you usually use circuit breakerS?

 

[Matador 10+ year member]

what about the speaker wires? are there any drawbacks of mixing twisted pair speaker wire n regular speaker wire?

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by Matador also, to fuse the power wire you are supposed to use around the same total amp fuse of the amp. ie: the JBL 1200.1 uses 3 x40amp = 120amp. i m gettin an ANL fuse holder since that seems to be the better option, but they have fuses of 125 n 150 i believe. The higher the fuse the better? or should i just stay as close to the total fuse rating of the amp(~120)?

 

thanks

The size of the power wire fuse is NOT directly related to the amp. The size of the wire, however, is.

With a 1200.1 I would assume you're using 4 ga wire. That means your fuse should be no larger than 125A. If you're running a long length of wire the fuse should be closer to 100. The one and only purpose of the inline fuse is to protect your car in the case that your powerwire gets grounded to your car. Without that fuse the wire would heat up like an oven's heating element and burn a portion of, if not your entire car to a crisp, but since it's fused, the fuse will blow, and no harm is done.

And in case you didn't know...You would most likely be ok with a 60 or 80 amp fuse because the majority of the time while you're listening to your stereo at normal volumes your amp will probably not be drawing more than 1/3-1/2 of it's max current. Then when you ARE cranking it, it will only be pulling 100+ amps at the instant a low note hits, and fuses are designed to withstand 2x their ratings for short periods of time.

 

[Matador 10+ year member]

hmmm, k. some trustworthy ppl told me that it's better to go with the amperage of teh amp. yeah it would also depend on the wire.

but that's good to know, learnin mo stuff everyday

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by Matador hmmm, k. some trustworthy ppl told me that it's better to go with the amperage of teh amp. yeah it would also depend on the wire.

 

but that's good to know, learnin mo stuff everyday

You have to realize that the amp has been tested to have a maximum current draw of 114A. At typical listening levels you probably would rarely exceed half that, and even at vull volume you'd probably rarely exceed 100A unless you're listening to SERIOUS bass. 4 ga. wire is capable of carrying ~125A. Yes, bigger would be fine, but the 1200.1 alone will not under any circumstances exceed the capacity of 4 ga wire.

I am personally running a class D amp putting out about 800rms and a component amp capable of about 250rms. My 4 ga wire with an 80A agu has yet to fail.