speaker wire question

[springer 10+ year member]

if my subs have 10 ga wire leads, would it be beneficial to run anything larger to the amp. common sense would tell me no, but they do sell larger speaker wire, so just makin sure. thanks in advance

Click to read more...

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

Your common sense is flawed then.

The amplifier uses a DC power voltage, then amplifies it and ends up exchanging it to an AC current. The AC current is high voltage, but low amperes. Wires limits are given by amperes, not voltage.

The wire going into the amp should be gauged as per the amperage pull which can be easily assessed by the fuse on the amp. If it has more than one, add them up.

 

[springer 10+ year member]

maybe i did not make my question clear. i am not worried about my power wire being big enough for the amp to draw enough current. i was asking about the speaker wire from the amp to the subs.

 

[romans535 10+ year member]

maybe i did not make my question clear. i am not worried about my power wire being big enough for the amp to draw enough current. i was asking about the speaker wire from the amp to the subs.

10 gage is good in my opinion, I have 8gage wire on my subs, not cause I decided on this size but it was used after I upgraded to 0 gage.

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

10 gage is good in my opinion, I have 8gage wire on my subs, not cause I decided on this size but it was used after I upgraded to 0 gage.

10 AWG is a lot. 12 AWG it a lot, too. 14 is good, and 16 is less than nominal.

I mean, you can use any size. But, I suggest 12-14, depending on the amp.

 

[Undisputed King 10+ year member]

The bigger the better, haha its always better to have less resistance. More power to your sub, although the difference is usually not audible from like 12 awg to 8 awg. I use 8awg just cause I had some left over from my early days when I used that as power wire.

 

[GMCJimmyslt2000 10+ year member]

in this case i would say going bigger isnt gnna do jack, ur just wasting ur money.

Now if ur running tons of powers, i would say the bigger the better

 

[Undisputed King 10+ year member]

in this case i would say going bigger isnt gnna do jack, ur just wasting ur money.
Now if ur running tons of powers, i would say the bigger the better

Yes exactly, its useless unless you already have it laying around like I did. So like I said it isnt audible, so no need to do it unless you want to get that extra 1/4th db which he isnt going to be competing most likely.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Yes exactly, its useless unless you already have it laying around like I did. So like I said it isnt audible, so no need to do it unless you want to get that extra 1/4th db which he isnt going to be competing most likely.

You wouldn't even see a 1/4 db gain. Anything over 12ga speaker wire is purely for aesthetics for the vast majority of people, including everyone in this thread. If you are running larger than 12ga speaker wire and think you are doing it for anything other than looks, you are just fooling yourself.
Wire capacity is determined by both voltage and amperage.

 

[springer 10+ year member]

ok thanks everone. i am running 12 but just wondered since my subs have 10 awg on them. didnt figure it would be a big deal though.

thanks

 

[brynm 10+ year member]

You wouldn't even see a 1/4 db gain. Anything over 12ga speaker wire is purely for aesthetics for the vast majority of people, including everyone in this thread. If you are running larger than 12ga speaker wire and think you are doing it for anything other than looks, you are just fooling yourself.
Wire capacity is determined by both voltage and amperage.

Wrong there, wire capacity is determined by amperage, insulation capacity is determined by voltage.

If you take a 1/0 wire rated for 600 volts and one rated for 15,000 volts the copper is the same size but the insulation is different.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Wrong there, wire capacity is determined by amperage, insulation capacity is determined by voltage.
If you take a 1/0 wire rated for 600 volts and one rated for 15,000 volts the copper is the same size but the insulation is different.

You do realize that power is voltage * amperage right? Im sorry, but voltage and amperage do both affect the capacity of a wire.

 

[brynm 10+ year member]

You do realize your arguing this fact with an electrician? Take your house for example, 120v circuit #14 wire will carry 15A, #12=20A, #10=30A, #8=40. That same wire on a 240v circuit- #14=15A, #12=20A, #10=30A.... Are you seeing the pattern?

Borrowed from http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_12/3.html

COPPER CONDUCTOR AMPACITIES, IN FREE AIR AT 30 DEGREES C

========================================================

INSULATION RUW, T THW, THWN FEP, FEPB

TYPE: TW RUH THHN, XHHW

========================================================

Size Current Rating Current Rating Current Rating

AWG @ 60 degrees C @ 75 degrees C @ 90 degrees C

========================================================

20 -------- *9 ----------------------------- *12.5

18 -------- *13 ------------------------------ 18

16 -------- *18 ------------------------------ 24

14 --------- 25 ------------- 30 ------------- 35

12 --------- 30 ------------- 35 ------------- 40

10 --------- 40 ------------- 50 ------------- 55

8 ---------- 60 ------------- 70 ------------- 80

6 ---------- 80 ------------- 95 ------------ 105

4 --------- 105 ------------ 125 ------------ 140

2 --------- 140 ------------ 170 ------------ 190

1 --------- 165 ------------ 195 ------------ 220

1/0 ------- 195 ------------ 230 ------------ 260

2/0 ------- 225 ------------ 265 ------------ 300

3/0 ------- 260 ------------ 310 ------------ 350

4/0 ------- 300 ------------ 360 ------------ 405

Note that it doesn't say anything about voltage.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

You do realize your arguing this fact with an electrician? Take your house for example, 120v circuit #14 wire will carry 15A, #12=20A, #10=30A, #8=40. That same wire on a 240v circuit- #14=15A, #12=20A, #10=30A.... Are you seeing the pattern?

Borrowed from http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_12/3.html

COPPER CONDUCTOR AMPACITIES, IN FREE AIR AT 30 DEGREES C

========================================================

INSULATION RUW, T THW, THWN FEP, FEPB

TYPE: TW RUH THHN, XHHW

========================================================

Size Current Rating Current Rating Current Rating

AWG @ 60 degrees C @ 75 degrees C @ 90 degrees C

========================================================

20 -------- *9 ----------------------------- *12.5

18 -------- *13 ------------------------------ 18

16 -------- *18 ------------------------------ 24

14 --------- 25 ------------- 30 ------------- 35

12 --------- 30 ------------- 35 ------------- 40

10 --------- 40 ------------- 50 ------------- 55

8 ---------- 60 ------------- 70 ------------- 80

6 ---------- 80 ------------- 95 ------------ 105

4 --------- 105 ------------ 125 ------------ 140

2 --------- 140 ------------ 170 ------------ 190

1 --------- 165 ------------ 195 ------------ 220

1/0 ------- 195 ------------ 230 ------------ 260

2/0 ------- 225 ------------ 265 ------------ 300

3/0 ------- 260 ------------ 310 ------------ 350

4/0 ------- 300 ------------ 360 ------------ 405

Note that it doesn't say anything about voltage.

Amperage is derived by [watts * volts], so Im not following what your point is.

 

[springer 10+ year member]

Amperage is derived by [watts * volts], so Im not following what your point is.

i'm not an expert at all, but i thought wattage was determined by [amps*volts]. hope i didnt just make a dumbshit out of myself....