Speakers wires

[Wiked RuffRyder 10+ year member]

does speakers wires have current, cuz my wire harness on my pioneer brain is kinda short, so i have to extend it, and i dont have any more copper wire, can i used speakers wires for a power and a ground wire for a deck

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[CarAudioAddict 10+ year member]

Any wire that has something attached that uses power (amps, speakers, etc.). have current in them.

But overall in answe to your main question. Yes you can use speaker wires for power - just don't Use them for both power and speakers at the same time (most likely the amp but possibly speakers will be destroyed).

A speaker wire is the same as anyother wire. It can carry current, and its size determins how much.

 

[rco8786 10+ year member]

Speaker wire, just like power/ground wire, is just copper wrapped in plastic or whatever the company puts around it. It will all carry current. I'm not sure what addict means when he says don't use speaker wire for power and speakers...

 

[lamontjersey 10+ year member]

im the worlds cheapest installer, i used some of that orange extension cord wire that you buy at the home depot. i had a 100ft cord, i just cut off about 15 feet, stripped the end and twisted them together, the result is something nearly as thick as a moster cable, and double insulated, i was wondering wh y people dont just go to the store and buy some cheap 5 dollar car jumper cables and use that as monster cable. all them strands in the monster cable are just a gimmick, if the insulation is t hick enough, and i believe the speaker wire has thicker insulation than most wire, use it.

just make sure you use the correct guage of wire, i mean dont use a 16 guage speaker wire where they say to use a 4 guage wire.... unless you twist 4 speaker wires together, like i did, lol.

but im still the cheapest installer ever, i also used telephone wire to wire the low level inputs to my amp in the trunk,

 

[Savant 10+ year member]

Originally posted by rco8786 Speaker wire, just like power/ground wire, is just copper wrapped in plastic or whatever the company puts around it. It will all carry current. I'm not sure what addict means when he says don't use speaker wire for power and speakers...

I think he means don't use the same strand of wire for both power and speakers.. Though, I have no idea how you would do that anyway.. either power is going to speakers (which will blow them immediately I'd think, hooking them directly to the battery) or speaker signal, depending on where the ends of the speaker wires are.. Course, you could splice the speaker wires to the power wires.. and I think that's what he's saying 'dont do' given the nature of the original question (not understanding what copper wire is, etc)..

 

[F.A.M. 10+ year member]

Originally posted by lamontjersey all them strands in the monster cable are just a gimmick

Actually, you do get better current flow when you have a high strand count. Is its noticable? I'm not sure, never did the physics and math behind it (I have a life, at least I tend to think that I do!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif ) but it isn't a gimmick.

 

[BOXSTERSGUY 10+ year member]

Originally posted by lamontjersey im the worlds cheapest installer, i used some of that orange extension cord wire that you buy at the home depot. i had a 100ft cord, i just cut off about 15 feet, stripped the end and twisted them together, the result is something nearly as thick as a moster cable, and double insulated, i was wondering wh y people dont just go to the store and buy some cheap 5 dollar car jumper cables and use that as monster cable. all them strands in the monster cable are just a gimmick, if the insulation is t hick enough, and i believe the speaker wire has thicker insulation than most wire, use it.

just make sure you use the correct guage of wire, i mean dont use a 16 guage speaker wire where they say to use a 4 guage wire.... unless you twist 4 speaker wires together, like i did, lol.

but im still the cheapest installer ever, i also used telephone wire to wire the low level inputs to my amp in the trunk,

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True that Monster brand is def hyped,but that's a little too ghetto for most of us who consider our cars our babies,$hit why use screws to hold down amps,bust out the duct tape!!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[lamontjersey 10+ year member]

yeah, i dont think all those strands matter in a car stereo application, maybe if we were dealing with long lengths and high frequencies like in computer networking or something like that. and how about those double double shielded rca cables, they seem like a gimmick too. i 've been using these cheap 4 dollar rca cables and i never get noise in th em at all, i think they might help b ut for normal applications i think they are over kill. and i also t hink that road noise is always going to be more of an interference than , any thing that those cables might stop.

 

[CarAudioAddict 10+ year member]

Thats true.

The sheilding in RCA cables only protects from noise in the High frequency ranges 10Khz+. Anything below that will not be stopped, maybe dampened but not stopped.

The best things you can do to prevent noise from entering through your RCA's is:

1. Run RCA's and power on separate sides of the vehicle (or at least 18" apart)

2. Use isolation transformers to prevent ground loops

3. Gold plated plugs on the ends, this will give a better electrical connection

These three things alone will prevent more noise than even the worlds most shielded RCA cables. I still recommend buying cables that cost at least $1 per foot.

As far as strands in a power wire. There are added benefits of higher strand counts, but the average user won't notice. In general wires with more strands have a slightly higher current carrying ability Ie. 10Ga wire with 100strands can carry 35Amps, whereas 10Ga wire with 1000 strands can carry 37Amps. Anyone who kno0ws what they are doing always runs bigger wire than hey need anyway (if you need 6Ga you run at least 2Ga). This allows you to upgrade without worrying about the wire for a while.

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

Originally posted by CarAudioAddict Anyone who kno0ws what they are doing always runs bigger wire than hey need anyway (if you need 6Ga you run at least 2Ga). This allows you to upgrade without worrying about the wire for a while.

6g - 2 ga.....a bit extreme.....especially considering most amps will not accept 2ga wiring.....but to each their own

 

[CarAudioAddict 10+ year member]

I was talking about the primary power wire. From the Batt. to the Distro-Block.

But yeah most amps won't even take 6Ga wire. The wire that runs directly to the amp should be the largest wire that will fit the amp.