whats the best gauge size of speaker wire to run?

[crfrider 10+ year member]

8 sets of component speakers to a 4 channel amp is an excellent idea. That way the wattage is constricted and you can't blow them. Also, it would be like running 7 gauge wire to a really good speaker which would improve bass response. I would recommend 6 gauge for the subs though, mine sound.

what do you mean wattage constricted, and you sayin this by runnin 14 gauge would make it like 7 gauge wire. why 6 gauge?

 

[crfrider 10+ year member]

no im going to run 8 sets of comps, 16 total speakers including tweeters, off the 4 channel

 

[shellfish 10+ year member]

Don't even read what he posted, just go read and educate yourself,

buy a book or do some online research.

 

[Jameseypoo 5,000+ posts]

what do you mean wattage constricted, and you sayin this by runnin 14 gauge would make it like 7 gauge wire. why 6 gauge?

It isn't constricted in a bad way, but by using 14 gauge wire to 8 sets of comps, you are going to be giving them the purest sound. I think it's a great idea. I also mentioned 7 gauge because if you have two 14 gauge wires coming out, it is going to be the same size as a 7 gauge wire, which are incredibly rare. Most people just use a couple sets of 14's for better flow.

I say 6 gauge because you'll have much greater bass response. Subwoofer notes are much lower than that of a component set. By having a thicker gauged wire, you're allowing deeper bass to be heard much faster.

 

[crfrider 10+ year member]

thanks guys for the input, well yea i would run 14 gauge to all the comps, now what do you mean by having to 14 gauge coming out, are you talkin about from the amp cause ill have to wire some together in each speaker input, which will make it 7 gauge?

 

[SRim23 5,000+ posts]

no im going to run 8 sets of comps, 16 total speakers including tweeters, off the 4 channel

now i hope you are joking because 8 SETS of comps ( 2 tweets + 2 mids = 4 speakers = 1 SET) so 8 sets would be 32 speakers......

 

[Brian_smith06 10+ year member]

You must be high.

is it shark week?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

It isn't constricted in a bad way, but by using 14 gauge wire to 8 sets of comps, you are going to be giving them the purest sound. I think it's a great idea. I also mentioned 7 gauge because if you have two 14 gauge wires coming out, it is going to be the same size as a 7 gauge wire, which are incredibly rare. Most people just use a couple sets of 14's for better flow.
I say 6 gauge because you'll have much greater bass response. Subwoofer notes are much lower than that of a component set. By having a thicker gauged wire, you're allowing deeper bass to be heard much faster.

The frightening thing is, post this on a place like AudioAsylum, and probably a fair amount of people would believe you...and they're 20-30 years older than the typical member here //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[Jameseypoo 5,000+ posts]

thanks guys for the input, well yea i would run 14 gauge to all the comps, now what do you mean by having to 14 gauge coming out, are you talkin about from the amp cause ill have to wire some together in each speaker input, which will make it 7 gauge?

Yep, that sounds right. If you run them in bilateral configuration, you shouldn't even have to worry about the crossovers. Just solder the wire directly to the output of each channel (+/-) instead of using the screw or allen wrench... or whatever. It honestly helps with the quality and that way your wires will never come detached from the amp when going off-roading or drifting. Seriously.

After you solder them to the terminals, just run two sets of 14 gauge from the same output on the amp to two separate sets of comps. Make sure you solder these as well. Do that for each set and voila, you have 8 sets of comps running off a 4 channel amp with "7 gauge" wire. It's as easy as that.

 

[crfrider 10+ year member]

lol sorry yea i did mean 4 sets, 16 speakers, i had to think about it for a second

 

[Jameseypoo 5,000+ posts]

The frightening thing is, post this on a place like AudioAsylum, and probably a fair amount of people would believe you...and they're 20-30 years older than the typical member here //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

Don't try and trick him, I'm posting legit information. Plus I've been here long than you.

 

[schrummy 10+ year member]

we all believe you. sticky worthy

 

[slam 5,000+ posts]

i need some 8g wire as we speak for my subs

 

[crfrider 10+ year member]

well wouldnt soldering the wires to the amp mess it up, is it bad to just use the alan screws? also what do you mean bilateral configuration sorry so many questions im new to the 4 channels, i always just ran a sub amp.

 

[Tehgregzor 10+ year member]

Don't listen to these guys. If you listen to rap I'd recommend 12 gauge wire to the fronts and 10 gauge to the rears. If you listen to rock or country, I'd suggest 14 gauge all around. The wider the wire, the lower the frequency that you allow to reach your speakers. For subs, I'd go with nothing smaller than 6 gauge.

uhh....this is 100% wrong. The gauge of the wire determines how much amperage it can take...thats it. 6 gauge wire probably won't fit in *mainstream* subwoofer terminals, which is what 90% of the people here run. Even Audioque, a very reputable subwoofer builder, only runs straight 12 gauge off most his subs, as seen here: http://www.audioque.com/aq/leadwire.htm