Speaker wire

[shown50]

12 guage for the subs and 16 for your mids and highs

[MrSkippyJ]

depends on your subs impedance.

500watts into half an ohm is over 30amps.

but 500watts into 8 ohms is less than 8 amps.

you are describing 2 different amps which has very little to do with what he was asking. A subs impedance has no effect on what size wire to choose, how much power and wire length are the only considerations you need.

[uhoh_45]

depends on your subs impedance.

500watts into half an ohm is over 30amps.

but 500watts into 8 ohms is less than 8 amps.

you are describing 2 different amps which has very little to do with what he was asking. A subs impedance has no effect on what size wire to choose, how much power and wire length are the only considerations you need.

haha what are you trying to say

Thicker wires reduce resistance. The resistance of 16-gauge or heavier speaker connection cable has no detectable effect in runs of 50 feet (15 meters) or less in standard domestic loudspeaker connections for a typical 8 ohm speaker.[3] As speaker resistance drops, lower gauge (heavier) wire is needed to prevent degradation to damping factor—a measure of the amplifier's control over the position of the voice coil.

Insulation thickness or type also has no audible effect as long as the insulation is of good quality and does not chemically react with the wire itself (poor-quality insulation has occasionally been found to accelerate oxidation of the copper conductor, increasing resistance over time). High-power in-car audio systems using 2-ohm speaker circuits require thicker wire than 4 to 8-ohm home audio applications.

Most consumer applications use two conductor wire. Based on a guideline is that the resistance of the speaker wire not exceeding 5% of the rated impedance of the system the table below illustrates recommended lengths.

Maximum wire lengths for two conductor copper wire[3] Wire size 2 Ω load 4 Ω load 6 Ω load 8 Ω load

22 AWG (0.326 mm2) 3 ft (0.9 m) 6 ft (1.8 m) 9 ft (2.7 m) 12 ft (3.6 m)

20 AWG (0.518 mm2) 5 ft (1.5 m) 10 ft (3 m) 15 ft (4.5 m) 20 ft (6 m)

18 AWG (0.823 mm2) 8 ft (2.4 m) 16 ft (4.9 m) 24 ft (7.3 m) 32 ft (9.7 m)

16 AWG (1.31 mm2) 12 ft (3.6 m) 24 ft (7.3 m) 36 ft (11 m) 48 ft (15 m)

14 AWG (2.08 mm2) 20 ft (6.1 m) 40 ft (12 m) 60 ft (18 m)* 80 ft (24 m)*

12 AWG (3.31 mm2) 30 ft (9.1 m) 60 ft (18 m)* 90 ft (27 m)* 120 ft (36 m)*

10 AWG (5.26 mm2) 50 ft (15 m) 100 ft (30 m)* 150 ft (46 m)* 200 ft (61 m)*

source

[MrSkippyJ]

I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I wasn't saying the subs impedance makes no difference, obviously an 8 ohm sub will get less power (on the same amp) than a 2 ohm sub and you can use a smaller wire. However, even a 1 ohm set up that runs 250 watts needs a smaller wire than a 2000 watt set up at 4 ohms.

Thats what I was saying.

[Kobieblu]

I run 8 and that's with t1s and a t1k

[TheyDontWantMusic]

However, even a 1 ohm set up that runs 250 watts needs a smaller wire than a 2000 watt set up at 4 ohms.

Thats what I was saying.

yes but a 500watt @ 1ohm setup will need the same gauge speaker cable as a 2000watt @ 4ohm setup.

"A subs impedance has no effect on what size wire to choose"

in fact, the impedance has just as much effect on the cable size as the power.

[uhoh_45]

However, even a 1 ohm set up that runs 250 watts needs a smaller wire than a 2000 watt set up at 4 ohms.

Thats what I was saying.

yes but a 500watt @ 1ohm setup will need the same gauge speaker cable as a 2000watt @ 4ohm setup.

"A subs impedance has no effect on what size wire to choose"

in fact, the impedance has just as much effect on the cable size as the power.

[wizart383]

10 guage for the subs and 16 for your mids and highs

[MrSkippyJ]

However, even a 1 ohm set up that runs 250 watts needs a smaller wire than a 2000 watt set up at 4 ohms.

Thats what I was saying.

yes but a 500watt @ 1ohm setup will need the same gauge speaker cable as a 2000watt @ 4ohm setup.

"A subs impedance has no effect on what size wire to choose"

in fact, the impedance has just as much effect on the cable size as the power.

I didn't realize we were supposed to ignore voltage when considering what wire to use.

[TheyDontWantMusic]

I didn't realize we were supposed to ignore voltage when considering what wire to use.

the voltage is irrelevant.

500watts into 1 ohm is 22amps.

2000watts into 4 ohm is 22amps.