Sky high speaker wire.

[Efreakingt]

I'm about to order all my wiring for my system and I need some advice. I've seen that sky high tends to run a bit thicker on wires so I'm trying to decide on sizes.

I've got hertz hsk 165 components running at 145 watts rms and a fi bl 15 dual 2 at up to 1900 watts rms. For the components I was thinking either 14 or 16 guage and for the sub 12 guage. I know the 8 guage runs so fat it won't fully insert into the subs quick connect. My other option would be 8 guage to the box and 12 inside for the 2 coils.

Any thoughts?

[bighossf150]

Go with knu

[Bayuk89]

Usually u base your speaker wire size off the length of the run and how much watts, i say 16 gauge for componets and 12 gauge for subs is plenty adequate for your wattage. I wouldnt wast the money going 8ga outside the box and 12ga inside, its pointless.

[Efreakingt]

The components I'd say around 20 feet, 4 ohm, 145 watts. Sub around 5 feet, 1 ohm, 1900 watts.

[GorillaFIngeRs]

Go with Knu. Same size wire, thinner insulation and more flexible imo. I run both in my car now, Knu is a little easier to work with and hide.

[9Nails]

A couple of things to consider, what you're really trying to eliminate with the wire is resistance caused by the wire size and it's length. The wire quality also is very important to consider. Oxygen Free Copper (OFC) wire has higher conductivity and is more corrosion resistant than regular copper or copper clad aluminum (CCA). OFC wire is preferred over "normal" wire but usually costs twice as much per foot. Non-OFC wire saps power from the speakers and lowers the volume output. So if the amp is putting out a 25 volt peak to the Hertz speakers you could lose as much as 10 volts, or form 145 watts to about 60 watts with non-OFC wire. You can save money here if you're not picky about the total volume output, but if you are you're looking for OFC wire.

I'm making assumptions that you're amp is already connected and you're good to go there, as just the speakers were mentioned. But you'll want to ensure that you're not losing any power before the amp by correctly specifying your wire quality and gauge.

I think your estimates of 14 gauge on the Hertz and 12 gauge on the Fi are fair and should perform well for you. Just make sure you get the right wire type for your application.

[Soundfreezer79]

Knu's silver/smoke marine grade speaker wire is the best looking wire IMO. I use it in my home installs as well as the car and truck. Sounds great, and is easy to work with because of the fine wire strands. All around a great company..

[Efreakingt]

I'm going all OFC wires for power and speakers. This is my first build that I'm not going cheap on anything... None of that random junk drawer 10 year old walmart wire in this one. Only reason I'm second guessing everything on this one is because I'm removing the entire interior to do the install so I don't want to find out I picked the wrong stuff after I put it back together.

[Bayuk89]

16ga speaker wire is just fine for ur 20 ft run @ 150 watts RMS and 12ga is just fine for your sub @ 1900 RMS.... Choose a brand you like/can afford and run it. CCA is just fine for daily set up. Unless your gonna be competing YOU wont know a difference between CCA and OFC, there are PLENTY of members running CCA wires doing over 145 dB. Enjoy building your audio, you dont need to get to the "science" of it on ur first build.... Just my opinion.

Edit:

If u wanna run 14ga for ur door speakers for "piece of mind" you can but its wont do you any more better then 16ga for the wattage ur running. My first build I ran 14ga off a 500 watt alpine v-power mono block awhile back at it was adequate for my 12" infinity sub. That being said, 500 watts RMS on 14ga is a good match, 145 watts RMS on 14ga is unnecessary when 16ga is a better choice IMO. but its your build so chose what you like

[Efreakingt]

Well it's definitely not my first build, just first that I'm putting a lot of thought and money into. Mainly going OFC on everything to avoid the wire corrosion that I've had in old builds. As far as the mids go I don't want thicker than needed to ease getting the wires into the doors.

All my previous builds either got done by a shop or we just tossed in whatever we could find quickly. This one is my "mid life crisis" build so to speak. I needed a nice lengthy project to get my mind off life and delve into the specifics.