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Yesterday, Steve posted a video about the real differences between CCA and OFC.  This has been debated for as long as CCA has been around.  This got me thinking . . . 

Do you know why CCA was brought to market?  Simple - as copper prices increased CCA offered a less expensive alternative.  You want 1/0 AWG cable but can't afford it?  No problem - you too can have 1/0 AWG cable.  Now, let's think about that for a second and let this sink in . . . 

Sunk in?  Not yet . .  well keep thinking . . . OK.

Now, my problem with CCA has always been how it's marketed.  It's been marketed as a less expensive alternative.  You sir - you don't need copper cable, CCA will be just fine for you.  You, over there - CCA will be just fine in your build.  The fact of the matter is that CCA has never been an acceptable alternative to copper cable, just an alternative.

Had CCA been marketed truthfully, it would have been something like this - Pay Less for Less!  Of course then, nobody would have purchased it.  What I simply cannot wrap my mind around is how many have come to the defense of a product that was brought to market to deceive the ill-informed consumer.  Thread after thread.  Discussion after discussion.  Amazing.  So much so, that I gave up discussing it years ago.

Want to run CCA in your build?  Go for it.  No matter how you rationalize the decision, you're actively doing two things:

1 - encouraging deception in marketing
2 - devaluing quality copper cable - after all, if you didn't need it neither does your buddy

This is exactly what happened to the capacitor business.  Quality products in plain wrappers in plain white boxes gave way to a turd cylinder with a fancy wrapper and a volt meter in a velvet lined box.  Absolute shit.  Marketing deception at it's finest.  A quality product that served a real purpose was displaced by garbage who's only purpose was to separate you from your money.  A decade of that made it next to impossible to sell a quality product.

There are volumes to be learned here.  As the owner of CE Auto Electric Supply, I've been approached numerous times by various manufacturers trying to sell us alternatives - but it's cheaper and you can sell it for the same money!  Well, it's also not as good so that would be deception - we ain't interested.  We're not interested in paying less for less.  But, we often pay more for more.  That's why we buy Snap-On tools vs Harbor Freight.  That's why we buy Fluke meters versus some pretty import knock off.  And that's why when I turn the system on in my Mustang, I just enjoy the music.

You rarely save money when saving money.  Next time someone tells you that CCA is just fine for them, help to educate them.  Oh, and if you haven't seen the video here it is:

 

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Tony Candela - SMD Sales & Marketing
Email me at [email protected] to learn about becoming an SMD Partner!

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Truth is, most are buying a company brand vs. a CCA or OFC cable. 

I myself buy welding cable for very specific reasons not related to car audio itself, i went and got the car audio cable with pvc jacket covering it and almost caught my car on fire from a melted fuse block where the jacket almost pressed through on a corner. From that point on i would never touch another pvc jacketed wire again as it can press through the jacket over time on a rounded or square corner, i will use something with a much sturdier jacket that can take some abuse.

 

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4 minutes ago, Skullz said:

Truth is, most are buying a company brand vs. a CCA or OFC cable. 

I myself buy welding cable for very specific reasons not related to car audio itself, i went and got the car audio cable with pvc jacket covering it and almost caught my car on fire from a melted fuse block where the jacket almost pressed through on a corner. From that point on i would never touch another pvc jacketed wire again as it can press through the jacket over time on a rounded or square corner, i will use something with a much sturdier jacket that can take some abuse.

 

So, your fuse block melts which causes the jacket on your cable to become deformed from the heat and that's somehow the fault of the jacket construction?  If I buy a tire and it fails and shreds the quarter panel as it comes apart, I'm not going to repaint the car with the same paint as it all came off in the process.   Come on man.

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Tony Candela - SMD Sales & Marketing
Email me at [email protected] to learn about becoming an SMD Partner!

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Not what i meant by that. What i meant was the fuse block melting showed me the short comings of the pvc jacket being soft enough to allow it to compress enough to allow a short to happen.

Just poorly worded.

 

 

01 Ford focus ZX3

Pioneer AVH-X491BHS

PPI PC 4800.2

Morel Maximo 6.5" x2

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I personally would never use CCA. I was shocked when jeepandbass upgraded from CCA to OFC. I couldn't believe he ever ran CCA. He was loud AF with CCA too. Just like anything else tho, less= having to use more so that's what he did I suppose. Awesome direct comparison Meade did. I use 2/0 ga ofc personally with no dual inputs. Works for me. Maybe when I build my wall I'll go dual inputs with multiple runs of 2/0ga. 

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5 minutes ago, DiBo said:

I personally would never use CCA. I was shocked when jeepandbass upgraded from CCA to OFC. I couldn't believe he ever ran CCA. He was loud AF with CCA too. Just like anything else tho, less= having to use more so that's what he did I suppose. Awesome direct comparison Meade did. I use 2/0 ga ofc personally with no dual inputs. Works for me. Maybe when I build my wall I'll go dual inputs with multiple runs of 2/0ga. 

Theres nothing wrong with cca. 

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Here's another video that shows the actual temperature difference between CCA and OFC.  Real results from an industry icon that knows what he's talking about.  Or, you can put your head in the sand and go along with the above response . . . 

 

Tony Candela - SMD Sales & Marketing
Email me at [email protected] to learn about becoming an SMD Partner!

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no matter what information actually get put out there, people will still buy CCA wire. 2 main reasons, 1 is money and 2 is ignorance (whether it be willing or unwilling). too many people use the excuse of "i'm not good at math" as a reason to be stupid when it comes to anything that has a number. same applies here. companies that make CCA wire are more at fault than the consumers. they advertise fluff numbers to push product. 

if nothing changes, nothing changes

You don't know what you don't know, till you don't know

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My beef(s) with CCA:

It's less conductive. Duh. Yeah you can buy 0 gauge CCA but you can buy smaller gauge OFC and it'll be easier to work with. Doing multiple runs? Well you need more lugs/fuses/grommets/etc that essentially negates all of your cost savings

It doesn't solder. At all. You need to crimp it. And invest in a crimping tool. And the pricier crimp lugs. Again, not really a good argument w/ cost savings when everything around the wire becomes more expensive

It's brittle and makes a mess everywhere

It corrodes. Whoever decided to mix 2 metals that are well known and documented to cause galvanic corrosion to each other... Well... I have some words for them

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