# Max rms you would put through 16 gauge ?



## ImK'ed (Aug 12, 2013)

Ive read that 16 is more than enough for front stages, im just curious what you would recommend as the max rms for say 5metres for a 4 ohm and 2 ohm speaker


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## nanohead (Oct 21, 2013)

Honestly, you could probably put an enormous amount of power through that. All the hoopla around wire gauge for speaker wires gets people crazy. In a super high current home system, I could see it mattering to some extent, but in a car I'm dubious. I know people are religious about this stuff, but candidly, unless you're using the wire as a conductor for an Arc Welder, i think it probably doesn't matter

You could probably put thousands of watts through that wire, possibly tens of thousands of watts.

Are you worried about sound quality, or the wire melting due to heat production


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## legend94 (Mar 15, 2006)

Speaker Wire

This is probably more than you will ever want to know about wire!


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## ImK'ed (Aug 12, 2013)

I think more worried about it heating up, right now im using 4ohm speakers but may go to 2ohm in future im thinking 16 gauge should be fine but that true 16gauge


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## nanohead (Oct 21, 2013)

Honestly, any gauge will do, as long as its not 26. And the worst that may happen is it would cause the amps to generate a bit more heat, as they're trying to push too much signal (low voltage, higher current) through a thin wire. 16 or 18 will be fine. Unless you really do want to run an Arc welder off of them!


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## gstokes (Apr 20, 2014)

legend94 said:


> Speaker Wire
> 
> This is probably more than you will ever want to know about wire!


Good info, thanks for sharing..


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## Weigel21 (Sep 8, 2014)

Just my opinion, but I'd not feel comfortable pushing more than 250RMS through 16GA for more than 5 meters on a 4 ohm load. 2 ohm load however, 150RMS. 

However, I've done worse in my time and SURPRISINGLY, not had a serious issue arise. 

Back when I got my first car, I wired an amplifier up, tapping into the same wiring going to the HU. Amplifier got hot as hell, but no fire ever happened and it never went into thermal protection, oddly enough. Ran 18GA or so speaker wire from said amp to a subwoofer about 10' away as well. Amp was "rated" around 150RMS bridged, but lord knows what it was actually producing. 

Again, nothing caught fire, but I'll never do that kind of stuff again.


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## gstokes (Apr 20, 2014)

I worry more about AWG with the subwoofer then anything else, strictly because of damping factor but that's a whole different animal


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

300,000 milliwatts


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## Alrojoca (Oct 5, 2012)

The subwoofer, no question about it, 12 gauge minimum, and it tends to be short most of the time. I used 10 or 8 gauge from what I rememver , just some extra wire I had laying around at home.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

gstokes said:


> I worry more about AWG with the subwoofer then anything else, strictly because of damping factor but that's a whole different animal


care to explain?


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## ImK'ed (Aug 12, 2013)

gstokes said:


> Good info, thanks for sharing..


Yeh excellent read!


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## ImK'ed (Aug 12, 2013)

TrickyRicky said:


> 300,000 milliwatts


300 watts? Milli is divided by thou?


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## gstokes (Apr 20, 2014)

SkizeR said:


> care to explain?


Me and Jepalan have thoroughly discussed this already on another forum and enlightened a few people but you can gain a better understanding by reading this article from prosoundweb that discusses the relationship between amplifier damping factor, impedance & cable..
AV: The Relationship Between Amplifier Damping Factor, Impedance & Cable - Pro Sound Web

I'm in a great mood so I prefer to avoid a lengthy discussion, we just differ too much in opinion and that's normal for the human race..
Abnormal for the rat race


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## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

gstokes said:


> Me and Jepalan have thoroughly discussed this already on another forum and enlightened a few people but you can gain a better understanding by reading this article from prosoundweb that discusses the relationship between amplifier damping factor, impedance & cable..
> AV: The Relationship Between Amplifier Damping Factor, Impedance & Cable - Pro Sound Web
> 
> I'm in a great mood so I prefer to avoid a lengthy discussion, we just differ too much in opinion and that's normal for the human race..
> Abnormal for the rat race


i wont attempt to ruin your mood, but do you think you could hear the difference between 12 ga sub wire and 24 ga sub wire? 

Lets say 10 ft run and 1000 watts.


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## gstokes (Apr 20, 2014)

miniSQ said:


> i wont attempt to ruin your mood, but do you think you could hear the difference between 12 ga sub wire and 24 ga sub wire?
> 
> Lets say 10 ft run and 1000 watts.


Can't say but I wouldn't use 24 gauge wire on a 1000W circuit..


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## jb4674 (Jan 29, 2015)

Since the discussion is about 16 gauge cable...

I've been thinking about picking up a spool of this for my build:










Do you guys think that's decent cable, or should I spring for Stinger HPM cable?


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## cajunner (Apr 13, 2007)

sky high?

that's pretty high, I think you're okay.


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## ImK'ed (Aug 12, 2013)

Im not 100% but the sky high wire is it ofc or cca?


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## lizardking (Nov 8, 2008)

I use 18 gauge bridged to my Scan Revs. Amp claims 450 watts bridged. Did this on my last two vehicles as well. 16 gauge you will be fine!!


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## jb4674 (Jan 29, 2015)

ImK'ed said:


> Im not 100% but the sky high wire is it ofc or cca?


They come in both flavors. I was thinking about getting the OFC but, wasn't sure if anyone had used it or not.

Sky High Car Audio - Products


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## ImK'ed (Aug 12, 2013)

Quality 16 gauge is hard to find in uk makes me wonder if its actually 16 gsuge when I buy it


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

Some food for thought:
There is roughly 1800 watts available at your standard 110v household outlet.
That is usually supported by a really long run of 10ga wire.

You guys that use 6ft of 8ga for your subs slay me!


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## legend94 (Mar 15, 2006)

wheelieking71 said:


> Some food for thought:
> There is roughly 1800 watts available at your standard 110v household outlet.
> That is usually supported by a really long run of 10ga wire.
> 
> You guys that use 6ft of 8ga for your subs slay me!


Ill buy that.

Look into knu 16 gauge ofc wire, it's a great deal and is very flexible.


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## danssoslow (Nov 28, 2006)

wheelieking71 said:


> Some food for thought:
> There is roughly 1800 watts available at your standard 110v household outlet.
> That is usually supported by a really long run of 10ga wire.
> 
> You guys that use 6ft of 8ga for your subs slay me!


14ga actually.


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

danssoslow said:


> 14ga actually.


What you guys are forgetting is that 120v x 12amp = 1440watts and with a 1ohm subwoofer you would have 38v x 38amp = 1440watts. You have a lot more current action on a sub then on a 120v shop vac. Therefore you'll see 14g extension cords or 16g garden type because the current is less than 15amps otherwise the breaker will trip before any fire hazards occur. On your subwoofer cable it will be 38amps, so 10g or 12g is pretty much needed/recommended. But I might be wrong so feel free to correct me.


I bet you guys won't use 16g on a 10ft run for your 1500watt subwoofer/s.


Now a 4ohm mid/tweeter that is 300watts.... 35v x 8.8amp = 300watts, since its only 9amps you can get away with 18g or even 20g. I sure wouldn't use 20 nor 18, but 16g would be more than perfect for that application.


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## legend94 (Mar 15, 2006)

so if i build a house should i insist on 8 gauge everywhere?


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

legend94 said:


> so if i build a house should i insist on 8 gauge everywhere?


No why would you? Its 12g or 14g for 10-15 amp breakers, 10g for 20amp breakers.....but don't take my word am no electrician.


You have a high voltage so you won't need as much current (less than 12amps on most appliances) to get the job done...On a 1ohm subwoofer current increases to 38amps.


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## Orion525iT (Mar 6, 2011)

Just look at the tinsel leads on the driver. That should tell you something. I never could understand the trend of running monstrous 10-12 AWG wire to a midrange that has 20-22 AWG leads. It just seems like a waste and you have a tougher time routing and hiding everything. Yeah I know, resistance over distance, but it's not like we are running 100 feet of wire to a single speaker. 

I scavenged the bulk of my wire from a BMW. All the wires are nicely color coded and twisted pair.


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## lizardking (Nov 8, 2008)

Orion525iT said:


> Just look at the tinsel leads on the driver. That should tell you something. I never could understand the trend of running monstrous 10-12 AWG wire to a midrange that has 20-22 AWG leads. It just seems like a waste and you have a tougher time routing and hiding everything. Yeah I know, resistance over distance, but it's not like we are running 100 feet of wire to a single speaker.
> 
> I scavenged the bulk of my wire from a BMW. All the wires are nicely color coded and twisted pair.




Yep!!! ^^^^


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## Jesus Christ (Aug 3, 2010)

http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwireselectorassistant.swf


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## 1fishman (Dec 22, 2012)

Jesus Christ said:


> http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwireselectorassistant.swf


Nice!

Ever think of changing your name to "Muhammad The prophet"?


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## cajunner (Apr 13, 2007)

I'd put 550 watts of music signal into a 16 gauge OFC speaker lead, and I wouldn't even worry about it...


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

legend94 said:


> so if i build a house should i insist on 8 gauge everywhere?


I would if I were you!
After all, I just used 6ga on my latest home wiring project.








Yes, 16ga should be perfectly fine for the OP's application


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Orion525iT said:


> Just look at the tinsel leads on the driver. That should tell you something. I never could understand the trend of running monstrous 10-12 AWG wire to a midrange that has 20-22 AWG leads. It just seems like a waste and you have a tougher time routing and hiding everything. Yeah I know, resistance over distance, but it's not like we are running 100 feet of wire to a single speaker.
> 
> I scavenged the bulk of my wire from a BMW. All the wires are nicely color coded and twisted pair.


because its a very short distance that thin lead is running.


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## danssoslow (Nov 28, 2006)

Wire gauge is based on amperage, I see Trickyricky's point. 

And the tinsel leads don't tell the whole story either. Has anyone done any LED retrofits in their home recess cans? That wire is 16-18awg wire; but there is no way we would get away with running that wire throughout a house. Reason being, that small wire contained within that fixture serves a need with a predetermined limit. 
I guess the same could be said for a sub? Another thing to keep in mind though would be the cooling ability of the tinsel leads, it is not constrained by a heat trapping sheath.


I could see it both ways; but as cheap as wire can be, why not err to the side of caution?


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## legend94 (Mar 15, 2006)

danno14 said:


> I would if I were you!
> After all, I just used 6ga on my latest home wiring project.


I think I should if I build so I can be prepared for grow lights if laws change. Can't be to prepared.


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

legend94 said:


> I think I should if I build so I can be prepared for grow lights if laws change. Can't be to prepared.


Yeah but even grow lights today don't consume that much power. Hell most are LED type.


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