Any recommendations for speaker wire. I am installing the Lucid rears and have some 16g speaker wire from my home system and was wondering if that was ok to use.
thanks

 

Yes it is....

 

thanks

 

unless u putting out a lot more watts
then i would get 14 or 12 but stock unit that should be fine
plus distance not so great so loss not really a big issue

 

16 Guage is QUITE adequate for even reasonably amplified systems.

 

At what amount of watts would you move to 14? At what amount of watts would you move to 12? And beyond those levels, what would happen if you continue to use 16 gauge?

I'm curious as to which formulae you're using. I've always been told that what will be lost is output and at that, almost negligible amounts

[Edit] Formulas => Formulae

 

For reasonably short runs (such as those found in a car), 16 Guage is acceptable up to around 20A (most tables assume a 5% transmission drop, or less, at the maximum rated current...I tend to be more conservative).

Using the formula of P=I^2 * R, we get P=(20^2) X (4), or P=1600 Watts...and this is a for a single wire/channel. So, who here now thinks those stereo installer guys are right when they say 16 Guage is not big enough for your typical install?

 

Running speakers wire all the way from my amp in the trunk, I wasn't so worried about transmission loss with the 16 ga as I was noise. All my signal lines are run down the center console, but the right speaker wire runs next to all the power cables for the amp down the pass side door sill. And the driver's side speaker wire is run next to a big bunch of cables run down the driver's side sill.

Question is, would a set of heavy guage twisted pair shielded RCA's be more worthwhile than a heavier guage wire?

Also, I've seen serious noise in cables as short as ten inches, just looking in stuff in the lab on the Oscilloscope. Is it b/c of the higher voltage line levels that no one shields their cables.

 

Well, you have a couple of interacting things going on here, so I'll try to separate them.

RCAs don't need to be heavy guage since they're low voltage and low current. Even so, you're better off running a quality pair of low voltage, shielded cables (RCA) over higher voltage, thick guage speaker wires just about any day. It's all about the shielding...

If you can't run shielded cables, you can always twist the unshielded cable for a little more noise suppression ability. Noise will be less of a concern as the voltage level on speaker cable is significantly higher than preamp outs.

Either way you look at it, you're going to have noise on the system, it all depends on how it enters and at what level.

 

MacGyver or anyone else...I need speaker wiring advice. I have a 4 door sedan that is wired for speakers but actually didn't come with any. I am putting in 6.5" components with external crossover in the front doors and 5.25" co-axials in the rear. I plan on running 50w rms X 4 or at the most 100w X 4 to the speakers, can I get away with using the OEM speaker wiring or should I run new wires, obviously not having to fish wires thru grommets with be a much easier install.

Question two, I've heard never run power wires next to signal wires. Is the amp trigger wire considered a "power" wire? Reason I'm confused is that some RCAs come with a 3rd power trigger wire, are the signal wires shielded enough that it's OK to use this trigger?

Thanks.