Calling Stereo Gurus...Need Advice.

[TigeDuner]

Ever thought of trying different wire sizes and types on the bench with your new system? You will probably be surprised with the results.
Can't say I have ever heard of using direct burial/sunlight resistant wire in a boat. Is the wire manufacturer preparing your system for some strange weather event?
Good luck with the install.

[chpthril]

I picked up the wire today. Much to my dismay, it is actually home theater wire. The shop didn't order car wire because they are in the process of exiting the car industry. They did not want to by a 500ft spool of car wire so that I can buy a small portion of it.

It seems pretty flexible. The sheath does seem a bit thin, but each strand inside is covered as well.

It reads the following on the wire:
"Sheer Wire - 142OFC105 - OXYGEN FREE SPEAKER CABLE 14 AWG E111196 TYPE (UL) CL3/PLTC DIRECT BURIAL, SUNLIGHT RESISTANT MADE IN USA - 09\07/06 1L"

I'm not sure if that print means anything or not.

Thoughts?

P.S. Excuse the ragged cut of the purple sheath. I did that with a dull razor blade for picture purposes.

What is the OD of the purple? I think you will have a hard time pulling two of those through the tower.

[Jeff T]

Ever thought of trying different wire sizes and types on the bench with your new system? You will probably be surprised with the results.
Can't say I have ever heard of using direct burial/sunlight resistant wire in a boat. Is the wire manufacturer preparing your system for some strange weather event?
Good luck with the install.

The wire is all that I had available. I couldn't find any 14 gauge car wire anywhere. This will have to do at this point. I do have some 16 gauge of the exact same wire that I can test to see if I hear any differences.

[Jeff T]

What is the OD of the purple? I think you will have a hard time pulling two of those through the tower.

Unfortunately I don't have it here with me. I can check tonight. It seems pretty thin though. Why would you think that this would be any more difficult than 14 gauge audio wire? Does it appear to be thicker to you? To me, it seems overall smaller than what 14 gauge audio wire would be (maybe slightly wider, but thinner).

[philwsailz]

Unfortunately I don't have it here with me. I can check tonight. It seems pretty thin though. Why would you think that this would be any more difficult than 14 gauge audio wire? Does it appear to be thicker to you? To me, it seems overall smaller than what 14 gauge audio wire would be (maybe slightly wider, but thinner).

That wire should not give you too much trouble. Pictures are deceiving without a known size reference, (coin, ruler, etc.) in the picture as well. That wire is a pretty common architectural wire, and is not as big as the picture makes it look; very similar to stuff I have used.

I say go for it!

[spharis]

That is actually good stuff. I order it in bulk to use at work on simulators. It may be listed as "home theater" wire, but it is just a coated 2 conductor cable. You can order that stuff yourself from places like mouser or digikey. The "direct burial" aspect just means that the outer sheath is non-permeable and that the interior wire is isolated from it by another coating.

[Jeff T]

Score. Thanks for the input guys. I appreciate it. FWIW, I got 75ft of 14 gauge, 50ft of 16 gauge, and 35ft of 12 gauge for $70. Not bad...

[chpthril]

Unfortunately I don't have it here with me. I can check tonight. It seems pretty thin though. Why would you think that this would be any more difficult than 14 gauge audio wire? Does it appear to be thicker to you? To me, it seems overall smaller than what 14 gauge audio wire would be (maybe slightly wider, but thinner).

Like Phil said, with no scale in the pic, it looks as big as 4ga battery cable but i know it's not.

[talltigeguy]

In the US we are generally trained that bigger is better. Following some scientific rules, you would find that 16 guage is just fine. You won't hear any drop due to loss of current with that. The Pro 80's are incredibly efficient tower speakers and you won't be putting 500 watts up there.

Check this website - the 16th category on the right discusses wire. The first box once in the wire category allows you to put in wire sizes and the impedance etc. You would be surprised to find that 18 guage wire at 200 Watts would not even give you an audible drop in power. http://www.bcae1.com/

Having said all of that, I have 14 guage wire going to my tower speakers. But seriously, I find it way overkill. I have not seen the wire size to the speakers a limiting factor. Never heard of a properly wired speaker wire melting.

[spharis]

14 in a tower isn't overkill. bcae1.com is a good site. I have posted a sizing chart somewhere in this board. It list AWG sizes vs. power vs. length. That should be followed.

[talltigeguy]

I guess to illustrate, if you plug in 375 Watts at 4 ohms with 25 feet of wire (I probably have only 15 feet or so) and then vary the guage of wire, you don't hit 1 db of loss until you are at 20 guage wire. So if I read this literally, 14 guage is more than enough, or overkill.

It would be an interesting experiment to wire one speaker with 20 guage and one with 14 guage and I bet that you would not find an audible difference.

Book smarts and practical smarts are two different things...so I still have 14 guage wire in my tower.

If I had troubles getting 14 guage (getting back to the thread topic) then I would not hesitate to run 16 guage, unless you have an alternative explanation for why to overbuild the system.

[spharis]

Right, but the energy or the "db" that is lost, has to be converted to something else. That something else is heat

[dogbert]

I think you're good...it's actually pretty well shielded. You can use it outdoors in your yard as well.