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-   -   Tower speaker wiring: 12 or 14 gauge? (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=800180)

typhoon 10-09-2013 5:47 AM

Tower speaker wiring: 12 or 14 gauge?
 
Did you use 12 or 14 gauge wire in your tower for the tower speakers?

boardman74 10-09-2013 6:14 AM

My tower had 14 from the factory. Personally I would run 12 if i was doing it myself.

chpthril 10-09-2013 6:19 AM

Without knowing the details, 14ga is more then adequate for probably 90% of tower setups.

Iceberg 10-09-2013 6:24 AM

I doubt any tower set-ups needs 12 ga. The wiring run is very short and if your power requirement was so large to need 12 ga, you would be deaf very soon.

typhoon 10-09-2013 6:50 AM

I am running one pair of hlcd 6.5's rated at 200 rms.

DavidAnalog 10-09-2013 7:04 AM

14/4 fits the bill today. 12/4 has you set for any two pair of perhaps larger HLCDs in the future.

hatepain 10-09-2013 7:04 AM

I've had 14g for about five years now with 0 problems. 4, 8" hlcd's either 225 watts gong to each.

DavidAnalog 10-09-2013 7:55 AM

The correct, or even optimum, wire gauge is not about something problematic when applied to speaker wire, unlike amplifier supply wire for example. But as you increase the wattage you increase the current and this impacts the resistance. Resistance directly relates to wasted or lost power. reistance is a factor of both current and distance. So after all the investment made in amplification and tower speakers, you do not want to take a short cut on wire. Instead, you want to ensure that your investment is not compromised via some other link in the audio chain. Another way to view it is that most everyone uses a heavy gauge wire to their 500 watt subwoofer. You should apply that same gauge of wire if you are running 500 watts up each side of the tower.
14/4 is perfectly fine for 200 watts per channel times 25 or less feet.

Greeko 10-09-2013 8:40 AM

Where would be a good place to pick up 14-4 by the foot?

brianinpdx 10-09-2013 9:39 AM

14 ga. case closed. The rest is just academics. I will say, if you can, get a slick jacket cable and it will make it easy to pull thru the tower. I like the "ice" cables for this reason.

-Brian / Exile

Alleykat 10-13-2013 10:17 AM

Lowes, or Home Depot has 14/4 that is jacketted.


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