Wetsounds Syn2 - 8 gauge wire adequate for power?

My boat has 8 gauge wire running to current amp. Wetsounds says 4 gauge for power for the syn series amps.

If I pull my amp and replace it, is the upgraded wire necessary - it will be a lot more work. Does it make a difference if only running one set of speakers (rev 8s) vs. 2 pair or larger speakers? I'm not very knowledgeable about electrical engineering, and don't understand DC vs. AC power requirements, but I've got large amplifiers with more wattage than these for my home stereo system that use standard powercords and I don't think those are larger than 8 gauge.

Also: my current wire is coming from a 30 amp fuse, but the syn2 has 3 x 25amp fuses on the back - I assume you really don't need 75 amps to run this one amplifier, but is a 30 amp fuse adequate?

trying to figure out how much I need to do to upgrade vs. leaving the stock in place. Appreciate any help.

It need to be 4 guage.

The amp fuses will protect the amp and are very easily replaced if they pop. You will want to add a fuse that will protect the run of wire from the battery to the amplifier in case of a short. I would just get a 75 amp circuit breaker.

Darvex.com is a very good site for high quality stinger wire and parts for really cheap prices.

+1 for what Murphy said. There is a reason your home stereo equipment doesn't have such big cables... As voltage goes up, amperage goes down hence the smaller cables because they don't have to carry as much current.

I ran 4 guage on mine, with a 75 amp circuit breaker, everyone I have ever talked to indicated that this is what was needed for these amps. Mine has performed flawlesly with this set up. I can understand the work part of the equation but I would not skimp when you have spent the money on arguably the best quality product for your boat, you won't be sorry.

Wetsounds are not in the wire business so telling you to use heavier gauge wire that's not needed does not benefit them,so I think 4ga. is what is required to run this amp safely and efficiently.

Here is a good reference calculator at the bottom of the page.
A lot of it has to do with the length of the run. If it's a foot or couple inches from a fuse block to an amp on your rack is much different then from the engine compartment to the observer storage area.

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

I'm only running probably a few feet (all within the port locker where my batteries and amps are), but it sounds like the consensus is I need to rewire. Drat. Thanks for the link to that website, I'll try and find what I need there for circuit breaker and wire.

Here's another chart: http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/S...e_Speaker-Wire
If the wire is 6' or under, you should be good with 8 ga.

Now that is a VERY useful chart. I looks like since the syn2 is a 700w amp, they are giving the safe side of up to 20' of run with 4 gauge, but 8 ga would be fine up to 8 feet. I'm definitely under 8 feet, but my fuses for current amp are only 30A. I'm not sure I can just switch the fuse (they are "maxi" fuses) to a higher amperage one, but if I can, then it looks like i'd be ok with what I have with just a higher fuse of 60A.

1st, Just go with proper 4ga wire. The cost difference is not that much and the amp will perform more stable.

2nd, that chart is for automotive applications and assumes that the ground run is very short and terminating to the chassis right close to the amp.

3rd, going to from your current 30A fuse in-line on the existing 8ga to a 65A fuse could likely result in the 8ga wire being the weakest link in the chain in the event of a short. This nullifies the fuse...not a good thing.

Really? Your so cheap that you won't buy 4 ft of wire to keep from burning your boat down. Even if you needed 1/0 your only talking about $20 or so.

You're not reading: the boat is already wired from battery to fuseholder and back again to amp plus connection to battery/perko switch. This was all done with 8 gauge previously. I will have to remove the fusebox, and redo all the wiring. If I was doing from scratch obviously it's a no brainer and that's part of the reason I'm ticked because I had a professional boat shop do all the battery wiring for me for the 2nd battery and switch and that is what they put in.

Using that calculator that someone posted, you can figure out the voltage drop over the number of feet of wire. Even though you are running short distances, there is still some drop. Figure out exactly how many feet you have and then decide for yourself if the drop is going to be enough for you to worry about. The difference between those 2 wire sizes across that distance isn't much but it is some. I think WS amps are pretty efficient and it probably won't be pulling in the 60 amp range continuously but maybe it's 50 amps?