TECH Speaker wire/Amp wiring kit question

[Chris90210]

So I purchased my amp and was looking for a wiring kit. Well it seems that the standard is $~90 per kit but i've found several between $20-40.

I've looked them over and they contain the same gauge wire(same lengths too) and fuses. So whats the big difference? I've never paid attention to wiring outside of gauge/application. Is there really a noticeable difference between wires? Same thing with spools of speaker wire. Some are fair priced and others are .


So is it just a marketing thing or is there actually a noticeable difference?

 

[kwhitelaw]

a lot of wire nowadays is not to spec. it may say its 4ga but the copper is equiv to 8ga and just has a thick jacket on it.

cheapest decent wire that was decent for the longest time was knuconceptz. not sure nowadays how they stack up

 

[MaximaDrvr]

Last I dealt with them, 2 years ago, knuconceptz was good stuff.

 

[lawngn0me]

wire is wire. all you need is a specific guage. The only benefits of some wire is that some may be more flexible than other wire or that the sheath around it is more insulated than another. In short, you do not need to pay extra for "name brand" wire. You can buy your wire from home depot and it will be great for what you need it for. Just make sure that you fuse it properly.

 

[kwhitelaw]

wire is wire. all you need is a specific guage. The only benefits of some wire is that some may be more flexible than other wire or that the sheath around it is more insulated than another. In short, you do not need to pay extra for "name brand" wire. You can buy your wire from home depot and it will be great for what you need it for. Just make sure that you fuse it properly.

there are dozens of amp kits out there that are undersized in gauge or are cca and not true copper.

while I do not agree with monster cable or JL pricing for wire, you can atleast feel comfortable knowing you have true gauge.

 

[lawngn0me]

there are dozens of amp kits out there that are undersized in gauge or are cca and not true copper.

while I do not agree with monster cable or JL pricing for wire, you can atleast feel comfortable knowing you have true gauge.

i don't know what kind of high horse you're riding bro but wire is wire. just make sure you have the appropriate guage. who said anything about having to buy an amp kit anyways? you could get a much more affordable product just buying welding wire and it will do just as good a job at a much cheaper price.

 

[MaximaDrvr]

wire, is not just wire.
There are huge differences in the makeup of the wire, strand count, flexibility, its casing, etc.

Would you rather have the 95% copper, or the 80% aluminum? They are both 4awg.
Would you rather have the one is 4awg just measuring the wire, or the other that is 4awg measuring the sheathing.

Between quality brands there might be no difference other than price, but there is a difference between good wire and bad.

And, the OP said he was looking at an amp kit, so learn to read.

 

[kwhitelaw]

i don't know what kind of high horse you're riding bro but wire is wire. just make sure you have the appropriate guage. who said anything about having to buy an amp kit anyways? you could get a much more affordable product just buying welding wire and it will do just as good a job at a much cheaper price.

my troll meter isnt working, but did you read what I said about companies saying a wire is 4ga but it actually being equal to 8 ga, wrapped in enough insulation to equal 4ga wire...there are tons of cheap amp kits out there for $19.99 for 4ga that are bullshit.

but yes, I agree, welding wire would work fine and be cheap, if you have that at your disposal.

 

[BlkDrgnZ28]

if your going to buy cheap wire off of ebay or like that go for the 2 guage if you want 4 since the wire is all insulation, or just spend the moneys to buy a true to gauge kit from a reputable company

 

[GammaRadiation]

there are dozens of amp kits out there that are undersized in gauge or are cca and not true copper.

while I do not agree with monster cable or JL pricing for wire, you can atleast feel comfortable knowing you have true gauge.

https://weldingsupply.securesites.com/cgi-bin/einstein.pl?Next::1:UNDEF:OR:terms::PA#A2

 

[emerican]

i just recently bought an 8g wire kit from amazon...i believe the company's name was Boss. i installed it and it works fine. now after reading this, i'm wondering if i'm missing out on anything buy getting this cheapo kit.

i'm new to the whole aftermarket car audio scene

 

[Smorgan]

i just recently bought an 8g wire kit from amazon...i believe the company's name was Boss. i installed it and it works fine. now after reading this, i'm wondering if i'm missing out on anything buy getting this cheapo kit.

i'm new to the whole aftermarket car audio scene

The biggest thing with wire is resistance per foot. Bigger wire = less resistance per foot. Less resistance per foot = less voltage drop at the amp. Less voltage drop at the amp = more power for your speakers/subs.


But as others have said, most of the cheap kits have much thicker jackets on the wire to make it appear to be bigger than it is, or will use CCA wire instead of OFC. CCA CAN be good, but it carries less current than OFC for the same gauge wire.


Knu Konceptz is still a really good company. Their product is top notch, and you can get a 4 gauge kit of their wire (which is OFC, true AWG, and is flexible as fuck) for under 50 shipped. Their 1/0 kit is right around 100 bucks.

 

[krazyracer]

what you can also do is hit up a car audio install place, a lot of them will cut a wiring kit up for you for a decent price, and its usually good stuff. I got a 5 ft of 1/0 gauge wire 2 ft of 4 gauge ground, rca's a 5ft remote wire and a fuse with fuse holder for 30 bucks. Try a mom and pop place since they buy in bulk and a lot of people dont mind do it yourselfers they might hook you up