Speaker Wire Question...

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RustyRatRod

RustyRatRod

I was born on a Monday. Not last Monday.
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I have decided......since 1) I cannot find the American Legacy amp I know I have somewhere and 2) since I am too cheap to buy another one, I am going to run this Kenwood radio as is with no amp. The car is insulated to heck and back with Kilmat so It's gonna be pretty quiet. It's also a stock 170 slant six with stock quiet exhaust so it's going to be quiet there too. So my question......the radio has really small speaker wires. I would guess 20ga at the biggest......maybe even 22 or 24ga. Should I just run that size? Thank you drive through.
 
There is a possibility that if the head unit is designed to go to an amp, then it might not have a built in amp and is sending line level audio out those wire
 
Yup. As i read in another thread, lamp cord. I dont get why so much money is spent on monster cable.
 
Dana67Dart said:
There is a possibility that if the head unit is designed to go to an amp, then it might not have a built in amp and is sending line level audio out those wire
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Naw, it has both outputs. Line level (RCA) and speaker level. It only has two channel RCA (left and right) but four channel speaker level.
 
wire.PNG


I believe car audio is 4 ohm.
 
I would think 20 would be good, thats about the size they would give you with new speakers? The heavy stuff I believe is used when using a BIG amp. Been a long time since I hooked up a deck tho lol
 
I think it will be fine. The difference could be a little less bass response since that is when the speakers pull the most current ( maximum cone deflection for the longest time). If you have an average stereo and average speakers I doubt you would notice anything.
 
Growing up a poor boy, I used whatever stereos, speakers, & wire I had or got cheap without too much thinking about ohms or wire gauge. Probably didn’t sound as good as it could have, but usually worked just fine (for the price). As long as you don’t have more than a couple of speakers on each channel, everything usually works ok. Probably the most important thing is to get the speakers phased the same so they are not working against each other.
 
There is more BS black magic about speaker wire than is believeable. With no external amp, I'd guess it will work fine. I'd like "a little larger" but if that's what you have, don't worry about it

Someone mentioned lamp cord. We have several thrift stores around here, and there's ALWAYS some zip cord lamp cord extension cords for sale in them cheap, like coupl'a bucks ea
 
Next time you see a phone guy, as him for 30 feet of 1 pair drop cable. Probably reel it right off the truck for you for a smile and a car story, I know I would. I throw away 100 feet a week of that old stuff as we only install 2 pair or more now. ITs pretty stiff but can be bent to suit. IIRC the Kenwood harness wires should be 22 for the speakers and maybe 18 for power and ground. Lamp cord is cheap and flexible but is hard to run under a carpet or sill without a bump. I believe the 22 is adequate for 4ohm speakers off the head for runs under 20 feet. Use what you got if its 22 or lower.
 
pishta said:
Next time you see a phone guy, as him for 30 feet of 1 pair drop cable. Probably reel it right off the truck for you for a smile and a car story, I know I would. I throw away 100 feet a week of that old stuff as we only install 2 pair or more now. ITs pretty stiff but can be bent to suit. IIRC the Kenwood harness wires should be 22 for the speakers and maybe 18 for power and ground. Lamp cord is cheap and flexible but is hard to run under a carpet or sill without a bump. I believe the 22 is adequate for 4ohm speakers off the head for runs under 20 feet. Use what you got if its 22 or lower.
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I don't have anything. I believe you're right. It's either 22 or even 24.
 
pishta said:
Next time you see a phone guy, as him for 30 feet of 1 pair drop cable. Probably reel it right off the truck for you for a smile and a car story, I know I would. I throw away 100 feet a week of that old stuff as we only install 2 pair or more now. ITs pretty stiff but can be bent to suit. IIRC the Kenwood harness wires should be 22 for the speakers and maybe 18 for power and ground. Lamp cord is cheap and flexible but is hard to run under a carpet or sill without a bump. I believe the 22 is adequate for 4ohm speakers off the head for runs under 20 feet. Use what you got if its 22 or lower.
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Geez buddy I can't remember the last time I saw a phone guy---at least a truck. Most the cable type guys around this town (Spectrum) are independent contractors "I think." Down around Ritzville/ Othello WA when I was doin E911 work (for Motorola) there was actually a telco company down there called 'POTS'

(Plain Old Telephone Service for the guys who don't know)
 
Agree with all the others, plain old 16 GA lamp cord will work fine. It would take a LOT of power to need something bigger or better.
 
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