Amp wire question

 

Bronze Member
Username: Igor_xxx

Post Number: 83
Registered: Sep-07
Today I bought the Sinus Live amp and its 400rms at 1 ohm load.I have 10awg wire kit at home and i was planning to use it since my amp draw 20amps at 1ohm and the calculator at bcae1.com shows me that its ok but there is 15-20rms difference between 8 and 10 awg wires.
so my question is should i stay with the 10awg wire which i have or go and buy 8 gauge ?
 

Gold Member
Username: N2audio

Lawrence, Ks USA

Post Number: 1472
Registered: Mar-04
How do you know it draws 20A @ 1 ohm? If that's the fuse size it might not actually 400w. A 20A fuse is more indicative of 200-250w.

IMO - unless you're going to step it up to 4 ga I wouldn't bother with the upgrade.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Igor_xxx

Post Number: 84
Registered: Sep-07
its 400rms D class with 40amps fuse.it draws 20 amp.i calculate from the formula that they have at crutchfield.com and also at bcae1.com

To calculate the current draw of an amplifier, multiply the number of channels by the RMS watts per channel (a 2 channel amp rated at 300 watts RMS per channel would be 600 watts). Double it to account for amplifier inefficiency (600 watts X 2 = 1200 watts), then divide by the average output Voltage of an alternator, 13.8 volts (1200 divided by 13.8 = 87 amps). Since the average music signal requires about 1/3rd of the average power in a test tone, divide by 3 (87 amps divided by 3 = 29 amps). The result is the amplifier's approximate average current draw.
 

Gold Member
Username: Nd4spd18

Northwest PA

Post Number: 5948
Registered: Jul-06
That is AVERAGE current draw......... not what you want to use for deciding wire size.



You should have at least 8 awg wire for a 400w amp. As a general rule: use the wire gauge that your amp specifies in the manual.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Igor_xxx

Post Number: 85
Registered: Sep-07
my bad then.ok.

they say at least 10awg at the manual but the guys where i bought the amp said that will be better if i run it with 8awg.

so should i buy 8 awg or stay with the 10 that i have, and there is one thing that confuses me..at bcae1.com when i use the calculator it shows me 20rms more with 8awg wire.

so is this some noticiable differnce or not?
 

Gold Member
Username: Nd4spd18

Northwest PA

Post Number: 5956
Registered: Jul-06
If the manual says 10 gauge and you have 10 gauge, you're good.

The bcae1 chart and my comment are just a genral rule.
 

Gold Member
Username: Big_edge_head

Milwaukee, Wisconsin IF IT DOESNT...

Post Number: 1323
Registered: Mar-07
Even if you use 8gauge you will not notice the difference in sound at all.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Igor_xxx

Post Number: 86
Registered: Sep-07
ok.thanks guys , i'm gonna stay with my 10 gauge wire then.
 

New member
Username: Ven_ado

Post Number: 1
Registered: Feb-08
i need 1999 dodge dakota amplifier pinout please
amplifier = INFINITY 36670 THANKS
« Previous Thread Next Thread »



Main Forums

Today's Posts

Forum Help

Follow Us