What gauge speaker wire do i need for a 1000 watt amp?

Question

Hi, i have a cheap 1000 watt amp, and need to know what kind of speaker wire i need to use for the best results

Answer 1

go to crutchfield.com for the answer to that

Answer 2

you half answered your own question. A cheap 1000 watt amp is not going to put out anywhere near 1000 watts. 99.9% chance that wattage rating is the "max output" rating, which may happen in small increments. Chances are it won't ever hit that rating. It's probably only putting out a couple hundred watts per channel on average at best.

12awg speaker wire will be fine. 14 or 16 should also be fine if its just a short run of wire.

Answer 3

Power = 4 AWG braided
Speakers = 10 AWG braided

http://spkrbox1.spaces.msn.com/Default.aspx for real "sound" advice.

Your system won't mean squat without a well designed box to put your subs in. Some manufacturers have recommendations as to dimensions of various types of boxes. It is best to find someone who builds boxes if you go with something other than a sealed box.

You should always match up RMS (Root Mean Square) watts of Subs and amp per channel as well as impedance's(resistances).

If your amp is rated at 4Ω don't subject it to 2Ω, it will fry.

Here is the formula for subs in parallel:

Z = 1 / (1/sub1 + 1/sub2 + 1/sub3 + ....)

For series, just add them up (sub1 + sub2 + ...).

You can mix and match these equations to get the right impedance required by your amp.

Example: 4 subs @ 4Ω each. If I connect two in parallel and the other two in parallel and tie the two pairs in series, I would have a total impedance(resistance) of 4Ω. So to the amp, it's just one sub.

You should use a capacitor as well.

Recommend for every 500 watts MAX you use a .5 Farad cap
Example: 1000 watts MAX - 1 Farad cap

Try http://www.soundomain.com/shop you can find some really good deals, and this site is manufacturer certified. VERY IMPORTANT WHEN SHOPPING ON-LINE!!!

You will also need what's called a "line level converter" if your stock head unit doesn't have RCA outputs or your amp doesn't have high-level inputs.

If you like I can send you some plans for reference. My plans are for a 4-th order band pass bass box that holds two 12's. Also included are java calculators you can use to figure parallel and series values given Ω values.
Just e-mail me [e-mail]

My system

Blaupunkt TSw1200 subs with a Sony Xplōd XM2200GTX.
My amp is 1200 watts, subs are 600 watts each, cap is 1.2 Farad

SPL is about 112 db

Total cost(so far) = $410

Answer 4

For 1000 watt system i would use anywhere from ZERO to FOUR gage but nothing smaller than four gage.And for the speakers i say try TEN gage or even EIGHT if you can find it.
Just remember the thicker the wire the less power loss and better performance.

Answer 5

14 or 12 guage. The electrical wires in a house is like 12. Its cheap at best buy or even try ebay.

Answer 6

14-16. You will never, ever, ever, notice a difference by going with a larger wire. You have to ask yourself if it is worth the extra money for a something you will never hear.

If you are talking about the power wire, 4awg will suffice.

Answer 7

4 gauge should do da trick

Answer 8

no less then 4 ga.