Can anyone please advise as to what amp rating speaker cable is required for 2 x car stereo speakers in my caravan? I need to run a length of approx. 4 metres from the stereo unit to the furthest speaker.
You can purchase dedicated speaker cable from most car, hi-fi dealerships or Halfords, Maplin's. Quality varies from very thin "bell" wire to specialist (thicker) cable. Amperage isn't really an issue as voltage from your stereo system to your speakers is very low so what you are more concerned about should be the resistance of the cable. Very thin bell-wire will have a higher resistance than thicker cable or cables with more conductors. So if you factor that with the length of the run (the longer the run the higher the resistance). So ideally if you require long runs buy better cable than bell wire or the sound from your speakers will be poor. Just a final point both cable runs to left and right speakers should be of the same length, again all about resistance, if one speaker has a shorter cable run than its partner it will be louder and your stereo will not work as it should, some equipment have a control to balance this (balance control) but is usually found on hi-fi kit.
Hope this helps.
------------- May, Bridge House Marina Garstang
May Willowbank Southport
June Ashes Kendal
July Laverick Hall Halton
July Bridge House Marina
Aug Solway View, Borgue
Sept Willowbank Southport
Oct Wagtail Farm York
Oct Fisherpool Delamere.
Thanks Keanonwuk, that's exactly what the problem is regarding different lengths of speaker cable, the sound is far from equal and I want to balance them out by running the same length cable to each speaker. The one cable at present is around 4 meters and the other is only about half a meter which is not far from the stereo unit itself so whoever installed the unit probably wasn't aware that the wiring should be of equal length. As I am going to run fresh cabling to both speakers I thought I would ask for advice which is the best cable for speaker sound. What speaker cable exactly should I be looking for? Any Ebay links would be greatly appreciated.
We(my Company), are currently pre looming various cables, data, HDMI, CCTV, KNX to name a few - modular style for a very high spec apartment block in London. Some of the cables are speaker cables, 3 different types. Depending on which type, and if any are suitable, we have some wastage, and for the 8m you need, we could send to you(FOC).
I am not an expert on speaker cables, but they are made by OPUS TECHNOLOGIES, can supply part numbers tomorrow if that would help to see if suitable.
Hi tango55. Car stereo speakers do not normally require any special speaker cable having said that it depends on what speakers you own. Some cars are fitted with very high output speaker systems that would not look out of place in a home surround sound system driven by several powerful amplifiers. However, if yours is just a normal car stereo with standard speakers any reasonable cable will do, it depends more on what you want to pay. Pop into your local Maplin's and they should offer something reasonable just stay away from the very thin single strand stuff that used to be associated with door bells. The main problem is that of resistance as you have found, so be sure that each cable is of the same length.
Kieron
------------- May, Bridge House Marina Garstang
May Willowbank Southport
June Ashes Kendal
July Laverick Hall Halton
July Bridge House Marina
Aug Solway View, Borgue
Sept Willowbank Southport
Oct Wagtail Farm York
Oct Fisherpool Delamere.
We(my Company), are currently pre looming various cables, data, HDMI, CCTV, KNX to name a few - modular style for a very high spec apartment block in London. Some of the cables are speaker cables, 3 different types. Depending on which type, and if any are suitable, we have some wastage, and for the 8m you need, we could send to you(FOC).
I am not an expert on speaker cables, but they are made by OPUS TECHNOLOGIES, can supply part numbers tomorrow if that would help to see if suitable.
Many thanks for the offer but the cabling that you are installing will be for industrial use and probably too thick for what I need. It's just a bit thicker than bell wire actually but if you have any part numbers that I can refer to it would be greatly appreciated. Stating 4 metres was a sheer estimation and after working it out I may need a bit more than 8 meters in total as the caravan is storage at present so can't measure the exact length required but at a guess 12 metres should be ample for what I need. Just to add, the speakers are 55 watts and made by 'Sub-Zero'.
Just checked Maplin's site and speaker cable relevant to your system starts at 0.49/m. I would probably go to the next level at £1.19/m but may be more than you want to pay at 12metres. By the way Sub-Zero do some quality kit so may be worth giving them some decent cable.
------------- May, Bridge House Marina Garstang
May Willowbank Southport
June Ashes Kendal
July Laverick Hall Halton
July Bridge House Marina
Aug Solway View, Borgue
Sept Willowbank Southport
Oct Wagtail Farm York
Oct Fisherpool Delamere.
Maplins would cost £14.28 for 12 metres of the better quality cable but I have seen this on Ebay which maybe the better buy actually for a length of 15 metres.
Yes that looks like it could just be the job. Good luck.
Kieron
------------- May, Bridge House Marina Garstang
May Willowbank Southport
June Ashes Kendal
July Laverick Hall Halton
July Bridge House Marina
Aug Solway View, Borgue
Sept Willowbank Southport
Oct Wagtail Farm York
Oct Fisherpool Delamere.
Thanks Kieron for all your help, I have taken your advice and have now purchased the speaker wire as shown in my previous link. It says fast dispatch so I hope I get it for the weekend so I can rectify the speaker sound balance for good.
I'm sure your system will sound brilliant once set up with your new cable. Good luck.
Kieron
------------- May, Bridge House Marina Garstang
May Willowbank Southport
June Ashes Kendal
July Laverick Hall Halton
July Bridge House Marina
Aug Solway View, Borgue
Sept Willowbank Southport
Oct Wagtail Farm York
Oct Fisherpool Delamere.
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Topic: Car Stereo Speaker Cable
