junkyarddog

many people in the audio industry tell me that "soft copper" cable is best for use with audio systems. I like to use the good stuff for the speakers and never compromise with lighter guage wire,if anything I'll over do it,especially when wires need to be longer. what about the power cables from the battery and ground?? last time I used a 20ft lentgh of 4awg copper,hard electrical wire,and copper "loop" connectors (I crimped those on using a hammer and anvil!) from home depot. it costed me much less than a 4 gauge (soft)would have cost from...circuit city or any stereo shop. obviously it is much more ugly looking and not as easy to install as amp wire,but is it electrically equivilent to the same guage amp wire?? it didn't sound bad at all,but it dimmed my headlights when the bass hit badly!! (JL audio 500/1 mono-block and two 12" subs in sealed box) I found a long piece of an arc welder ground cable that is almost an inch thick and very flexible,it's gotta be the equivelent of 00 gauge, could this be used in place of a very expensive amp cable?? certainly not wieght friendly though...

Torqomeo

If i remember my electrical class at all i remember that the multistrand stuff was better for pulling amperage as electrons flow on the outside of the strand. Which would mean there is alot more surface area on a stranded "soft" wire then on a hard single strand household wire. If you ever look at house hold 10 guage or something like that the stranded stuff is like triple the price. but its ALOT easier to work with a has better conductivity then hard single wire. I think thats what i learnt in my class but then again i don't know how many times i fell asleep do to hang-overs and all the times getting thrown outa class for showing up drunk hehehe college is great isn't it. I think that class was bad influence come to think of it.

GndPrx

Believe it or not, welding cable was popular for a long time on major cable runs and then people would use distribution blocks to branch off nicer looking cable to the areas of the install that would be seen.

There is really no down side to this other than making sure that the shielding is adaquate and flexible enough for your install.

junkyarddog

I went through some electronics training in the navy and I also remember the "surface electron flow" theory....that is true,why didn't I think of this before? lower gauge is definitly better for current draw. but how is the hard stuff really much different from the soft stuff? it has strands....just not as many. what about soldering smaller wires? I believe that is the best connection possible (if it's done right) some have told me that solder deterioates faster than connections??maybee gold plated but definitly not copper or butt splices........I know I'm not crazy.

88TAJeff

Junkyard, your solid cable will work just fine, believe me. The only advantages to the stranded cable are that it's flexible and easier to work with, and it's nicer looking. Stranded wire will conduct better at higher frequencies due to the "skin effect", where conductivity is a little better around the edge of the wire.
I always use stranded welding cable for my installs. Really cheap, flexible, and good insulation. Found at most auto shops.
Hope this helps,
Jeff

jobryan26

I agree with Torqomeo even tho he was not all there when he was learning about this stuff. There are reasons why things are the way they are. As he stated AC current is different than DC current. Hence the reasons why we don't use Monster Cable through out our house for lights and etc. Of course anything that will transfer electrons will work but is it the best way or proper way to do it? No. I'm a Welder, do it 50+ hours a week and my thought is to use what your suppose to use. There is a reason why.

jobryan26

Right and the theory is true. Electrons flow on the outside of the wire not through the wire. Since Electrons flow the quickest route which is on the surface of the wire right? Ok then the more wires or strands allows for more surface area for the Electrons to flow. The fewer the strands the less amount of surface area for the Electrons to flow. If the surface area is the same the only difference is by using more smaller strands equivalent to the large strands is fleixibility. More strands the more flexible the wire.