Are more expensive speaker wires and rca's worth it?

[raz1121]

just wondering if buying the expensive wiring and rca's would effect anything opposed to a cheaper set that maybe you could just pick up at Radioshack

[bzinn 1]

Yes you do get waht you pay for mostly.Good RCAs will last longer,are repairable,and tend to give a cleaner signal.

As for speaker wire.......not really so much till you get to the high end systems.

I used all Knukoncepts wireing on my tC and it is very well made,but I am sure I could of gotten some less expensive speaker wire and been just fine.

Use decent gauge speaker wire though....too small give a lot of resistance and your speakers are not aboe to get a good signal.I used 12 gauge on my speakers,little over kill but it should last for any upgrades I do in the future.

[raz1121]

thanks for the help man. I am getting one nice set of rca's with the amp kit i bought ill have to make sure and get 2 more nice pairs for wiring my speakers.

[sportin83]

cheap rcas willl have weak signal and can pick up interference and engine noise. speaker wire wont do much different unless you are using realy small guage. i would use atleast 14 guage

[raz1121]

whats a good price for RCA's?

[Midon]

another tip is keep the wires as short as you can. less wire = less resistance. Also on RCA try to keep them short to. Even the high priced set will pick up interference from the motor if they are to long. Think of it as an antenna the longer the more signal u pick up the shorter the less. Same goes for RCA cables. Most of the time this doesn't come into affect but if your going to have a system installed might as well do it right.

[talnlnky]

Originally Posted by raz1121

just wondering if buying the expensive wiring and rca's would effect anything opposed to a cheaper set that maybe you could just pick up at Radioshack

Nope...

Copper is copper.

Basically, as long as speaker wire is flexible... its good. RCA's..... yeah... sometimes a better quality, better shielded pair will have better results.. but not always.

The way I see it, start with the cheap RCA's.. if you have problems... then, upgrade (tho, chances are, spending money on you're RCA's won't fix your problem).

Its better to spend your money on bigger wires, than fancier wires.

[bzinn 1]

My RCAs were about $45 shipped.I have one that has two connectors and one that four connectors.The two does my sub signal and the four does my comps.Knukoncepts.com is where I got it all.Their RCAs were basically the same cost as buying local and are doing really good.

Also be sure to keep the power wires to amp and such away from RCAs as you can get carry over interferance from the electricity.

[Spades]

well, I agree with talnlnky. once you get to a certain level of quality, you would be hard pressed to tell the differance. I would not recommend the black thin "zip line" RCA's, however, because the lack of good shielding can have an affect on sound quality in a automotive application. almost anything thats a step up from that should be good.

as far as power and speaker wires, bigger is better. multistrands are better, so if you are running a high power amp, try to get wire with more strands. its more flexible and carries current/signal better usually.

My personal opinion, I go for heavier gauge/better shielding over a brand name any day.

[raz1121]

@ Spades
Since i see you have a sedan i havnt looked yet but where is the best spot to run your wires to your trunk?

[IllusionX]

Originally Posted by raz1121

@ Spades
Since i see you have a sedan i havnt looked yet but where is the best spot to run your wires to your trunk?

i ran my RCA wires in the middle of the car (where the handbrake is)

and my speaker wires go to the front from each side of the car.

power wires should not affect speaker wires, but will affect RCA.

[_S7V7N_]

Pretty much your car is a big puzzle peace, i don't think it has many screws, only place ive ran into them is behind the radio. For my sedan i ran the power down the driver side by pullin up the door sills. the rca and remote wires i ran down the passenger side same method although i put a switch on my remote so i can turn off the amp when my daughters in the car. 4 Gauge power had no problem running through the side of the carpet. On your rca's the more shielding / insulation the better, speaker wires for your components shouldn't be to much of a prob 12-14 gauge should suffice, for the subs i'd use 10 gauge if you're running a huge system like 1000's of watts from amp to subs i do remember radio shack selling some 8 gauge speaker wire they'd sell by the foot, tht's the only thing i ever bought from there. thing is if you have dual 4 ohm it gets to be a pain in the butt wiring a thicker gauge into the speaker terminals.

Ps if you have trouble getting through the firewall let me know and i'll take pics of where i ran my wire. On another note see if there's any mom and pop audio shops in your area that carry power acoustic, kole audio stuff like that it's not grade A stuff but it's better than radio shack

[Spades]

Originally Posted by raz1121

@ Spades
Since i see you have a sedan i havnt looked yet but where is the best spot to run your wires to your trunk?

i ran them underneath the side trim along the doors. no pulling up carpet that way. i just ran the wire under the dash, under the kick panel, and lifted up the plastic trim on the bottom of the door sills. out of sight, and there is enough space for a remote wire, a 4 gauge power cable, and RCA's. on the other side of the car i ran the ground wire.

[talnlnky]

You can always go out and buy a deck with balanced outputs. Solves any induced noise issues, only thing you really have to worry about is poor ground points which cause ground loops.

[ozmdd]

All that's been said here is true, particularly the following:
-speaker wires are gague-dependant, but only to a point. 12-ga wire is great for all but the highest-power amps (I mean BIG aftermarket amps).
-Speaker wires will sound better when kept short as possible and away from other wires (electric)
-The signal wires are much more susceptible to interference than speaker wires.
-Expensive RCA's are a waste unless they solve a specific problem or you are assembling a VERY high-fidelity system, which is kinda counter-productive in a vehicle (road noise, motor noise)
-Ultra cheap RCA's are crappy. Buy the no-name ones at Target or some place like that that are heavier than the itty-bitty ones that might come with a head unit. I've found that the ones that came with my TV, DVD player and DirecTV receiver were decent thickness and worked well. Try to keep them to 3' if possible.
-8 gauge wire (or even bigger) IS a good idea for your subwoofer, and SHORT AS POSSIBLE. This speaker draws a lot of current, and will sound better and keep the amp happier with nice, heavy wire.
-If you aren't scared of a little creative engineering, you can save a ton on high-end shielded RCA's and other signal cables by wrapping each wire in foil, or that nifty METAL ducting tape (not "duct" tape, but the actual aluminum stuff used by HVAC guys). You will not get RF interference, but you'll need to be careful to route it such that it doesn't create shorts in the vehicle wiring or contact the terminals on the back of the head unit.
-Finally, many people go to great lengths and expense to fix problems that actually result from poor assembly: solder whenever possible instead of just twisting wires and wrapping electrical tape, use shrink tubing instead of electrical tape, MAKE SURE YOUR SPEAKER WIRES ARE WELL-CRIMPED INTO THE TERMINALS (better yet, solder these too), and ground EVERYTHING to the electrical system or the chassis (scrape the paint, you want metal-on-metal.

[raz1121]

Thanks for all the help i bought some middle of the road RCA's today at a local audio shop. I think there are 12ft Stinger Pro level 3. They were about 18$ a pair i still need speaker wire but the guy at the store tried to sell me 16gauge and when i asked for 14 i got a look of disgust like i was retarted.

[ozmdd]

You'd still be fine w/ 16 ga.

[talnlnky]

14awg is kind of a weird size.... 18,16,12 are the most popular sizes... you can sometimes find stuff like 14,13,10, and 8 however.

you won't hear a difference between 16 & 14 awg... but... 14 will be better, and should take a bit more abuse.