What gauge wire should I run to my subwoofer?

What gauge wire should I run to my subwoofer?

Jaeden, For wiring subwoofers, we recommend using wires of 12- to 16-gauge in size. There will be no audible difference between them – just less power loss with larger wire.

Can you use any wire for subs?

The Best Way To Wire A Subwoofer As I explained in the previous paragraphs, it is possible to use regular speaker wire for a subwoofer. The most effective way though is to use a specifically-designed subwoofer cable. This is likely to cause a noticeable increase in sound quality.

Does gauge matter for speaker wire?

Speaker wires with lower-gauge numbers are better at carrying an amplified audio signal. Generally, for short speaker wire runs, a 16-gauge wire is sufficient. However, for longer speaker wire runs (to another room, for example), it is better to use a thicker, lower-gauge wire.

What AWG is speaker wire?

The AWG refers to the thickness of the copper wire in the cable. The lower the gauge number, the thicker the wire. Most speaker wire ranges from 12 AWG to 16 AWG. It’s important to use the correct gauge for your speaker setup.

Can you hook up subwoofer with speaker wire?

If you are using your subwoofer with a stereo receiver that lacks a subwoofer output (and many of them do), you can connect the subwoofer using an extra set of speaker cables, as shown above—provided the subwoofer has speaker-level (speaker wire) connections, as the picks in our Best Budget Subwoofer guide do.

What happens if you wire a speaker backwards?

What happens if speakers are wired backward? Wiring speakers backward, causes them to be out of phase. Phase cancellation results in certain frequencies being reduced in the output, and it is detrimental to the audio quality. It also negatively affects the stereo imaging of the speakers.

Is a bigger voice coil better?

Coil Size Matters Well, the larger you make the voice coil, the more power it can handle—but at the same time, it also generates more heat. Smaller coils can be a little more resonant, but larger coils tend to have better control. Some speakers have to have larger coils.

What is a dual voice coil subwoofer?

While typical subwoofers have a single voice coil, dual voice coil (DVC) subwoofers use two separate voice coils, each with its own connections, mounted on one cylinder, connected to a common cone. Parallel: A dual 4-ohm voice coil subwoofer with its coils wired in parallel presents a 2-ohm load to your amplifier.

What is a voice coil on a subwoofer?

Voice coil: tightly wound small gauge wire of a large length (this is suspended inside a gap in the magnet) Single voice coil subwoofers have only one speaker voice coil winding while dual voice coil models have a 2nd voice coil of the same Ohm rating (impedance) added in the bobbin.

What are dual voice coil speakers?

Dual voice coil speakers are extremely similar to single voice coil models except for having a 2nd voice coil winding, wire, and wire terminals. They both use a small gauge wire tightly wound on a speaker “bobbin” (tube) that rests inside a magnet attached to the cone. They produce sound when a musical signal is supplied.

What gauge wire do I need for my subwoofer?

Long (100ft+) speaker runs or higher power applications such as high-power 2 or 4 ohm subwoofers. In most cases for everyday listening at medium or low power levels (50W RMS or under), 18 gauge (18AWG) wire is what you need. It’s a good compromise between price and handling as it’s usually priced well and easy to find.

What size speaker wire do I need for my speakers?

Speaker wire size quick guide. For most cases using home or car speakers (not subwoofers) 18 gauge (18AWG) is fine. 18AWG wire is good for about 50W for 4 ohm (car) speakers and 100W for 8 ohm (home stereo) speakers. For higher power systems or longer lengths, 16 gauge is a great choice.