Unfortunately, the worst kit of the bunch had wire with more than three times the resistance of the best in the group. Years ago, some of the staff here at performed extensive testing on more than a dozen brands of entry-level car audio amplifier installation kits. Another important note is that the CTA-2015 standard allows for a maximum of 0.25 volt across the length of the cable. This set of guidelines describes not only the size of conductors (cross-sectional area) but the minimum number of strands, the minimum number of strand groups, the nominal resistance and the maximum allowable resistance per meter. This is why the Consumer Technology Associated created the ANSI/CTA-2015 R2017 Mobile Electronics Cabling Standard. It’s nearly impossible to find out exactly what’s in the wires available from various brands.
This voltage drop limits how much power it can produce without distorting and also makes the amp run hotter.Ĭar audio power wire is constructed from three common materials: pure virgin copper, recycled copper alloys and combinations of copper and aluminum. Now, our amplifier is only seeing 12.4 volts instead of maybe 13.4 when the truck is idling. Since most vehicles have a chassis with a similar ground return path resistance, we lose another half-volt or so.
#Car amplifier kit full
Using good-quality, full AWG-spec four-AWG cable, there will be a drop of 0.456 volts across the power wire and 45.6 watts of heat generated. Let’s also say the amplifier can produce about 1,000 watts of power, and as such, needs to draw 100 amps of current. Let’s look at an example where we have a run of 17 feet from the battery to an amp in the back of an SUV. In the case of undersized wiring, the cable itself can become a significant load.Ī good-quality four-AWG conductor should have a resistance of 0.268 milliohms per foot. Power is calculated by multiplying the square of the current through a load by the resistance of that load. What does this have to do with power wire? In the 1880s, Nikola Tesla realized that transmitting power to homes at high voltages reduced losses due to the resistance of power cables. A similarly powerful car audio amplifier will need to draw almost 100 amps from the charging system to deliver the same power to a subwoofer. For example, a 1,000-watt home theatre subwoofer amp might draw 10 to 11 amps of current from a wall outlet.
#Car amplifier kit professional
Unlike home audio and professional public-address audio systems, car stereos are asked to produce massive amounts of power from a relatively low voltage. In this article, we will take a look at what happens when you skimp out on the power wire for your amplifier. Delivering power to your amplifier is crucial to its performance and longevity. While there are some subwoofer, enclosure and amplifier options that represent excellent value, it’s pretty rare to find a deal on power wire. If you have a subwoofer installed, you’ll need to choose an amplifier that can produce lots of power.
The extra power will allow you to turn the volume up higher to extract more from your speakers.
#Car amplifier kit install
Having your local specialty car audio retailer install an amplifier in your car or truck is a great way to improve the performance of your audio system.
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