is 16 gauge rca wire okay for amp to sub?

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=128383
Printed Date: May 12, 2025 at 6:05 PM

Topic: is 16 gauge rca wire okay for amp to sub?

Posted By: samsizzle
Subject: is 16 gauge rca wire okay for amp to sub?
Date Posted: August 29, 2011 at 6:28 AM

hello all,

I have my eye on some inexpensive 14 gauge RCA speaker wire (someone in the comments said it measures to true 16 gauge) for my amp to sub box terminal to subwoofer connection.

I am running 4 gauge OFC wire to 500W rms amp so that should be sufficient, but will the true 16 gauge RCA wire limit any performance from the amp to sub connection or will I be okay? If so what size wire do you recommend for such connection. The sub is a 12in type are dual 4ohm running at 2ohms in parallel.

product in question: https://www.amazon.com/RCA-AH16100SN-16-Gauge-Speaker-Wire/dp/B0029HHIDY

thanks for your input, much appreciated!

Replies:

Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: August 29, 2011 at 11:47 AM

16 gauge spealer wire is fine unless your wire run is very long.

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Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: August 29, 2011 at 2:15 PM

I thought you were asking about using 16 Ga. Patch cord as speaker wire. As already stated, that RCA branded speaker wire will be fine.

Posted By: samsizzle
Date Posted: August 29, 2011 at 9:59 PM

people were calling it “lamp wire” so that kind of threw off my judgement and made me question if I was limiting any output or creating some sort of bottleneck

so distance is the main factor in why 16 gauge will work for the short distance from amp to sub, and why you would need a larger wire to travel the distance of the car? So if my amp was a foot away from the battery, would a smaller wire suffice theoretically?

Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: August 29, 2011 at 11:02 PM

No, wire used for power to an amp and wire used to carry the speaker signal are two very different things. You need large wire for amp power because it is carrying high current at low voltage, and it is current that heats up wire and creates the need for large gauges. Speaker signals are relatively high voltage and low current, and do not need to be large gauge. 16 gauge speaker wire is good for about 20 feet with a 4-ohm speaker load, about 10 feet at 2-ohms, and 5 feet at 1-ohm. If your run is longer you could need larger wire.

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