Why is thin strand wire better for powering car audio?
Hi welt needs to be multi stranded at least 8 awg in diameter as it is flexible and more flexible than a solid wire as work wire back and forth hardens copper wire and it eventually will break. using a flexible wire reduces the possibility of a breakage.
It's purely for flexibility. Solid wire would be just as effective, but it's about impossible to route through a car. In response to Rolo's answer -- Skin effect is a high frequency AC phenomenon - not an issue with DC, or any frequency in the audible spectrum for that matter. High strand count in car audio wire is purely for flexibility.
Thin strand wire is more flexible and so stands up to the flexing and vibration in a car application better. May not be an issue in the short term, but over time the thinner strand should hold up better
DC current rides on the outer valence electrons at the surface of the wire strand so the more conductors in the cable stranded together the better. AC current is a push pull so any old aluminum conductor will work as long as it won't melt under the amperage load. For 12 VDC audio amps, you want the power cable with the most fine strands twisted together for the least resistance to DC current flow because the power FET's will heat up as the power feed wire heats up. The lower the DC voltage loss, the cooler the FET amplifier modules will operate.
