Most systems are about 1 thousand watts, the red power cable is really thick but then the speaker wire is really thin about 12 gauge, shouldn't the speaker wire be as thick as the power cable?
No. Wire thickness is about current (and length). And current is inversely related to voltage. When voltage is high (like an amp's speaker outputs) it takes less current to make power. When voltage is low (like a car's alternator/battery) it takes a lot of current to make power. Alternator voltage is ~14v. Amplifier output voltage is commonly 20-40v. Your 1000w example... Say it's a fairly efficient class D mono, 1000w at 2 ohms and 80% efficient. To produce that 1000w requires 1250w from the alternator at around 13v. Ohm's law says current (I) = power(p)/voltage(e) So I = 1250/13, I = 96A On the output side -- I = sqrt(p/r), I = sqrt(1000/2), I = 22A
it has to do with voltage, the higher the voltage the greater the push behind the electricity flowing through the wire. a low voltage, like a car 12 volt battery doesnt have as much push so in order to get the amount of power you need for an amplifier a lot more electrons need to flow which is why you need a bigger wire. a high voltage will push more electrons so you dont need a bigger wire. think of it like a water pipe. A small pipe with a large pump will move a lot of water. In order to get the same amount of water flowing with a small pump, you need a large pipe to allow more water to flow. speakers work using a range of voltages to produce sound. voltages that are higher than 12 volts. Also amplifiers are never 100% efficient. meaning they do not use all the electricity they receive to power speakers. a certain percentage of power will be lost in the form of heat. so it takes a bit more power in than it puts out
Hello Not with standard car speakers. If you fit uprated car radio equipment then yes you may need to replace with higher rated wires Andy C
This is because a lot more power is running through the power cable, to power the speakers.
