FGarcia1

I currently have a 100-watt RMS amp driving a pair of subs, and I want to purchase a 40x4-watt RMS 4-channel amp for my speakers.

I think the amp driving the subs is using 8-gauge Monster Cable. The guys at Circuit City say I need to purchase new 1000W 4-gauge Monster Cable to accomodate the new amp. Does this make sense? Isn't the current wiring good enough?

Also, they say I need RCA cables. I want to buy the cables off eBay or something, Circuit City wants $100 for the Monster Cable and $60 RCA cables. I think eBay would offer them cheaper, what should I look for?

Your help is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

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Fernando

supabill

just get an amp kit from any store...shouldnt be more than $40...i know i got mine a flee market type thing that had a few audio specific stores and i got a 1000w amp kit for $25...comes with everything...remote wires, ground wires, fuses, rca, power and speaker wire...i think even walmart has a kit...

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Daemione

Depending on how far you're running the wire, 8-gauge wiring should be plenty large enough to supply a total of 260 watts. You may need to upgrade your inline power fuse, though . . . .

And just find some good quality RCA's on eBay - the same thing you'll find in the store, and usually less than half the price.

Also, those amp wiring packages are generally more expensive than it is to just buy the stuff individually.

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influx

if you plan on running both amps
you're gonna need a distro block to power each amp
to find out what gauge ur gonna need go here
http://sl.wus0.com/quclk.go?rd=http:...mr=25&qu=gauge
it has an awesome tool thing down near the bottom
shows 8ga has max output of 350 rms

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FGarcia1

Thanks for the replies, I saw the tool at the bottom of the page, I am fairly certain now that I would need 8-gauge. So I think my next step is to buy 8-gauge wire, I'm guessing about 15 ft.?

I was looking at THIS auction for the wiring, then I would only need 4-channel RCA wires, right? Then I'd be all set for the wiring on my car?

Thanks to you all for your help!

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Fernando

influx

ya that looks good
hey did you make ur sig pic ? if so was it in photoshop?

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aim: defluxd

Daemione

I thought you said you already had 8 gauge wire . . . . Why buy another kit? Like influx said, all you need a distributor block off of your original power wire, then a couple feet for the new amp's power & ground.

And Like I said before, it's cheaper to just buy the components separately. Just drop by a local stereo place, and they can hook you up with wire by the foot. At a place near me:

8 gauge wire (power & ground) - 50 cents a foot
20 gauge wire (remote turn-on) - 10 cents a foot
50 foot reel of 18 gauge speaker wire - $6
new fuse - a couple dollars (sometimes free if they find one just kicking around)
misc. ring terminals & hardware - 1 or 2 dollars

So for a 2 foot power, 2 foot ground, 10 foot turn-on, fuse, & all the speaker wire you need, you're looking at like 15 bucks. Pick up some good quality RCA's off eBay (the ones that come in kits generally are pretty poor), and you're set to go.

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FGarcia1

You'll have to forgive my novice-ness; so all I need is the distributor block, speaker wire, 4-channel RCAs, and wire for just the amp's power and ground, and that's it? The existing wiring in my car for the sub amp takes care of the rest? Once I get this all straight, I'll head for the stereo shop and pick all this stuff up.

influx: Thanks for your help, yes, I did that sig pic, in Photoshop. A result of some spare time and boredom.

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Fernando

tuphatt

Power distribution block:
http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...c=11&s=0&g=715

what this is like a phone plug splitter. It splits the connection from 1 to 2.


-----12v battery----------Distribution ====2 12v connections=====


There is no such thing as 4-channel rcas.
What you mean is:
two sets(pair) of rca cables

one male connector (male plug) = single RCA = 1 channel

Pictures below

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...c=11&s=0&g=719

Good luck!

tuphatt

The ones from Crutchfield are ridiculously expensive because of name brand. Brand X is all the same when it comes to distribution blocks. It is up to you on the way it looks.

RCA cables is a different story. Use quality cables. I think Best Buy has the purple Rockfords for about $20. They are decent.

Try www.Ubid.com for okay prices on these accessories, but beware of high shipping cost.

www.Sounddomain.com is good too.

Daemione

Just about - you're only forgetting a short length of 18-20 gauge wire for a remote turn on for the new amp. You can just splice into the original one so you don't have to run it all the way up to the head-unit. It's usually blue.

If you tell the guy at the shop what you're up to, they should have a good idea of what you'll need as far as hardware goes. Also, check that site that was posted earlier in the thread to find out what size fuse you should be running, and check the one you've got.

tuphatt - no kidding on the Ubid shipping. I think it's like 9 bucks, then a dollar per pound after that. Still good deals on some stuff, but if it's heavy, forget about it.

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jgprelude

Take a look at the fuses on both your amps. If they total more than 50 amps of current you need 4 guage power wire. If they total less than 50 amps you should be fine with a fused distribution block.

this page should help you out:
http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/wire.htm

FGarcia1

You guys are a huge help, I'm really starting to understand this all. About the lengths...

How long should the RCA, power, and ground cables be? I'm guessing they need to extend from the trunk to the console, and allow for some slack, so maybe 6-10 ft.?

Edit: Wow, sounddomain.com seems to have everything real cheap... even better than eBay... I might just buy all the stuff from that site...

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Fernando

influx

try ikesound.com for HU's and speakers and amps too..
that place I told you about before has some info on how long each wire can max out at.

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Daemione

Power and ground only need to be long enough to reach your distribution block & a ground point (you can use the same one as the old amp, or drill a new one if it's easier).

As far as the RCA's - is there a line output on your first amp? If that's the case, all you need are RCA's long enough to reach to the first amp. If not, they need to run up to the second set of outputs on the head-unit.

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