Source for cables, DIY style

[Dominik Gothe]

Yes, I plan to manufacture speaker cable, I want long runs, that means at least 100 Feet for the mains, they take about 1KW and run on 4Ohm, I figure 10 AWG is appropriate here?

I will make the cables in 25 Foot versions, and 50 foot extension versions, they will be speakon (4 pole) to speakon (4 pole) and speakon to speakon converter used for extension.

Where do you guys get your cable from, I was thinking that typical 2C Power Cable rated for outdoor use is going to cut it!

also I want to manufactur a 50 foot power cable to run my rig off of, the rig will be driving around 2KW of speaker, I think current draw maxes at 20 amps. Is 10 awg still enough (3C) for this application or do I have to get 8 awg already?

thanks. tell me what you think of my plans, and where you get your cables from, thanks

[Les Webb]

cameltraders.com

Lowest prices I've ever found on Neutrik connectors. Price on cable is good also.

Les

[Dominik Gothe]

they don't seem to have what I need, or maybe I just can't navigate the side well enough

[Les Webb]

Yea the site pretty much sucks, call them up as they are very friendly and that's the only way to order anyways. They stock some stuff they don't list on the website.

Les

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Yes, I plan to manufacture speaker cable, I want long runs, that means at least 100 Feet for the mains, they take about 1KW and run on 4Ohm, I figure 10 AWG is appropriate here?

That's a very bad idea and should be avoided if at all possible. Even if you have adequate gauge wire to handle the voltage and current requirements inductance and capacitance are problematic. Pro-touring sound companies always have the amps as close as possible to the speakers, as long cable runs for line level signal from the FOH to the amps isn't problematic. For 100 feet even 10 ga isn't enough, especially with a 4 ohm load.

[Dominik Gothe]

cool ill try

[Dominik Gothe]

bill what would you recomend as a maximum distance, and what gauge?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

bill what would you recomend as a maximum distance, and what gauge?

As short as possible is the stock reply, but of course it's not always possible to have the amps next to the stacks, especially if you have two stacks and only one amp driving them. I have my amp rack no more than ten feet from one top, 12 ga, and I have thirty feet of 12 ga going to the other side. But all I'm pushing is a pair of DR200s in small gigs, anything big and I let the house provide the sound. I wouldn't run anything longer than fifty feet, and if I went that long with a 4 ohm load I'd make it 8 gauge.

[gdougherty]

bill what would you recomend as a maximum distance, and what gauge?

As short as possible is the stock reply, but of course it's not always possible to have the amps next to the stacks, especially if you have two stacks and only one amp driving them. I have my amp rack no more than ten feet from one top, 12 ga, and I have thirty feet of 12 ga going to the other side. But all I'm pushing is a pair of DR200s in small gigs, anything big and I let the house provide the sound. I wouldn't run anything longer than fifty feet, and if I went that long with a 4 ohm load I'd make it 8 gauge.

So the 14ga cable I'm using for my pair of T48's is undersized? It's only about 15ft, though I have a near 50ft version as well in case I need to put my subs far away from the rack. I'm running 12ga 50ft mains cables to my paralleled sets of OT12's. Never knew I needed cable that fat for those runs.

Short lengths in between are allowable as well ie, 16ga jumper from speakon jack to speakon jack internal to a cab?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

So the 14ga cable I'm using for my pair of T48's is undersized? It's only about 15ft, though I have a near 50ft version as well in case.

14 ga is fine for 15 feet, but not for 50. The load impedance makes a difference too. A lower impedance load needs a lower resistance cable, otherwise the amount of power burned up by the cable is too high compared to the amount burned up by the speakers.

Short lengths in between are allowable as well ie, 16ga jumper from speakon jack to speakon jack internal to a cab?

Yes.

[gdougherty]

So the gauge at the connectors themselves isn't that big a deal either? Just thinking about how difficult it was to get even an 11ga cable (canare 13ga quad cable) into the back of a speakon jack and imagining a 10 or 8ga cable would definitely not fit.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

So the gauge at the connectors themselves isn't that big a deal either? .

Not at all. Trim away as many strands as required for the end of the cable to fit into the clamp.

[gdougherty]

To clarify then, for myself and others. Length of cable and resistance load at the end is the main determinant to the need for larger gauge cable.
examples:
A single 8ohm speaker at the end of a 50ft run is probably fine with 12ga.
A 4 ohm or pair of 8ohm speakers with a short parallel cable between them for a resulting 4ohm load would be better with a 10-8ga cable over 50ft. (another good reason to avoid 2ohm loads, the need for 2ga speaker cable on them if they're 50 ft away?)
The short jumper cable between the two 8ohm speakers though could be 14ga or so instead of 10-8ga.

Is this on of the reasons why active speakers even in larger arrays are becoming more popular?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Is this on of the reasons why active speakers even in larger arrays are becoming more popular?

That's one reason, another is on-board DSP, the main one is they make a higher profit selling you a cab/amp combination than just one component while some other company sells you the other. Total vertical integration, ie., one stop shopping, is the dream of every manufacturer.

[Sydney]

A lot of confusion on speaker wire can be avoided with a ohm-meter and wire charts that list resistance vs length for various wire gauges.
As everything attached to the amps output terminals is part of the speaker circuit - the significance of the speaker line cannot be overlooked.
Any resistance in a circuit will cause a voltage drop and ultimately waste heat.
There is also the aspect of ampacity that get overlooked. When the impedance of a circuit is dropped, the current going through the circuit goes up.
The ampacity of 16 wire is 10a
Unfortunately some music stores have sold 50' runs 16 - 18 zip cord as PA
speaker leads.
When I had to install a 1 1/2hp 240v water pump 850' from my home,
I had to install very large triple #4 to avoid a large voltage drop.
125v goes in, a little over is available 121v at the pump end.