Is 8 gauge wire heavy enough? Amp + PS

mhorton · 05-23-2004, 01:31 AM

Would it be safe to power an off-brand (Sound Storm) 400 watt peak (100x4) amp and Mastero's MK-4 power supply off one 8 gauge supply wire? The computer I plan to use for the time being is fairly low power hungry (comes with a 60 Watt external supply), but I may upgrade at some point in the future. I am considering powering the 7" LCD through the PS but haven't decided yet. I will also be powering an external slim line CD-Rom drive.
I will not be using a head unit.

If this is not safe or recommended, what gauge should I run for the MK-4's separate line?
(sorry if this has been addressed before; I searched but came up with countless results that didn't really answer my question.)
Thanks,
Michael

antimatter · 05-23-2004, 01:40 AM

Check the manual on the amp. they usualy tell you what the recommended gauge wire is.

4 or 8 should be fine. I ran 4 just for grins (very expensive though)

frodobaggins · 05-23-2004, 01:40 AM

more than adequate

Pudge · 05-23-2004, 01:42 AM

8 is plenty

mhorton · 05-23-2004, 12:16 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by antimatter

Check the manual on the amp. they usualy tell you what the recommended gauge wire is.

The manual for this amp is fairly worthless, it's only 20 pages and covers every model they make, up to a 1300 watt. It does say to use 8 guage wire. I just wasn't sure if I could also run the DC-DC PS on it.

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

god_of_cpu · 05-23-2004, 12:47 PM

The wire guage you need for any particularly application is based on 2 things. The amount of current you'll draw and the distance that your drawing this current over. The more amps you draw and the longer you need to draw it over, the lower the gauge wire you will need. You can calculate the exact gauge that can be safely used based on the properties of the wire your using but the easiest way is to just look it up in a table like this one: http://www.sfxaudio.com/AudioSchool/installamp.asp

If you need some good cheap cable, AllElectronics has high-stranded 4 guage for around $1.00 a ft.