This article will provide a better understanding of Speaker Cable Distance, Conductor Size, % Loss and dB Loss and the supported wire gauge size for use with URC HDA amplifiers.
Speaker Cable Distance, Conductor Size, % Loss and dB Loss
What wire gauge do you need?
Wire thickness is identified by its American Wire Gauge (AWG) number. The lower the gauge number, the thicker the wire. Thicker wire presents less resistance to current flow.
(Note: picture not to scale!)
Thick wire (12 or 14 gauge) is recommended for long wire runs, high power applications, and low-impedance speakers (4 or 6 ohms).
For relatively short runs (less than 50 feet) to 8 Ohm speakers, 16-gauge wire will usually do just fine. It is cost-effective and easy to work with. URC HDA Amplifiers support wire gauges 12 through 18.
Wire Gauges and Losses for a Low-Z System:
Wire Gauges and Losses for a 70 Volt System:
Additional Information & Resources:
To learn more about HDA products and programming, please see the HDA Programmers Guide or the Accelerator 3 online Programming Guide.
