Rca's And Speaker Wire? Are The Pricy Ones Any Better?

[knoles]

Hi guys

I've just gone and bought a new head unit and amps for my falcon and am contemplating upgrading the wiring at the same time. Im after peoples experience with using the higher price speaker wire and RCA cables vs the normal run of the mill stuff from super cheap. I am looking at the kicker RCAs and the twisted speaker wire, its quite expensive for wires so just wondering whether or not its worth it? Would there be any gain in sound qual?

Cheers

Chris

[MX Dave]

Hey mate,

I worked in the car stereo business for a little while. And can honestly say unless your amplifiers/ headunit and line driver if applicable is worth thousands and thousands of dollars I wouldn't bother with the expensive cabling. As long as the speaker wire has a decent strand count it will flow efficiently enough therefore a expensive product isn't particularly necasarry. The RCAs are a bit of a different story however. The more expensive te cable normally means it has better shielding properties therefore being less susceptible to interference and background noise. But the difference would be barely audible. If I were you I'd put that money to a better head unit with a better pre amp output a line driver or a amplifier with a better RMS output and a better total harmonic distortion rate. That would give you much more audible clarity over expensive speaker wire!

Hope that info helped,

Dave

[Azid]

I agree with Dave I've had full stereos using both type of wiring and barely noticeable IMO. Amp wiring such as power and earth I've always used a good thick wiring but just for speakers I'd just go the super cheap ones

On separate note what head unit u go for? Any good what price range?

[knoles]

Thanks heaps guys, exactly what I was looking for. I went with the alpine CDA-117e H/U because im a biased fan of alpine and didnt want the full touch screen as that is what I have now and I hate how it covers the A/con controls & 2 din wont fit. Later on im going to get the imprint thingy-ma-bob to go with it. I got the PDX-M12 & F6 amps too so I cant wait for it all to rock up! It was a close call between the alpine and rockford amps but chose alpine mostly because of size.

On another note does any know if I could use fibreglass resin for kerfing wood? or what should I use? Planning on making a new pretty cool sub box!

[Azid]

I have never used kerfing wood what is it exactly? Probably would b alright I've always used MDF it's pretty cheap and can buy good sizes

[MX Dave]

I use mdf also. And fibreglassed over the top if the customer wanted something in particular. Theoretically chipboard is the best material for sound reproduction but in practice it isn't so good because high powered subwoofers can flex it. So mdf is basically a compromise for sound and density. Just make sure your box is lined with a poliestier style wool. Also if you are using ports a

Huge amount of calculations need to be taken into account

I miss making doof doof haha

[knoles]

kerfing is bending the wood using multiple evenly spaced slots cut almost all the way through the piece. Youtube has a few tutorials. Im planning on a 2 - 2.5ft3 box ported to 32-35hz with a flush mounted sub cant wait. I love making doof doof! Just gotta find a descent box program to use now

[MX Dave]

I can't remember which Program I used. My hard drive failed and I lost it. Had all my woofer paremiters and everything in it haha. I done that a bit for making the bottom tread in staircases. I wouldn't recommend it for a speaker box unless you filled it all with a 2 part glue like west systems or aryldite. Up to you though mate.

Best of luck

[Azid]

Bass box pro I believe someone on here recommended