MM6 Wiring!

mekanism
mekanism Posts: 27
edited March 2004 in Custom Fabrication
I'm about 1/4 of the way through my install and was wondering if having the crossover's in the rear of the car while the speakers are in the front if I would lose signal quality. They're being amplified by the Momo C400.4. I have a little Honda CRX so the wire would only have to run no more than 8 feet. Thanks!
THERE IS NO END TO CHERRY
Post edited by mekanism on

Comments

  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited December 2003
    i'm not really an install guru, but the only problem i could envision is noise - the more cable you run, the more chance noise has to get in the system. running high-quality stuff drastically reduces that possibility, but i dont think anything eliminates it entirely.
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
  • mekanism
    mekanism Posts: 27
    edited December 2003
    Yeah I figured I would have problems with a long run. I will just have to invest in some really good wiring. Thanks
    THERE IS NO END TO CHERRY
  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited December 2003
    dont go for the ridiculously expensive stuff, it won't make a difference unless you're planning on serious expansion or competition. if you're doing either of those, go with the best you can afford, otherwise, a step or two down should be just fine.
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
  • mekanism
    mekanism Posts: 27
    edited December 2003
    thanks!
    THERE IS NO END TO CHERRY
  • TheAudioSpectru
    TheAudioSpectru Posts: 57
    edited February 2004
    If your gonna run wires that far...i would wrap those things in tin foil then another layer of electical tape...anybody else ever used this technique
  • MTXMAN
    MTXMAN Posts: 682
    edited February 2004
    never heard of that before... how well does it work??
    Hemi: (HEM -e) adj. Mopar in type, V8, hot tempered, native to the United States, carnivorous, eats primarily Mustangs, Camaros, and Corvettes. Also enjoys smoking a good import now and then to relax.
  • geralopez
    geralopez Posts: 115
    edited February 2004
    Sounds like mmm... a shielded wire "made in home", Isn't it?

    -GLopez
  • TheAudioSpectru
    TheAudioSpectru Posts: 57
    edited February 2004
    i've seen some rca's wrapped in tin foil kinda material when there taken apart...but yea,it's kinda a ghetto thing to do but what the hell,if it works and it's not visible...i mean i dont know many show cars with awesome systems that dont have a LIL duct tape in em ya know...and duct tape is bout the most ghetto tool eh...
  • geralopez
    geralopez Posts: 115
    edited February 2004
    I think speaker wires doesn't need to be shielded, they handled power and not signal, from your HU to the amp it's OK, cause HU is sending a low voltage signal (mV) -if it is not preamp, but in the case of speaker, you most be worried for other things like jacket resistance. During installation you can damage your wires if they don't have enough resistance, you know sharpened holes, etc. You most consider the correct gauge to avoid dropped power, if you don't you will limit the power that can receive the speaker and underpowered a speaker its worst.

    -GLopez
  • PolkMomoRam
    PolkMomoRam Posts: 13
    edited March 2004
    RCA Cables use low power, and usually low resistance and capacitance, this makes them act like an antenna that tries to pick up all your nasty ground loop, ignition noise, an computer switching in your vehicle. These must be shielded if possible and ALWAYS run away from your power and turn on leads. If they must cross them, make sure to use duct tape or zip ties to cross over them at a 90 degree angle. As far as your setup with the cross overs in the back, it's fine. Speaker wire is not as "antenna like" as signal wires because of sheer voltage. One thing that is important is voltage drop and capacitance. Use approx. 14ga to 12ga high quality wire (read QUALITY, NOT PRICE) and you will be just fine. I would also do the following two things.

    1. Just for fun and looks...run these speaker wires away from power and signal wires.

    2. DO NOT WRAP SPEAKER WIRE or ANYTHING else in your system with tin foil. I might be new to this forum, but i've been around for quite awhile in car audio, home audio, and theater. I can give you detailed reasons why you shouldn't do this, but instead I'll give you two simple reasons why not.
    a. Wrapping wire with tinfoil can help reject noise if done exactly right w/ the right wire, but you will most likely turn your wire into a primative capacitor (think about it, all capacitors are made up of a conductive foil, tin foil in this case, and a dialectric, the insulation of the wire in this case.) This can cause nasty resonances at certain frequencys and phase problems.
    b. When you want to increase the signal response of rabbit ear antennas, (in our scenario read signal response as noise pickup), what do you do? Add tin foil!! LOL
  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited March 2004
    what are the detailed reasons? :)
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
  • PolkMomoRam
    PolkMomoRam Posts: 13
    edited March 2004
    Speaker connections should not be shielded, because the power transmitted in speaker lines is much greater than any induced signal, and there are side effects of shielding that can change the frequency response such as:
    skin effect
    and
    frequency balancing, or inbalancing
  • PolkMomoRam
    PolkMomoRam Posts: 13
    edited March 2004
    of course you can elemenate the skin effect by grounding the shield at one end, but then you just created a whole bunch more problems.
  • mekanism
    mekanism Posts: 27
    edited March 2004
    Thanks again for all of the suggestions! So when I get around to wiring should I put all of the RCA cables and speaker wire on the left side and the power wire on the right? Or RCA on the left, speaker wire in the middle, and the power on the right. My battery is on the right side of the car so I figure this would be easiest. Another thing is that I'm running 0/1 gauge power wire from the battery so would I have to shield this wire so it doesn't interfere with all of the other wire. I have never ran this big of wire before so any other tips would be great, thanks.
    THERE IS NO END TO CHERRY
  • sntnsupermen131
    sntnsupermen131 Posts: 1,831
    edited March 2004
    i dont have a problem at all with noise going into my power wire(1/0)
    its not shielded
    i doubt you need to worry about it
    -Cody
  • PolkMomoRam
    PolkMomoRam Posts: 13
    edited March 2004
    Don't shield the power wire. With your setup If it was me, I'd run the Power wire and turn on lead on the right, the Signal wires down the middle, and the speaker wire on the left.
  • mekanism
    mekanism Posts: 27
    edited March 2004
    OK i will try that thanks!
    THERE IS NO END TO CHERRY