ICE Wiring Question

[Stu]

I went with average/good quality autoleads stuff in my new install Mike.. There's a lot of hype about super expensive cables, but really as long as they're shielded then you should be fine. For a price guide, my 5m RCA's were £23.50 each.

[1pukkadeal]

Good advice from stu as people go gaga over wiring ,which is ok if you are making a show winner etc

[Mike C]

Is this any good or not?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...hlink:middle:uk

 

as long as it's mainly decent, I could replace a few of the individual bits (like if I need 4g power/speaker wire, I can go to Bass Junkies and get it off the reel)

 

[Nearly-Def]

Well the power cap debate has been about for years , i have used them for lots of systems and have had no probs , yes they do need to be filled before they can dump their load into the amp but they can do this quicker than current coming direct from the battery source ( shorter distance ) they are often mistakenly seen as extra voltage souce when in fact they really only affect the current supply ( ampage ).

All of the top SPL outlaw and extreme categories use them and these guys are well over 100 grands worth of kit so this must go for something. New generation caps are now called battcaps and are totally different but thats immaterial , the choice is down to you at the end of the day. I have seen and can prove that by using a cap it reduces the strain on the batt and alternator , the easiest way to justify this is by taking the headlight dimming scenario when the bass line drops and by adding a cap this is remedied , make of it what you will.

My own bass heavy orientated systems usually run 2 x 200 amp alternators and optima batts and no caps but when you only got an amp and active sub to run why go to the expense of an uprated alternator and battery.

Autoleads rca's are fine but not the cheap budget range as i mentioned earlier, remember you can pay well into the hundreds for quality rca's.

the veba video splitter is fine.

I would recommend either 10 or 12 gauge speaker cable as most speaker manufacturers include cable that looks like fishing line.

4 gauge cable will be fine for your needs and work out your fuse ratings as mentioned before.

 

Phew , what a list.

Every audio fitter has their own views , favourite brands , methods and ideas for building a system normally based on experience.

This is my own opinion and i'm confident but not cocky in what i say.

[1pukkadeal]

Is this any good or not?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...hlink:middle:uk

 

as long as it's mainly decent, I could replace a few of the individual bits (like if I need 4g power/speaker wire, I can go to Bass Junkies and get it off the reel)

 

 

that looks fine mike mind you it has only one phono lead for a 4 channel amp you should need 2

Edited April 17, 2008 by 1pukkadeal

[Stu]

The only potential benefit by adding a cap would be for SQ, certainly not for SPL. In actual fact, a friend of mine gained 3dB by removing his caps in SPL. A cap requires energy to charge and discharges in milliseconds at large loads, so no real benefit.

 

Is this any good or not?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...hlink:middle:uk

 

as long as it's mainly decent, I could replace a few of the individual bits (like if I need 4g power/speaker wire, I can go to Bass Junkies and get it off the reel)

 

 

I'd run a 4awg setup for a 400W RMS amp. Simply put you'd get less voltage drop at max volume - if you can do it you may as well (within reason).

[Mike C]

Well this says 4 gauge, but looks a bit too cheap...

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AUTOLEADS-PC4-60-120...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Or what about this, says for 2 amplifiers?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AUTOLEADS-PC4-28-200...7QQcmdZViewItem

[Nearly-Def]

The only potential benefit by adding a cap would be for SQ, certainly not for SPL. In actual fact, a friend of mine gained 3dB by removing his caps in SPL. A cap requires energy to charge and discharges in milliseconds at large loads, so no real benefit.

 

As i said , i personally do not use them in my own bass orientated systems , but mainly in AV or SQ scenarios.

I too have seen losses and gains in SPL scenarios but bear in mind that caps differ in build quality from brand to brand and the SPL extreme and outlaw classes won't use anywhere near the same quality as what we are talking about here , also the posting relates to an AV setup so any improvement on sound quality must be a plus.

[Mike C]

http://www.veba.uk.com/products/info/AVVA13.html

 

It says 1 in, 3 out. Is that good enough to run 3 screens from one DVD player?

 

Anyone answer that? ^^^

 

and someone show me a suitable wiring kit for the amp & speakers! Plus any other bits I should buy seperately. Please

 

Not going for a power cap, will use a Bosch Silvertop Battery and a 325tds alternator, seen people with beefier set-ups than this running through that with no issues

[Nearly-Def]

mike ,

yeah , the video splitter looks fine should do the job nicely and as for the power kit try the autoleads quodos stuff or the old trusted PROPLUS as they represent pretty good value for money.

[Mike C]

I'm still struggling to find any of this stuff on Google though! It's bringing up pretty much nothing that looks like the right spec

 

Is this any good?

 

http://www.caraudiowarehouse.co.uk/product...xic-TK-420.html

[Stu]

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/vibe-bass-4awg-p-5953.html

[Mike C]

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/vibe-bass-4awg-p-5953.html

 

That looks spot on, but I wasn't sure about the ones that said "Bass", assuming they were aimed at subs?

 

But if I buy that, will I need anything else to run 4-channels? Like any extra leads?

 

[Nearly-Def]

Mike , the easiest way to look at it is , you need 3 x 5m rca's as you want to run a 4ch amp and run ur active box at a later date so you may as well plumb in all your cables in one hit.

you also need a 4 gauge power kit consisting of 5 m of + cacle , 1 - 2 m of - cable and your remote wire not forgetting your fuses and distribution blocks.

 

I would suggest as stu says the vibe kit and then buy another 2 rca's to match or similar grade , not forgetting your video cables too.

[Mike C]

This is what comes in the kit:

 

5 Metre FLAT 4AWG OFC Power Cable.

 

1 Metre FLAT 4AWG OFC Ground Cable.

 

140 Amp Circuit Breaker.

 

5 Metre 18 AWG Remote Wire.

 

5 Metre RCA Cable.

 

Features MAG plugs.

 

3 Metre FLATBASS 13 speaker cable.

 

Gold Terminals and Accessories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So aside from that, I should buy 2 more RCA cables to match?

 

A distribution block?

 

anything else?

 

Then for the DVD/Screen stuff I need that VEBA video amplifier thing, plus anything else?

 

 

 

and for a distribution block, do I need a fused or non-fused off here?

 

http://www.vibeaudio.co.uk/index.asp?page=...es-f.html#block