Hey all,

I recently had my cheap-a$$ circuit city typhoon amp power kit fail on me. The fuse blew but was still causing a short and made the case start to melt. Luckily I was able to pull over and rip everything out before anything bad happened.

That being said I need to purchase a new kit. I'm looking for something really good. If I'm going to have to crawl under the dash again and re-run power & ground cable; I want proven product. It has been a while since I have really paid attention to the MFGs out there; so I'm hoping someone could recommend a good supplier. I would like to have those tidy connectors that crimp on the end of the 4 gauge wire with a hex-nut and actually fit the power terminal (as opposed to a washer-like connector that needs crimping from Popeye).

If I have to buy everything separate; I'm ok with that. I want quality and I know there is more to offer than whatever Best Buy or Circuit City has to offer.

Thanks in advance!

 

Check out http://www.edesignaudio.com/
Ive bought a bunch of stuff from them, and im extremely happy with the quality and the price. The RCA's i got from them were only $20 and are really nice.

Also could check out Crutchfield.

I got mine from knuconceptz, but while their power and ground cables seemed decent enough, their RCA's were complete crap and I had to replace them cause of signal noise. And poorly soldered, they eventually just broke.

I also got my stuff installed by circuit city - BIG MISTAKE! I swear they dont have 1 clue what theyre doing there. They ran ALL my wires down 1 side of the car, which ANY person who knows anything about car audio, you run your RCA's down the opposite side of your power and relay wire. Never going to go to them again for anything.

 

man, i can keep going and going on about this subject as i just went through the same phase. no problems with wiring but just the fact that looking for the best quality out there. i'm huge in home audio and home theater so i know how much difference a cable can make in a home setting. i found out that the same holds true for the car audio environment so i started looking for the good stuff. the most important factor is the quality of metal the wire is made of and also the insulation around that wire. for my interconnects and speaker wires, i decided to go with a company called Audioquest. they dont make anything for the car world but after speaking with a lead technician who helps manufacture cables, i found out that these cables would probably work the best. then again, i had an advantage in making my purchase as i had credit available from that company so i paid next to nothing for them.

i'm still looking for power cables, distribution block, fuse block or circuit breaker, and new battery terminals. i'm considering monster cable for the battery terminal, circuit breaker, and the distribution block because even though they are overpriced for what you get (unless you can get a discount from someone you know), they still make some pretty high end products and they look cool too.

i'm thinking of going with tsunami for the power cable as power cables are almost all the same with just a bunch of copper wire strands combined and/or braided together. i have yet to see a power cable that really makes a huge difference in terms of quality and performance but the rule of thumb is the thicker the cable, the more power it can transfer.

 

You need to total up alll the power requirements and size to the total wattage. There is no need in running 0 guage wire if you don't have to. extra costs, extra size to tuck away.
What are the ratings of the amp or amps you are running?

I have 4 guage main running to a fused distrubution block and 8 guage from the block to the amps. Both amps only total 360 watts RMS for all speakers and subs. Just make sure you have a fuse right next to the battery just incase something shorts out on the main wire. this could prevent a chance of a fire as the fuse should break cutting all power from the battery into the cable run.

As for connectors, I have been getting Stinger as that is the only gold plated available aound here. Speaker wires are all Monster Cable as are all patch cords. Our Princess Auto stores were blowing stuff out last year, just when I was installing my system.
Good Luck

 

In my former Subaru, I used a Monster amp-wiring kit, and it was surprisingly ok, but with an old, low-power amp. Worked great for a few years, and now it's in my girlfriend's Chrysler.

Currently, I have the walmart amp wiring kit, and it's basically just as good, but cost about half as much.

However, your best bet is to do your homework, and piece everything together yourself. You won't save any money, but you will be happy if you know what you're doing.

I suggest www.the12volt.com for all you car-wiring-trivia needs. Loads of useful information there.

In particular, this was especially helpful:

http://www.the12volt.com/wiring/recwirsz.asp

 

i got my eNetic power wires from ED too. 0 and 4 gauges. Works great so far.
They are 40% off now!!!

As for the running RCA on the same side as power wires. I really don't think it is big deal. (i ran my power and RCA wires different side)
Most audiophiles will tell you not to run them on same side. Most of wire these day are pretty well insulated.
I read on SuperStreet. their project car sounded fine when they run ALL THE Wire down the same side.