AWG advise needed

Supernaut80

Supernaut80

Active Member
Hello everyone

I now am almost ready to start my first soldering job on an.old pair of speakers.
Only problem is I need to know what gauge wire people would recommend for tweeters/mids/lows drivers.
I read red and black 22AWG would be ok but thought I'd check before I place an order.
The speakers are rated 8ohm impedance
Cheers

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I think that I might have used some 14 gauge when I recently redid a set of crossovers. In other words 22 AWG would probably be fine but you can always go a bit bigger. 16 or 18 gauge would probably be ideal IMHO... I remember having to trim down the wire I used so that it would fit through the holes and I could solder it in place.
 
As you take apart vintage speakers, you frequently find very light wiring inside...20gauge and lighter.

From the sounds of it, you are talking about crossover output to driver input.

20gauge is convenient for manufacturers of mass produced speakers to use for a variety of reasons, but in the arena of DIY it is terrible. Stripping and soldering very light 20-22gauge stranded wire is a royal pain. 16gauge hook-up wire is very pleasent to use, not to mention technically superior.

If you are talking about amplifier out to crossover in, 16gauge will usually work well there too.
 
z-adamson said:
As you take apart vintage speakers, you frequently find very light wiring inside...20gauge and lighter.

From the sounds of it, you are talking about crossover output to driver input.

20gauge is convenient for manufacturers of mass produced speakers to use for a variety of reasons, but in the arena of DIY it is terrible. Stripping and soldering very light 20-22gauge stranded wire is a royal pain. 16gauge hook-up wire is very pleasent to use, not to mention technically superior.

If you are talking about amplifier out to crossover in, 16gauge will usually work well there too.
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Yes I should have been clearer, it's the internal crossover wire I meant. As the tweeters I have to fit were cut short.
I guess I could buy a multiple amount this way I'm.covered if the holes are too small.
Cheers
 
With internal wiring lengths being so short inside speaker, you should be able to get away with the light gauge wire. Keep in mind how thin the wire in the voice coils is. Oversize wire will do no harm unless it's so stiff and heavy that it risks breaking the terminals it's connected to.
 
I bought my wire from O'Reillys Auto Parts. 14 gauge primary wire because I already had some in black and red so I just got some more in yellow and blue. You could see what gauges they have. 14 was overkill for sure. 16 to 18 would be easier to work with. My only issue was having to trim down the ends to fit into the holes on the board before soldering.
 
coonmanx said:
Yeah I see that you got some 18 gauge. Should work great...
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That's what I used when I rewired my B7O S75's/

Make sure you only do one driver at a time, or clearly mark each wire so you know which speaker it goes to. I used those little sticky tabs they use in planners/agendas to clearly mark which wire went to which driver.
 
The important things to keep in mind are the reactance of the speaker/driver, and distance. Short distances mean less difference. Still, there is no way I would use 24 ga anywhere but holding up tomato plants where they would work marginally well
 
crazy-in-az said:
That's what I used when I rewired my B7O S75's/

Make sure you only do one driver at a time, or clearly mark each wire so you know which speaker it goes to. I used those little sticky tabs they use in planners/agendas to clearly mark which wire went to which driver.
Click to expand...
Nice tip.
 
Thanks everyone.
I thought rather than start a fresh thread I could now ask what would be the next phase fir buying capicitors for speakers/amps.
Would it be best to order a case of all sizes or get the specific ones required for the exact ones replaced?
Cheers
 
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