Wiring kit comparison :)

[nitrous]

ICE Guru's,
I searched for discussion on wiring kits and all i found was the technical data.
I want this to be a comparison between various brands like Tsunami,Scosche,JBL ,audison,Monster cable,etc....keeping various parameters like build quality,reliability,VFM,etc...
Sam,Navin,B&T,Gubnbir,....and everyone pls give out ur experiences.

[babhishek]

Hello,
I was thinking can we also have a poll linked to this thread, on what is being used by members in their cars?

AB

[lancer_mania]

when one says he is upgrading his wiring what exactly does he mean ? also could one of the so called gurus take some time and post pics of the wire...
1 RCA
2power cable
3earthing cable
4 wire from amp to sub and tell us how much gauge each should be with pics plz.

[blueraven316]

Originally Posted by nitrous

ICE Guru's,
I searched for discussion on wiring kits and all i found was the technical data.
I want this to be a comparison between various brands like Tsunami,Scosche,JBL ,audison,Monster cable,etc....keeping various parameters like build quality,reliability,VFM,etc...
Sam,Navin,B&T,Gubnbir,....and everyone pls give out ur experiences.

I cannot Comment on Audison as have not seen it in person, but considering the brand image, it has to be decent.
Tsunami and Scosche are good Value for money brands, Scosche eFx 4 Ga wiring kit comes complete with everything one would need like distribution block, 2 RCA cables, etc etc.
I think the JBL's 8Ga wiring kit also is pretty decent, the power wires felt quite soft & flexible which is a good feature.
Monster Cable is the world's most well known wire manufacturing company as we know, and their quality is one of the very best, But I think they are quite overpriced in India, as there are many brands of wires and accessories which can come very very close to monster in quality and yet are priced a lot cheaper.

[low_bass_makker]

i think a poll will be a good feature to see how many members use which brand....

[Sam Kapasi]

Here is my take on "wiring kits"

Personally, I think a lot of people waste money and time on "kits". Most of the kits available in India are fake, at most car audio stores. Also in my opinion, a power cable, is a power cable and as long as it is made with the right amount of copper and is the correct gauge, it does not matter what brand it is.

Allow me to be more specific. A finolex 8 gauge wire is as good as a JBL 8 gauge power wire.
Why do I say that? Because i know finolex is a good, honest cable company that delivers what it promises. I assure you, there is no sound difference between the 2. However, finolex makes no fuse blocks. And a poorly made, cheapo fuse block ruines the entire idea of a good power cable.

If I was on a tight budget, I would use finolex cable without a fuse block to my amplifier. Many would disagree with me, they are not wrong, I am merely stating, this is what I what do.

The remote turn on wire is meaningless. Pointless to discuss. Even if you take really stupid speaker wire and split it into half, you could use that as the remote turn on wire, with no ill effect.

Where you can CLEARLY percieve a difference, is the audio cable. The RCA cable. You can hear a HUGE marked difference, for speakers, subwoofers, everything. I never scrounge on these.

Elaborating on what I said, if you take 2 similar wiring kits, and they are both from decent companies (read no con jobs), then the only difference you can hear, is the RCA cable.
So, how will you compare wiring kits?
You don't try 2 different kits before you buy. The one that is best marketed, will be the one that you mostly choose. If you have a poll and people vote truthfully. I assure you the winner is either Boss wiring kits, or fake kits made by monster.

Only, many won't know if the monster kit they use is fake.

According to me, all reputed brands like Audison, Scosche, Tsunami all make pretty decent wiring kits. Of the 3 I would think Audison would be the most reputed and possibly the best sounding.
Baaki bacha JBL wiring kit, get it while they are available. JBL doesn't make cables and that is a marketing thing. Which is why it's VFM. And it's made by a HUGE cable company lol. Ssshh.

[s0uljah]

Nice writeup Sam.

Appreciate the stand you have taken while talking about finolex cables as a VFM option. Coming from a vet like you I think it will silence some of the people who go "nyah nyah" about everything.

[vid6639]

Theres also PYLE audio cable which are pretty decent in sound quality. They offer good VFM as well.

These days I see people using a brand called Auzzo for the wiring kit. My installer (Anwar, Auto fusion) says they are not bad and similiar to PYLE. by the looks they appear to be of decent quality.

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

If I was on a tight budget, I would use finolex cable without a fuse block to my amplifier. Many would disagree with me, they are not wrong, I am merely stating, this is what I what do.

I agree here as there is a fuse onboard the amplifier....which will protect the amp in case of any problem...

[kkr2k2]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Here is my take on "wiring kits"

Personally, I think a lot of people waste money and time on "kits". .....

this gives me some more info for the DIY.
excellent writeup sam.

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

If I was on a tight budget, I would use finolex cable without a fuse block to my amplifier. Many would disagree with me, they are not wrong, I am merely stating, this is what I what do.

I agree 100% with all of the above, including the fact that I disagree with the part about not using a fuse at the battery origin. Its not something I would do.

If by any chance (it does happen believe you me) there is a short in the circuit, this cable running through under the carpet of your car WILL set fire to your car.

I have seen this happen right in front of me and if I wasn't around the car would have burnt to the ground. I managed to disconnect the battery terminal with flames around the battery, with all the nearby cables having caught fire. The fire was caused due to a loose battery that tilted and touched the hood of the car, the positive terminal came in direct contact with the metal body causing a short circuit. While other fuses blew, this amp cable heated up rapidly and caught fire (and neighboring cables from it). After I put out the fire, I inspected the interior of the car around the firewall and sure as day, the floor carpet after the firewall (in contact with the cable) was burnt a fair bit. Another few minutes and that car was history. And then people wonder why cars nowadays catch fire and people are burnt alive in them.

Remember Safety First! Use a basic fuseblock like this thats available in the market for less than Rs 400~500.

[navin]

I agree with Sam but then a lot of my opinion is based on my DIY tendencies.

I use Polycab power cable. Why Polycab becuase I get it free. If Finolex gave me cable for free I'd use theirs.

For RCA cable I use a brand that not many find. I have even forgotten it's name (Sam might remember it is Orange and I think is made in Sapin or Germany) and use good crimp on RCA connectors. The reason i use this cable ie becuase a good friend gave me the stuff and it was good. I think the name is Sommer or something like that. In my wife's car I used Belden because when I was in Singapore my brother in law's friend made some cable for me.

For speaker wire I get some cable that runs about Rs. 170/ft. wholesale I meause it and cut it to length. I dont know the retail price but I think that too is from Sommer.

However when friends ask me for cable I recommend an Original JBL power kit and Monster RCA. Because they are easily available and I dont have to break my head and solder RCAs for them. One friend asked me for some imported recomendations that were expensive (he did not care about the sound - it had to be frightfully expensive) I told him to get VdH (Van Den Hul) RCAs and Tara Labs speaker wire. He spent more than Rs. 50,000 on the wire and was happy. The dealer who sold him the wire became a friend of mine *just kidding - I have not met that dealer since* and the world was whole again.

Moral: THe Audio chain is only as good as it's weakest link. That starts from the Software, CD player, cables, amplifer, cables, crosovver, cables, and end in the speakers or as some claim "in the listeners ears".

Get decent cable or your nice electronics wont sound as good but good cable and poor electronics is not a ncie combination either.

I like to think that about 20% of the ICE budget should be just cable and damping. In some cases this can be as low at 15% and in other cases it can be 25%.

[Bass&Trouble]

Originally Posted by gunbir

I agree 100% with all of the above, including the fact that I disagree with the part about not using a fuse at the battery origin. Its not something I would do.

If by any chance (it does happen believe you me) there is a short in the circuit, this cable running through under the carpet of your car WILL set fire to your car.

I have seen this happen right in front of me and if I wasn't around the car would have burnt to the ground. I managed to disconnect the battery terminal with flames around the battery, with all the nearby cables having caught fire. The fire was caused due to a loose battery that tilted and touched the hood of the car, the positive terminal came in direct contact with the metal body causing a short circuit. While other fuses blew, this amp cable heated up rapidly and caught fire (and neighboring cables from it). After I put out the fire, I inspected the interior of the car around the firewall and sure as day, the floor carpet after the firewall (in contact with the cable) was burnt a fair bit. Another few minutes and that car was history. And then people wonder why cars nowadays catch fire and people are burnt alive in them.

Remember Safety First! Use a basic fuseblock like this thats available in the market for less than Rs 400~500.

I agree 100% with all of the above

Engine compartment fuse is a must. The only line of defense in the event of a short circuit along the power line.

Gunbir, your example baffles me a bit. You said the positive of the battery touched the engine compartment lid. Hence I am assuming this is the only battery in the car, and not another one added elsewhere. So, if the terminal touches ground, the short circuit that results is the same as shorting the terminals of the battery (+ and -). In this case, the part of the conductor completing the circuit between the two terminals will be affected (i.e. the chassis, body and the primary ground cable), not the line to the amplifier, since that is not a ground path for this short circuit. The power cable will go ablaze if the power cable grounds, say by detaching from the amp's terminal and touching bare metal. Or maybe I am getting a bit confused.

[Sam Kapasi]

Exactly what I was thinking too. Maybe we have misunderstood.

Gunbir, if the positive terminal of the loose battery, somehow touched the chassis, it would result in flames and heat, at the point where maximum current was flowing i.e. the battery terminal itself and the part of the chassis that was touching it.

If the battery directly touched the chassis, then the resultant current flowing through the positive wire of the amplifier would be nil. Why would it heat up?

However, this is possible if the positive wire of the amplifier somehow touched the chassis. Is that what happened?