18 gauge speaker cable for cheap 120-watt PA?

[Rockin Mike]

I have a cheap 120-watt PA system in the practice room:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
and I need a longer cable for one of the speakers.
I also have a spool of old 18 AWG speaker wire and some 1/4" tips laying around.

Would there be any downside to making a 25 foot cable out of 18 gauge wire and running it with this cheap PA?

 

[Hactar]

I think at 120W, 25ft, 18AWG, and assuming 8 ohm load, your loss is under .5dB.

That cable will be fine.

 

[chucko58]

You won't blow anything up, but I'd want to replace it with 14 gauge at some point.

 

[steveksux]

For 120 watts, its fine. No need for 14 GA wire at those power levels.

Randy

 

[Rockin Mike]

Thanks for the responses, I appreciate your expertise!

On a side note, it seems counterintuitive to me that a larger wire has a smaller gauge number. What if you have a wire that's bigger than AWG 0? Does it get a negative gauge number?

Seems it would have been more logical to start with gauge 0 equating to some infinitesimally small wire, and go upwards from there.

 

[vinny]

Thanks for the responses, I appreciate your expertise!

On a side note, it seems counterintuitive to me that a larger wire has a smaller gauge number. What if you have a wire that's bigger than AWG 0? Does it get a negative gauge number?

Seems it would have been more logical to start with gauge 0 equating to some infinitesimally small wire, and go upwards from there.

It comes from the earliest days of wire drawing. The wires were produced as #1 & drawn through dies to reduce their diameter. The number of reductions through successive dies was then termed the gauge size.

 

[projectMalamute]

On a side note, it seems counterintuitive to me that a larger wire has a smaller gauge number. What if you have a wire that's bigger than AWG 0? Does it get a negative gauge number?

it goes 0 then 00 then 000 ...

 

[Rockin Mike]

it goes 0 then 00 then 000 ...

Seems kludgy compared to doing it the other way.
Just sayin'

 

[Rockin Mike]

Is there a formula or a chart defining the relationship between speaker wire gauges, run length, and wattage? Are there other relevant factors? (Assuming all copper wire has about equal conductivity)

 

[dhsierra1]

try this:

 

[Rockin Mike]

That is a great read!

 

[Hactar]

Speaker wire gauge calculator:

WIRE