A question that we hear from time to time here at Prestige Car Audio and Marine is “why are your amp kits and power wire more expensive than some other places?” That is a very good question, so we thought we would dig into it with you. It really all comes down to the quality of the wire itself. There are BIG differences in amplifier wire and it has an impact on the quality of your audio system. Follow along.
Amplifier Wire Should Be Made From Copper
For many years, all of our wire was made from copper. There were two different grades of copper wire, regular and OFC, which stands for oxygen free copper. For the sake of this article we are going to stick with the OFC, as it does a much better job at resisting corrosion, and we all know our cars get wet and dirty, so corrosion is an issue.
Copper Price Increase Leads To CCA
A few years ago the price of copper skyrocketed, to the tune of 400% increases. Wire vendors tried hard to keep costs down, but in the end they had to start raising their prices. Over a short period of time, the price went up… A LOT! Enter CCA wiring. CCA stands for copper clad aluminum. In simple terms, CCA wire is basically fake copper. It is coated with copper so it looks the part, but the majority of it is made with aluminum, and it will not conduct electricity at anywhere near the rate of OFC copper. Think 40-50% reduction in current capability. So you buy what looks to be a wire gauge that you need, only to find that your amp is shutting off from overheating because it is not getting the current it requires to operate properly. In many instances the life of the amplifier is severely shortened, leading to premature failure.
CCA Amplifier Wire Gets HOT!
Making matters even worse is the fact that the CCA wire gets very, very hot when it tries to conduct lots of electricity, making it a potential fire hazard. All of these problems can be solved by spending what often may only be $30-60 more for the good stuff. In the end don’t you want your audio system to perform the way it was designed: Crystal clear, loud, and lasting for years to come? We thought so. That is why Prestige Car Audio and Marine we will NEVER sell CCA wire. We care about our clients and we care about their safety. And we want you to always get what you paid for.
Check out this excellent demonstration of what we talked about above from our friends at Stinger:
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