I was told to run 4 gauge from the battery and ground to the amp and  then use 8 from the amp to the speakers.  the amps are 400W 4 ch  Using 2 of them and a 10" sub and 6.5" speakers  any thoughts??  Again this is what I was told to use.  Maybe the supplier wanted to sell me some wire I did not need but I was under the impression that the bigger the wire the better the sound quility. 

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Rob
Make-U-Wet
2004 240EX 350Mag BIII

Mike O'Neil:

...I have never used the marine versions and have never had a failure but I really try hard to keep that area dry. 

 Sorry to go off topic, but I have to take a moment to poke a little fun at Mr. O'Neil.  For those of you who don't know, that dry area that Mike describes starts up at the bow and goes all the way back to the stern and pretty much encompasses everything above the rub rail!!!!    Sorry buddy, just couldn't let that one go!!  See you soon!!

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John Capuro
Fenton, MO
2005 266BR towed by a 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 with a 5.9 Cummins

Rob Stankus:

I was told to run 4 gauge from the battery and ground to the amp and  then use 8 from the amp to the speakers.  the amps are 400W 4 ch  Using 2 of them and a 10" sub and 6.5" speakers  any thoughts??  Again this is what I was told to use.  Maybe the supplier wanted to sell me some wire I did not need but I was under the impression that the bigger the wire the better the sound quility. 

The 4 gauge from the battery to the amp sounds right. (I've got a Kicker 700-watt amp with the same wiring configuration.) I did buy some Stinger 12-gauge wire to run to the subwoofer, but I used the wire that came with my Infinity 6.5s to do the rest of it, and it sounds fine. Anymore, I try to use factory wire when I can, because I've never noticed any sort of discernable difference between that and stuff like heavy-gauge Monster cable. I save a few bucks that way.

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'00 202 BR
'08 Silverado 4X4

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition...

Rob Stankus:

I was told to run 4 gauge from the battery and ground to the amp and  then use 8 from the amp to the speakers.  the amps are 400W 4 ch  Using 2 of them and a 10" sub and 6.5" speakers  any thoughts??  Again this is what I was told to use.  Maybe the supplier wanted to sell me some wire I did not need but I was under the impression that the bigger the wire the better the sound quility. 

Rob, the 4 guage for the battery and ground is a good choice as long as you aren't running more than 10 - 15 feet of it.  From the amp to the sub you can use 12 or 10 guage and it will be more than adequate.

From the amp to the 6.5" speakers you can use the factory wiring with no issues at all.  The sound quality for the 6.5" speakers won't be affected by utilizing the speaker wires that are already in place.

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LOL at John's comments.    Tis true we try to keep the interior dry as much as possible as we never want to get that stinky older boat smell.  But mostly, it just ruins electronics...camera, iPod, head unit etc...

 8ga. to speakers?  Yeah, they want to sell you some wire.  My system uses 4ga. to the helm and then into distribution blocks which send power to the 3 amps thru 8ga. leads.  I don't believe I've ever had a problem with lack of power to the amps and I know the wires do not get hot which would be an indicator of a problem.  The wiring going to my subs is 12 ga. or so.  Plenty. 

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O'
"Little Mascara 3"
266BR,496 MAG-Bravo III

Mike thanks for the info.  I got my boat back today, pulled the remote plug and every thing now works just fine.  Now I just have to find a new remote switch.