Gauge Power Calculator

Calculates the lost power due to cable composition & dimensions.

Helps you compare different cables and determine the least lossy configuration for your amplifier setup.

Cable Length (m)
Usual Lengths
Pick your cable
Gauge

Simply choose your amplifier below (or choose custom and enter the details) then press Add Amp.
2x0 0 2 4 8 10
CopperHead
MaxCore
Basix
Black = Dangerously bad.
Model Description Channels Type Rated (W) Consumed (W) V A Output (W)  
Total:

Type: Indicates the type of Amplifier, different types have different degrees of efficiency, and therefore consume more power for a given rated input.

Rated: The RMS rating on the box.

Consumed: The actual usage of electricity to generate the RMS output.

Volts: The voltage that the rating was tested against, typically 14.4V

Amps: The amount of current required (Ohms Law)

Output: The actual output when taking into account the Cable Loss

Colored Table: (W is the amount of Lost power for each combination of Cable type and Gauge, Total Loss should equal difference between Rated W and Output W)

  • Green: Almost no loss, amazing.
  • Yellow: Acceptable loss.
  • Red: Unacceptable loss, if everything is Red & Black, consider a shorter run!
  • Black: Dangerzone! Your amplifier could be damaged running this!
  • Fuchsia: The voltage has dropped below zero at this point, so I'm assuming your amp has exploded

Note: 00 in this instance does not refer to 2/0 wire, but actually two separate runs of 0 wire, which would have the dimensions of 4/0.

Read more about AWG standards here; Wiki