RCA wire question

[Diceman83]

Hey all -

I was wondering if there was a difference between cables meant for audio and ones meant for video. I was thinking about getting two 3 cable (two audio and one video together) cables to bring the signals to my new amp. Will there be signal interference from or to the extra wire? I was thinking something like this.

Thanks!

~ D

[sr20de4evr]

why would you want 3 rcas in the first place? 2 for the L and R, what would the 3rd one be for?

[curtis73]

why would you want 3 rcas in the first place

Probably for two channels plus a sub. The third cable shouldn't be any problem. The video cable in most bundles is the same cable, just a yellow connector. Use a medium to high quality cable and you'll be fine.

[CBFryman]

not related but,
Curtis, your a mod now...sweet.

[CBFryman]

oh, BTW you can also solder and braid your own cables. its cheaper than buying high end cables if all you have to buy is the conectors because you have lots of extra wire laying around.

[Diceman83]

I don't have lots of extra cable laying around, and the purpose of the 3 pair vid cable would be to reduce wirage going through my car. I'll check out some places locally, but I think online will be the cheapest.

Thanks!

[sr20de4evr]

Originally Posted by curtis73

Probably for two channels plus a sub. The third cable shouldn't be any problem. The video cable in most bundles is the same cable, just a yellow connector. Use a medium to high quality cable and you'll be fine.

But even the sub will use a pair of rcas, then they're simply summed together inside the amp. Only feeding it one rca would make the signal half as strong and the gain would need to be twice as high. Unless he split the sub rca when it got to the amp, but that would be a waste of time and money to get a 3ch rca, plug it into the L and R front rca outputs, plug the 3rd into one of the sub outputs, and then split the sub rca when it gets to the amp. It would look ugly, cost more, and sound worse than simply using a 4ch rca.

I still don't see what you want a 3rd rca for

[Diceman83]

Originally Posted by Diceman83

Hey all -

I was wondering if there was a difference between cables meant for audio and ones meant for video. I was thinking about getting two 3 cable (two audio and one video together) cables to bring the signals to my new amp. Will there be signal interference from or to the extra wire? I was thinking something like this.

Thanks!

~ D

I'm getting a 5 channel amp. I need 3 pairs of RCA cables. I'd do front and half the sub in one wire and rear and the other half in the other. Sorry if I assummed you all would figure it out from the note at the bottom of my sig. You answered my original question though, whether the vid cable was different than the audio ones.

Thanks!

[sr20de4evr]

ahhhhh, I'm retarded and don't know how to read apparently

yeah it should work fine, sometimes they're designed/constructed differently, but if anything they should be better than the audio ones

[Diceman83]

no no, SR... I made another assumption, my fault. I've gotta stop doing that.

I just hope I can find some audio/video cables 20 feet long for cheap.

[L|_|da]

thats a good idea to cut down on the amount of wires running through you car.

[ngsm13]

Eh...mine's so loaded up with wires...doesn't matter any more...Good thing I have a spaceous dash...and room under floor trim.

NG

[Diceman83]

Well, remember what I said about Hondas... there is no space for anything, anywhere. I've got bulges in my rug on both sides thanks to the 4 gauge wire and single RCA wire. I'm planning to get some of that stretchy sticky backed roofing insulator to deaden my doors and trunk, and I'll rewire at the same time. Gonna be an all day project for me, as soon as I get my new amp in. I'll be sure to take pics

[BobChestnut]

But even the sub will use a pair of rcas, then they're simply summed together inside the amp. Only feeding it one rca would make the signal half as strong and the gain would need to be twice as high

Not entirely true, I had a mono amp and could only run one rca to it for some reason i can't rember why though. What i do know is that i didn't have to turn the gain donw on the amp whjen i eventually got the second one. It didn't sound any different it really didn't do any thing but just cost me a little bit more money. I clould be wrong though or i just had crappy audio equipment.

[sr20de4evr]

Originally Posted by BobChestnut

Not entirely true, I had a mono amp and could only run one rca to it for some reason i can't rember why though. What i do know is that i didn't have to turn the gain donw on the amp whjen i eventually got the second one. It didn't sound any different it really didn't do any thing but just cost me a little bit more money. I clould be wrong though or i just had crappy audio equipment.

Some mono amps take their signal from the left rca input and the right one is just there for show, but most of them sum them together. The easiest way to see is to shift the balance all the way to the L and all the way to the R, if the amp sums its inputs together then with the balance at center it will be the loudest, and when at the extremes (either R or L) the sub will be 6dB quieter. If the amp only takes one of the inputs and ignores the other, then when you shift to say the L there will be no change, and when you shift to the R it will go silent, or vice versa.