I've been slowly upgrading the wiring in my stereo, I have done 4 AWG power and ground wires, and I run 12 AWG speaker wire from the amp to the subs. I'm looking to the next thing witch is the RCA cables I currently have what appears to be off brand twisted RCA cables possibly stinger cables, but I'm not sure. I have been doing some reading and have recently aquired a pair of twisted and foil shielded Raptor RCA cables. I'm wondering if its worth pulling the stereo out and installing my new RCA cables or if its just gonna be a waste of my time? Other than the obvious fact that the raptors are a bit more robust is there any advantages performance wise? I'm also getting a high pitched whistle through the door speakers while my trucks running. I'm wondering if maybe its because of how close the RCA cables for the sub amp are to my power wire? If so will these new RCA cables fix that too?
RCA Cables?
97dakkid
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I've been slowly upgrading the wiring in my stereo, I have done 4 AWG power and ground wires, and I run 12 AWG speaker wire from the amp to the subs. I'm looking to the next thing witch is the RCA cables I currently have what appears to be off brand twisted RCA cables possibly stinger cables, but I'm not sure. I have been doing some reading and have recently aquired a pair of twisted and foil shielded Raptor RCA cables. I'm wondering if its worth pulling the stereo out and installing my new RCA cables or if its just gonna be a waste of my time? Other than the obvious fact that the raptors are a bit more robust is there any advantages performance wise? I'm also getting a high pitched whistle through the door speakers while my trucks running. I'm wondering if maybe its because of how close the RCA cables for the sub amp are to my power wire? If so will these new RCA cables fix that too?
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"Though the two aren’t terribly different from one another, the way unshielded twisted pair cabling and shielded twisted pair cabling cancel out electromagnetic interference is. Just like any other type of cabling, the two not only have their pros and cons, they have conditions where one is better applied than the other.
Shielded twisted pair cabling, or STP, has a metallic foil that encases the twisted wire pairs inside a cable. This protects against electromagnetic interference and allows for a faster transmission of data. Unshielded twisted pair comes without any type of shielding at all but is still very capable of handling imbalances that interfere with data transmission.
Since STP cabling works by attracting electromagnetic interference and neutralizing it with a grounded cable, problems can arise if and when that cable is improperly grounded. This will more or less toss its ability to cancel noise right out the window. This type of cabling is also bigger and more sensitive to work with than UTP cable. To make the best use of shielded twisted pair wiring, a knowledgeable cabling installer will likely put it to use in industrial settings where the surrounding equipment gives off elevated amounts of electromagnetic interference.
As mentioned, unshielded twisted pair cabling has no foil shield and relies on the way the pairs inside the cabling is twisted to cancel electromagnetic interference. Since UTP cabling would be more susceptible to electromagnetic interference in industrial settings, it is considered the better choice for office LANS and similar network cabling systems. They are also smaller than STP cables, easier to install and a lot more cost-effective. And, they can transmit data just as fast as shielded twisted pair cabling.
When properly installed and maintained by a reliable data cabling contractor, both unshielded twisted pair and shielded twisted pair will do quite well in their applications."
I went online and googled it, and read up on it, thus now the info is here for anyone who's struck by curiousity on the subject. Basically if your running your RCA cords near your power wire, or anything that gives off a great amount of electromagnetic interference go shielded. If your not running your cord near anything that'll give off tons of electromagnetic interference or need to work with tight turns and corners go unshielded. Just a little summary in two sentences of the just of what the article is about.
Shielded twisted pair cabling, or STP, has a metallic foil that encases the twisted wire pairs inside a cable. This protects against electromagnetic interference and allows for a faster transmission of data. Unshielded twisted pair comes without any type of shielding at all but is still very capable of handling imbalances that interfere with data transmission.
Since STP cabling works by attracting electromagnetic interference and neutralizing it with a grounded cable, problems can arise if and when that cable is improperly grounded. This will more or less toss its ability to cancel noise right out the window. This type of cabling is also bigger and more sensitive to work with than UTP cable. To make the best use of shielded twisted pair wiring, a knowledgeable cabling installer will likely put it to use in industrial settings where the surrounding equipment gives off elevated amounts of electromagnetic interference.
As mentioned, unshielded twisted pair cabling has no foil shield and relies on the way the pairs inside the cabling is twisted to cancel electromagnetic interference. Since UTP cabling would be more susceptible to electromagnetic interference in industrial settings, it is considered the better choice for office LANS and similar network cabling systems. They are also smaller than STP cables, easier to install and a lot more cost-effective. And, they can transmit data just as fast as shielded twisted pair cabling.
When properly installed and maintained by a reliable data cabling contractor, both unshielded twisted pair and shielded twisted pair will do quite well in their applications."
I went online and googled it, and read up on it, thus now the info is here for anyone who's struck by curiousity on the subject. Basically if your running your RCA cords near your power wire, or anything that gives off a great amount of electromagnetic interference go shielded. If your not running your cord near anything that'll give off tons of electromagnetic interference or need to work with tight turns and corners go unshielded. Just a little summary in two sentences of the just of what the article is about.
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I already got my whine dialed down to a bad ground I'm gonna fix that when I amp my speakers though. Also I beg to differ a power wire will give off electrical interference no different than if you stand under high voltage power lines you can hear and feel the electricity if your close enough. In theory a shielded wire would be better for a stereo and sound, BUT I do agree I doubt its a difference that the human ear will pick up on. I personally swapped out my twisted wire RCA's today for double shielded twisted RCA wires. Honestly for the extra 5-10 dollars you pay for them I'd go for quality shielded wires if not for the sound for the fact that Im sure the wire will fatigue much slower than a cheap set of RCA's.
I said a whine in his door speakers that aren't hooked to the amp his RCA cables were going to wouldn't have a whine if there was interference from the power wire. I never said it doesn't happen.
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I'm not trying to disprove you, and I'm the OP lol. I certaintly agree that the whine isn't from the RCA's and I also agree one will never hear the difference between shielded and twisted cables. I was talking more about there being logic in picking shielded over the other is all. Honestly with all the different filters in amps now Im sure one could run RCA's for a dvd player in their truck and not notice any difference. All in all just shielded wires make sense and from what I can tell are generally just a better quality RCA.
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nope there isn't any point in swapping em out if you already have em installed, but why not just buy the "good heavy duty shielded RCA's" the first time? Considering like the most RCA's run for is 30 dollars, and the 30 dollar ones are like thick rubber jacketed HD RCA's. Anyways I dont really know how this turned into a "is it worth it or not" debate lol I simply put my oppinion and the information out there for anyone who would like to read it. How people take this info, and or how they use it is up to them lol I personally see the point in what Im saying. I'd rather have the best I can get even when it comes to RCA's hence why I swapped mine out.
Gee, I don't know how it could have turned into a discussion about if it was worth it or not. Oh yeah, you specifically asked it in your original post.
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So how do you go about figuring out where the bad ground is?
And speaking of that. Slightly off topic.
I was looking into upgrading the power and ground wires from the alternator, battery, and fuse block. It seems as though the ground from the battery to the fuseblock is multiple small wires. What do I do?
And speaking of that. Slightly off topic.
I was looking into upgrading the power and ground wires from the alternator, battery, and fuse block. It seems as though the ground from the battery to the fuseblock is multiple small wires. What do I do?
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558 Posts
Your battery isnt grounded to the fuse block? You should have one ground on the body and one to the block and a positive going to the alternator fuse on the fuse block and a wire running from that to the alternator thats all I have anyways?
In '01 they changed the fuse box(PDC) under the hood. The power wire from alternator goes straight to the battery with an inline fuseable link instead of going to the PDC first then through a replaceable fuse. Any "grounds" to the fuse box are just small grounds to complete circuits for the relays.
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