vstar Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Question please, what would be the maximum recommended speaker wire length to run a set of speakers off of a Control4 4zone amplifier (C4-8AMP1- using 14 gauge speaker wire?2 speakers for one zone are 8 ohm (Polk Atrium4) and 2 speakers for another outdoor zone are 6 ohm (Yamaha NS-AW150).Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 The answer very much depends on what you consider to be the reason for a maximum distance.Those that consider themselves 'audiophiles' would probably say 50 feet. Others would say 250 feet shouldn't be a problem. I'd suggest on 14Ga that you keep it under 150, preferably under a 100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simplyauto1 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Using 14G wire, 300' is no problem. Ive installed plenty of C4 systems utilizing their amps in large, 10K plus s/f homes with runs that length with no issues...ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdepaola Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 For distributed audio, background type listening I'd agree that generally with 14ga and an 8ohm load you should be fine in the 150'-200' range, maybe longer as suggested. For more serious listening I'd never want these distances. Here is a great article on speaker wire in general and a chart on gauge vs length. http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vstar Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Thank for both for your responses. Cyknight, the reason for the question was I am concerned about taxing the amplifier and causing strain, this is the only C4 amplifier I have owned outside of a speaker point running 6 feet to some small speakers in my bathroom. i have several other amplifiers that i know this would not be an issue with but i was not sure how bullet proof these amplifiers were? I am now running 4 new audio zone in and outside of my house for whole house audio and announcements and the maximum distance I will be running is about 75 feet, the rest will be about 20-40 feet. I have seen quite a few of these amplifiers on ebay with either all or some of the zones not working and i was unsure how solid these amplifiers were for pushing a load over distance. I suspected under 100 feet with 14 gauge would not be an issue but it is always nice to hear others with experience to reenforce my speculation. I would hate to damage this new addition to my system.thank you again for all your help, you have a been source of invaluable information many times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vstar Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 thank you also fire/medic for the article, looks like some good reading. I am definitely not concerned about hi-fi quality in these zones, they are just for background music and system announcements and all speakers are fairly low end. For my more serious audio zones I have separate receivers in my main rooms with higher quality 5.1 speaker setups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMHarman Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 The 8 zone amps can have fans faiil and then they overheat. It is not a long run of speaker cable that is doing it, but environmental dust etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 The C4 amps are quite solid - failures as mentioned are generally due to environment not the unit itself or over-driving them. Only failures I've seen repeated were power-supply issues on the older matrix units, have had very few (meaning can't really think of more than one) units die since from anything other than major power surges frying half the house and flooding etc. To make a small edit to my original post - my limitation on distances is due to issues in audio quality over longer runs, not issues driving those distances for fear of amplifier failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 I've got runs around 200' in length... Maybe 220'. They work great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMHarman Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 I've got runs around 200' in length... Maybe 220'. They work great.Lol. I would have to run a cable in a lap around my apartment walls nearly twice to get that length. Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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