Speaker Cable Loss Calculator

Resistive and band-average (R + jωL) models, power loss, color-coded thresholds, and dark/light mode with persistence.

Run Parameters

Gauge (mm²) Length (m) Nominal per-cabinet impedance (Ω) Cabinets in parallel on this run Cable inductance L₀ (H/m) Typical: ~0.6 µH/m ⇒ 0.6e-6 Target speaker power (W) Used to compute I²R loss in cable and required amplifier power.

Averaging Band & Thresholds

Effective load: 8 Ω

Max allowed loss (dB)

Realistic HF load Assumes impedance rises with frequency (≈ +50% by 10 kHz). Subs mode ignores this.

Acceptance thresholds

Full-range (defaults: green ≤ 0.5 dB, yellow ≤ 1.0 dB)

Green ≤ (dB) Yellow ≤ (dB)

Subs (defaults: green ≤ 1.0 dB, yellow ≤ 1.5 dB)

Green ≤ (dB) Yellow ≤ (dB)

Resistive loss (dB)

––

Amp output Z≈0, load purely resistive.

Band-average loss (dB)

––

Includes cable inductance; averaged over selected band.

Max length @ −0.5 dB (m)

–

Quick resistive model.

Power & Cable Dissipation

Cable resistance (Ω)

–

Current at target (A)

–

Power lost in cable (W)

–

Loss fraction (%)

–

Amplifier power required (W)

–

Target speaker power (W)

–

Assumes I = √(P_target / R_load). P_cable = I²·R_cable, P_amp = I²·(R_load + R_cable).

Quick lookup (resistive model)

Nominal Load (Ω)	Gauge (mm²)	Max length @ −0.5 dB	Max length @ −1.0 dB

Badges reflect your current thresholds and selected band.