The Kicker 47KMW16400 is a plain 16 AWG marine speaker wire — pure, full-spec OFC copper tinned with 99.9% tin, no LED conductor, no RGB anything — priced at $15.00 for a 15-foot cut, or about $1.00 per foot. It's sold from 15 feet up to a full 400-foot spool, and it's Coast Guard and ABYC compliant.
We just covered the 46KMWRGB150, which combines speaker and RGB LED wire in one jacket. This is the other half of that decision: if you're not running LED speakers, or you're wiring a system that already has its lighting handled separately, this is the plain wire that costs less than half as much per foot.
Key Takeaways
- It's 16 AWG speaker wire only — no LED conductor — at roughly $1.00 per foot, compared to about $2.60 per foot for the combined 46KMWRGB150.
- Conductors are pure OFC copper tinned with 99.9% tin, matching the corrosion resistance our wiring guide recommends.
- It's available from 15 feet up to a full 400-foot spool, plus sold by the individual foot — the widest length range of any wire we carry.
- It's Coast Guard and ABYC compliant, the same regulatory bar as the 46KMWRGB150, without paying for the LED conductor to get it.
- Cut wire is final sale, same as the RGB version — measure your run before ordering.
What's Actually in It
There's less to explain here than with the combined LED cable, and that's the point. It's 16 AWG, pure full-spec OFC copper, tinned with 99.9% tin for corrosion resistance, in a flexible marine-grade jacket. That matches the tinned-copper standard our own marine speaker wiring guide recommends, and the same 16 AWG baseline gauge as the RGB combo wire's speaker conductor — just without the second 18 AWG LED pair riding alongside it.
47KMW16400 vs. 46KMWRGB150: Do You Need the LED Wire or Not?
Since we just wrote about the RGB version, here's the actual comparison rather than making you guess which one applies to your build:
| 47KMW16400 | 46KMWRGB150 | |
|---|---|---|
| Speaker conductor | 16 AWG | 16 AWG |
| LED conductor | None | 18 AWG RGB |
| Price per foot (approx.) | ~$1.00 | ~$2.60 |
| Shortest cut length | 15 ft | 25 ft |
| Longest option | 400 ft spool | 150 ft spool |
| Compliance | Coast Guard, ABYC | Coast Guard, ABYC, NMMA, NMEA |
The decision is genuinely simple: if any part of the run is feeding an LED speaker's lighting along with its audio, the RGB version saves you a second cable run. If you're wiring standard, non-LED speakers — like a pair of 45KM654 — or your LED speakers already have their lighting wired separately, this plain wire does the same audio job for less than half the per-foot cost.
Buying by the Foot vs. by the Spool
This is the wire to reach for if you're wiring more than one pair of speakers. The length range here (15 feet up to a full 400-foot spool) goes well beyond what a single speaker pair needs, and that's deliberate — a 400-foot spool is a full-boat-build or multi-job quantity, not a one-pair purchase.
A rough guide for estimating: a typical bow-to-helm run on a mid-size boat is often 15-25 feet round trip per speaker, depending on routing. A four-speaker system (bow pair, stern pair) with reasonable routing might use 60-100 feet total. If you're outfitting a full system, or you're an installer running multiple boats, buying the 400-foot spool works out to a meaningfully lower per-foot cost than repeatedly buying 15 or 25-foot cuts — do the math on your specific job before deciding which length to order, since cut wire can't be returned either way.
Same Compliance, Simpler Cable
This wire carries the same Coast Guard and ABYC compliance as the 46KMWRGB150 — it just doesn't also claim NMMA and NMEA compliance in its listing, which on the RGB version is tied specifically to the combined cable's construction. If the regulatory angle matters for your build (new construction, a rewire that needs to pass survey), our 46KMWRGB150 review covers what ABYC, NMMA, and Coast Guard compliance actually mean in more depth — most of that explanation applies here too, just without the NMMA/NMEA callout.
Where This Wire Isn't the Right Call
No LED conductor, obviously. If you're installing or plan to install LED speakers like the 45KM84L or KM654L and want one cable for both, this isn't that — get the 46KMWRGB150 instead.
Cut wire is final sale. Same policy as the RGB version. Measure your actual run length before ordering, especially at the shorter cut lengths where a mistake means buying twice.
16 AWG isn't enough for every job. Per our own wiring guide, this baseline gauge is right for standard installs, but a fully amplified high-power speaker like the 45KM84L at 150W RMS over a long run calls for 12 AWG, not 16. This wire doesn't change that math — it's the same gauge consideration that applies to any 16 AWG option.
1-year warranty, not the 3-year warranty on Kicker's KM speaker lineup — standard for cable/accessory items in this catalog, not a special downgrade.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the actual price difference between this and the RGB wire?
Roughly $1.00 per foot for the 47KMW16400 versus about $2.60 per foot for the 46KMWRGB150, based on their respective 15-foot and 25-foot cut pricing. For a run with no LED speakers involved, that's a meaningful savings for the same 16 AWG speaker conductor.
Do I need the 400-foot spool, or should I buy a shorter cut?
Only if you're wiring a full multi-speaker system or multiple boats. For a single pair of speakers, a 15 or 25-foot cut is almost always enough — estimate your actual run length (including routing, not straight-line distance) before choosing a length.
Is this wire heavy enough for a 45KM84L running full power?
Not for a long, fully amplified run at 150W RMS — per our wiring guide, that calls for 12 AWG. This 16 AWG wire is sized for standard installs and lower-power runs, the same consideration that applies to the RGB combo wire's speaker conductor too.
Can I mix this wire with the 46KMWRGB150 in the same build?
Yes. A common approach is using the 46KMWRGB150 for LED speaker runs that need the lighting conductor, and this plain wire for any non-LED speakers or subwoofer runs in the same system.
Is cut wire really non-returnable?
Yes, on both this wire and the 46KMWRGB150. Measure before you order — there's no exception for cut lengths.
Bottom Line
The Kicker 47KMW16400 is the straightforward choice: 16 AWG, tinned OFC copper, Coast Guard and ABYC compliant, at roughly half the per-foot cost of the LED combo wire, because it doesn't carry a conductor you don't need. For any build that isn't running LED speaker lighting through the same cable, this is the more economical, equally compliant option.
If you're wiring LED speakers and want one cable for both signal and lighting, get the 46KMWRGB150 instead — this wire has nothing for the LED side. And regardless of which one you choose, remember that 16 AWG has real limits: it's not the right gauge for a fully amplified high-power run, and cut lengths can't be returned. But for standard speaker wiring at scale, from a single pair to a full boat's worth of runs, this is the practical option.