Shuriken HPS AGM Battery SK-BT60RT and T-Spec v10 Series Power, Ground, and Speaker Wire Review

When it comes to car stereo, it is all electrical. It all starts with your vehicles electrical system. That means you want good quality wiring, and a good battery. Not all wiring and batteries are created equal. Enter the Shuriken SK-BT60RT High Power Series AGM Battery and T-Spec v10 Series Wiring.

Features and specs:
Shuriken High Power Series AGM Battery SK-BT60RT:

+ Compact size

+ Absorbed glass mat technology

+ Can be mounted in any position

+ Can be discharged and re-charged 100’s of times

+ Reversed positive and negative terminals for different hook ups

- 1500 Watts

- 60 AMP Hours

- 37.5 LBS / 17 KG

- Width: 9” / 229 MM

- Height: 8” / 203 MM

- Depth: 5.5” / 140 MM

T-Spec v10 Series 8 AWG Power, Ground, and 16 AWG Speaker Wire:

> Meets CEA and ANSI specification for wire gauge

> Full virgin copper construction

> High strand count for maximum flexibility

> Ultra-flexible PVC blended jacket

> BC-5W2 marine compliant

The quality of components and construction was very good for the Shuriken HPS AGM SK-BT60RT . The external housing was the typical plastic found in other batteries. The terminals were sturdy. Fit and finish was very good. The same was also true for the T-Spec v10 power, ground, and speaker wire. The jacket for both was a very flexible plastic. Trimming part of the jacket to the wire revealed a very high quality wire. Not only was it virgin copper wire, but it was a fine high thread count as well. I was impressed.

Not all wire is created equal. Cheap wire will appear to be a certain gauge, but when you strip back the jacket, you find that the jacket is extra thick, and the actual wire is smaller.  It also will not have as high of a thread count. In the picture below you can see the cheaper fewer strand wire on the left, and the T-Spec v10 high strand count wire on the left.  As long as the thickness is the same, the wire will handle the same amount of current.  But the higher thread count does give better flexibility which can be important in the install.  It is easy to forget just how important the wiring is. It's a lot like a freeway or highway. A two lane highway cannot handle the traffic level that a four land highway can.  A thinner gauge wire can't handle the current that a thicker gauge can. So when you buy cheep wire, you don't get the same level of performance, and you sell yourself short. The installation in working with the wire can also be more difficult.  As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

The battery is also an important part of the equation in your electrical system. Ever wonder why you get diming headlights? The power and current that the bass is needing is not being met. The car takes power to run, and when driving at night, that includes the headlights.  When your stereo system is requiring current than is available, this is seen at night.  Bass takes more power to produce. So the headlights suffer and briefly dim during the bass beats. Some people will add a capacitor, to give instant power on tap to the subwoofer, to help with the problem.  To better help and get rid of the problem, a high performance AGM battery can be used.

The Shuriken HPS AGM SK-BT60RT is a high performance AGM type battery. This high performance type of glass mat battery can discharge very quickly so it will perform like a large capacitor. And since it does not use acid, it is low maintenance. There is no need to add water. This also gives additional mounting options. Without having to worry about acid leaks, you can actually mount it on it's side. It works great as a primary battery under the hood, or as a 2nd or 3rd battery trunk mounted for monster stereo systems.

Metra Electronics continues it's objective to provide quality products through it's family of brand names. That includes Shunken & T-Spec. With both the Shuriken SK-BT60RT and T-Spec v10 wire, they are designed to bring out the best of your stereo components. They will not be a weak link. The T-Spec v10 power and ground wires provides lower powered amps the current they need. And with Shuriken HPS AGM SK-BT60RT, current is discharged to the amps quickly. The common flickering headlights to the bass beats is not a problem for me. MSRP on the Shuriken SK-BT60RT is $249, with $159.95 for power/ground wire and $119.95 for the speaker wire.  Based on their design, features, quality and performance, the Shuriken HPS AGM SK-BT60RT has earned our Editor's Choice award, and the T-Spec v10 series wire has earned our Highly Recommended award. For more info and complete specs, check out their website at www.shurikenonline.com and www.tspeconline.com.