DIY speaker internal wiring recs

zobsky · 10th August 2003, 05:52 PM

Hi,

need some info on deciding on what (DIY) cable to use as internal wiring in a speaker that a friend and i recently built.

speaker type: rear loaded full range backhorn
driver: fostex ff165K 6.5" fullrange

this being a high efficiency system, cable power handling is not of the utmost importance.

i'm not looking for a discussion on capacitance and inductance (there are plenty other threads on that), ...rather, i'm looking for info/discussion on tried and true alternatives that have worked.

from this form and others, i have narrowed it down to

1. ubyte speaker cable - seems simple although many say they cannot find the appropriate cable in the USA)

2. cat5 cable, ..several variants available, seems like torture on the fingers though

3. thin magnet wire from radioshack etc ... - i personally use this is small guage for my interconnects, ..but for speaker cable ???

4. telephone wire, .. need info on construction ??

thanks all

octopus · 10th August 2003, 08:29 PM

In case you don't know...

Cat5 has 8 conductors and Telephone wire has 6.

TNT say you should use 3 (24 conductors - 12 per side), for Cat5 cable. Essentially that means 4 runs of telephone cable...provided its solid core type.

As I've read, you just twist the 12 conductors together, tin them or add plugs. But it takes a lot of effort

Rarkov · 10th August 2003, 08:54 PM

I bought 20m of Silver plated copper for £7 (~$10 US) (19 strands of 0.125mm apparently) and twisted 5 strands together to make my internal speaker cable. It is absolutly superb! And cheap too...

Gaz

zobsky · 10th August 2003, 10:02 PM

when you say "twist" wires together, ..do you mean a litz braid or something else?

thanks

Rarkov · 11th August 2003, 06:07 AM

I mean a drill at one end and a clamp at the other. Another choice is Kimber Kable. I've heard of that put to good use. Here are some prices of Kimber Kable per mono meter:

4PR = £5
8PR = £9

4VS = £9
8VS = £18

4TC = £22
8TC = £39

8TC is their top of the range before getting into their "Select" range where you can pay nearly £7000 for a 2.4m pair! Saying that, I have just read an article about some siltech cables that cost £30000

!!!!!

Gaz

manners · 11th August 2003, 09:09 PM

Gaz where did you get the silver plated copper wire from?

Rarkov · 11th August 2003, 10:19 PM

A great place called Wires.co.uk. It is PTFE coated 19x0.125mm wire. They often can't find it - but they do stock it!

Cya
Gaz

manners · 11th August 2003, 10:40 PM

Thanks Gaz they've got lots of interesting bits. Gold over copper, gold over silver, copper, silver over copper of varying gauges which could make for interesting internal wiring for your speakers zobsky.

Peter Daniel · 11th August 2003, 11:08 PM

What about copper foil? I use it for speaker cables and like the results a lot: Follow up on copper foil speaker cables

Comes cheap as well

zobsky · 11th August 2003, 11:34 PM

i have some 22Ga radioshack magnet wire lying around at home so i'm going to try those this evening or thereabouts if i can.
i will report back on how it compares to the generic home-depot stuff (this is for internal speaker cabling).

unfortunately, the main speaker cabling is still radioshack 14ga (a legacy from my student days) so i don't know if that will turn out to be the bottleneck.

i may try the flat cables next

thanks, and keep the posts coming

10th August 2003, 05:52 PM	#1
zobsky diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dallas, Tx, USA	DIY speaker internal wiring recs Hi, need some info on deciding on what (DIY) cable to use as internal wiring in a speaker that a friend and i recently built. speaker type: rear loaded full range backhorn driver: fostex ff165K 6.5" fullrange this being a high efficiency system, cable power handling is not of the utmost importance. i'm not looking for a discussion on capacitance and inductance (there are plenty other threads on that), ...rather, i'm looking for info/discussion on tried and true alternatives that have worked. from this form and others, i have narrowed it down to 1. ubyte speaker cable - seems simple although many say they cannot find the appropriate cable in the USA) 2. cat5 cable, ..several variants available, seems like torture on the fingers though 3. thin magnet wire from radioshack etc ... - i personally use this is small guage for my interconnects, ..but for speaker cable ??? 4. telephone wire, .. need info on construction ?? thanks all

11th August 2003, 11:08 PM	#9
Peter Daniel diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada	What about copper foil? I use it for speaker cables and like the results a lot: Follow up on copper foil speaker cables Comes cheap as well __________________ www.audiosector.com “Do something really well. See how much time it takes. It might be a product, a work of art, who knows? Then give it away cheaply, just because you feel that it should not cost so much, even if it took a lot of time and expensive materials to make it.” - JC

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10th August 2003, 08:29 PM	#2
octopus diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Darlington	In case you don't know... Cat5 has 8 conductors and Telephone wire has 6. TNT say you should use 3 (24 conductors - 12 per side), for Cat5 cable. Essentially that means 4 runs of telephone cable...provided its solid core type. As I've read, you just twist the 12 conductors together, tin them or add plugs. But it takes a lot of effort

10th August 2003, 08:54 PM	#3
Rarkov diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: North East, UK	I bought 20m of Silver plated copper for £7 (~$10 US) (19 strands of 0.125mm apparently) and twisted 5 strands together to make my internal speaker cable. It is absolutly superb! And cheap too... Gaz

10th August 2003, 10:02 PM	#4
zobsky diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dallas, Tx, USA	when you say "twist" wires together, ..do you mean a litz braid or something else? thanks

11th August 2003, 06:07 AM	#5
Rarkov diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: North East, UK	I mean a drill at one end and a clamp at the other. Another choice is Kimber Kable. I've heard of that put to good use. Here are some prices of Kimber Kable per mono meter: 4PR = £5 8PR = £9 4VS = £9 8VS = £18 4TC = £22 8TC = £39 8TC is their top of the range before getting into their "Select" range where you can pay nearly £7000 for a 2.4m pair! Saying that, I have just read an article about some siltech cables that cost £30000 !!!!! Gaz

11th August 2003, 09:09 PM	#6
manners diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: England	Gaz where did you get the silver plated copper wire from?

11th August 2003, 10:19 PM	#7
Rarkov diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: North East, UK	A great place called Wires.co.uk. It is PTFE coated 19x0.125mm wire. They often can't find it - but they do stock it! Cya Gaz

11th August 2003, 10:40 PM	#8
manners diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: England	Thanks Gaz they've got lots of interesting bits. Gold over copper, gold over silver, copper, silver over copper of varying gauges which could make for interesting internal wiring for your speakers zobsky.

11th August 2003, 11:34 PM	#10
zobsky diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dallas, Tx, USA	i have some 22Ga radioshack magnet wire lying around at home so i'm going to try those this evening or thereabouts if i can. i will report back on how it compares to the generic home-depot stuff (this is for internal speaker cabling). unfortunately, the main speaker cabling is still radioshack 14ga (a legacy from my student days) so i don't know if that will turn out to be the bottleneck. i may try the flat cables next thanks, and keep the posts coming