Any differences between wire types?

[AJ Bertelson]

Just noticed this when I got home today after picking up some 20 gauge wire.

Red-Copper multi stranded
White-Appears to be alluminum(silver color) but it is multistranded
Black-Single strand wire that is copper

I will be using this wire up one of my amps but I am not certain if I want to go back to the store to pick up some more wire.

Any differences in the wire at all?

[richie00boy]

Red - seems fine.

White - probably just tinned copper wire. If it's aluminium you won't be able to solder it

Black - I prefer stranded wire as it's less likely to break due to bending fatigue. I'd also use the same type of wire for both power connections (assuming red is +ve and black is -ve).

[Magura]

The wire type used to wire up an amp has no influence on the sound as is. There are however a few factors worth taking into account.

As richie00boy pointed out there is a benefit of using multistranded wire to avoid fatigue during the building process.

Also worth taking into account is that you would want either fibreglass or teflon insulation for the sake of saving your a$$ if something goes wrong and gets hot. To use a wire type that offers a little more protection in case something fails or during error correction.

At last but also important is to choose a type of wire that is plated. Raw copper will oxidate, and under the right (wrong?) circumstances, even rather fast. So the wire should at least be tinned. I have though seen tinned wire corrode as well, especially on the negative side close to the power supply. The solution for this is silver plating.

Team up with a couple of other americans and buy a roll of Habia E-1819. Habia in USA is maybe a little easier to deal with....minimum order will though be at least 500 meters, but then you will also get it for a reasonable price. You should be able to get it for around 1.33 USD per meter.

Magura