passive pre amp

[mschwilson]

Hi.
I am putting together parts to build a passive pre of good quality without costing a fortune.
I need to know whether RS components item no.321-329 is up to the job or if anyone has an older,better quality one that they may like to trade/sell.
Also I want to use silver wire and am unsure whether to use pure silver,silver coated copper,silver/nickle or multi strand silver coated litz.
I know that pure silver would be the ideal for conductivity,but price is an issue i'm afraid.
I have done some searching on the net and on this site,but I am just stuck.
Thank's for your time.
P.s.I have a fully working CDM-1 laser assembly as possible trade ,p/xfor a switch or wire,or both.(wrong forum?)

[Craig405]

hi mschwilson

Silver wire is a waste of time, ok it is very conductive but it will make no difference to the sound. It is pointless to go from copper tracks R's and C's in your source to silver wire then back to R's C's and copper wire in the amp.
Just buy some reasonable copper wire, and send your change on descent Pots and switches.
I think Alps make reputable switched and Pots.

Cheers
Craig

[tlf9999]

I would suggest gold for its conductivity (both electrical and thermal), looks, and resistance to oxidation. An amp fully wired with thick and sold gold wires, on a PCB with gold clad, mounted on a solid gold heatsink and shielded in a gold enclosure must sound great, especially if you have golden ears.

[mschwilson]

Many thank's for both the replies to my questions.

All I really wanted to know is the difference between the types of silver wire,for example;

Is there any difference to the workability of each type.

Has anyone used any of the types mentioned and what were the results.

Will the LITZ type have capacitance problems that could affect the amp(or is that just for hyperlitz).

What guage would be best,there are conflicting suggestions.

I have used silver interconnects to great effect in the past and this is why I would like to use it as internal wiring.

I have already bought a number of Alps pots,and am in the process of sourcing a switch,which is part of this post.

As for gold,it is not as conductive as silver,is more expensive and the only real benefits it has are heat dissipation and as it is not prone to corrosion....ideal for use on contacts.

Oh! and BLING,gold is also good for BLING.

I'm really after a selector switch of good quality,I just asked about the wire cos it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Thank's again guys.
Simon

[Craig405]

Sorry i dont know much about types of silver wire and pros/cons.

But.... It really is not worth using silver wire, Silver and gold are only used in places such as connectors or switches because they do not oxidise over time therefore avoiding resistance and capacitance becoming present between the 2 bits of metal in the socket/ contacts.
If you use silver wire then you might as well use silver solder and liquid gold to seal your joints .

Use good shielded copper wire (quite fine stranded is fine as the currents are very low), shielding is important to minimise crosstalk between the channels and help keep RF inteference out of your wires.
Can you even get shielded silver wire ?
Also you must use good star grounds to avoid Earth loops.

Regards
Craig

[mzzj]

Originally posted by Craig405

If you use silver wire then you might as well use silver solder and liquid gold to seal your joints .


Regards
Craig

Gosh, I think I start producing preamp boxes with ultrasonic welded connections. Platinum wires and a golden ones in budget series for semi-hifi. Has to be superior in performance since there is not any Sn/Pb solder joint wich is inferior in every aspect and welding is done without exessive heat. What should i use for insulation? Vacuum? Ceramics?

Or how about aluminum-crome wire with silicone insulator for tube amps, gives warm sound due to thermoelectrical effects in wire junctions and cleaner treble thanks to bigger skin depth at high frequencies.
Edit: and even compensates for thermal runaway when used with right polarity

[mschwilson]

Ok you guys,I get the picture.
I'll just stick with the copper.
Thank's for the advise.

Is there anyone out there with a decent 2 pole,6 way selector switch that I can get at a resonable price,second hand or new.

Cheers.
Simon.

[Peter Daniel]

Originally posted by mschwilson
(wrong forum?)

Observing the replies you received, it seems like a wrong forum indeed.

[mschwilson]

Thank's peter.

Being new to this I could not see a forum about passive pre amps.
I'll just leave it then.
Thank's for your time.
Cheers,
Simon.

[Peter Daniel]

I only meant that the replies could be better (more useful). Here's a link to a passive preamp thread: Passive Preamp

Those were the days when the advice (on this forum) was actually worth something.