Solid vs stranded wire in amplifier circuits

[bereanbill]

OK...another musing from this toob noob. What is the logic regarding stranded vs solid wire in amplifier circuts? All vintage amps I have worked on have stranded wire...easier to manipulate because it's more flexible ? The amp I just built...with LOTS of help from this forum...I used solid wire. Probably about 22ga...leftovers from my day job and proper colors as well. I like it because you can keep it routed where you want it and it is easier to insert into crowded terminals. Any input? Advantages/disadvantages of either?

[aardvarkash10]

wire is only usable if its oxygen-free, teflon coated, cryogenically treated and available from a single supplier by invitation only. Outside of those specifics, any wire will fatally degrade the signal path, inject noise, delete bits from a data stream, switch your fridge off overnight and leave your dog pregnant. Sheesh. It must be true - Audiophile Noodlers Monthly tested it and said so.

[SpreadSpectrum]

Solid core wire has less resistance than stranded. Stranded has less tendency to break after being bent several times. I use solid core wire inside my amps. You wouldn't want a solid core wire for something like a power cord, the copper would eventually crack from being moved around.

[rdf]

Originally posted by bereanbill
I like it because you can keep it routed where you want it ....

That's a big advantage. It allows short direct shots between nodes and doesn't require harnessing or bundling interconnects to keep it neat. When your signal is swinging hundreds of volts with high drive impedance every pF counts.

[DHT112A]

Actually I believe stranded wire is lower in resistance. Electricity only flows on the surface and since stranded would have more surface it stands to reason it would be lower resistance.

http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee281/...esistances.pdf

[aardvarkash10]

really? How so, in practical, day to day application?

[aardvarkash10]

you must be a card-carrying member of Audiophool Elite Core to beleive that solid vs stranded has any realistically measurable difference at the sort of currents and voltages present in a valve amp. Capacitance possibly, but even then, only at the margins. Mechanical issues as noted are the BEST possible reason for selecting one over the other. IMHO.

[c2cthomas]

Originally posted by aardvarkash10
wire is only usable if its oxygen-free, teflon coated, cryogenically treated and available from a single supplier by invitation only. Outside of those specifics, any wire will fatally degrade the signal path, inject noise, delete bits from a data stream, switch your fridge off overnight and leave your dog pregnant. Sheesh. It must be true - Audiophile Noodlers Monthly tested it and said so.

AND Silver coated and sleeved in raw silk insulation

You'll get your best improvements with proper routing, using shielded signal input lines, and twisting leads that need to be twisted (like AC filament wires). Well - using the proper gauge of wire to carry the required amount of current helps a lot too!!

[SpreadSpectrum]

Actually I believe stranded wire is lower in resistance. Electricity only flows on the surface and since stranded would have more surface it stands to reason it would be lower resistance.

I'm having trouble understanding how stranded 16-ga wire has more cross sectional area than solid, unless the overall diameter of the stranded bundle is larger than the solid core, in which case I have learned something today which would be a good thing.

Skin effect is frequency dependent and is quite a bit deeper than these strands are thick for audio frequencies. Read the wikipedia article on skin effect. There is a nice table for skin depth vs. frequency for copper.

you must be a card-carrying member of Audiophool Elite Core to beleive that solid vs stranded has any realistically measurable difference at the sort of currents and voltages present in a valve amp. Capacitance possibly, but even then, only at the margins. Mechanical issues as noted are the BEST possible reason for selecting one over the other. IMHO.

I never said it was measureable in a valve amp

I believe RDF was saying you could route neatly and not run wires parallel and bundled. This could have a measurable difference in some situations. In all but extreme cases I would expect it not to.

Really mechanical reasons are the right answer to use solid core, just don't use it where the wires will flex or vibrate!

Trust me, I'm no Audiophool. I'm one of the biggest skeptics here. I also understand that it takes only one counterexample to disprove a theorem. Never say never unless the answer really is NEVER.

[DHT112A]

Sources where "anyone can edit it" are not credible.