Something very special or not? Maybe a homebrewed clone of something esoteric, or just a ordinary zip cord from your local lamp shop?
The industrial (24 V?) single strand solid core wire sized for a low voltage drop over distance Altec provided with its 500 Hz/2nd order XO, so it's tiny, something like 20 - 24 ga, but been so many decades ago now I don't remember for sure.
Regardless, assuming your system's requirements (amps, peak volts over 'x' distance) are met with lamp cord, you can spend more $$$, but won't get any better performance unless going with solid core, though doubt it would be audible in the vast majority of apps.
Regardless, assuming your system's requirements (amps, peak volts over 'x' distance) are met with lamp cord, you can spend more $$$, but won't get any better performance unless going with solid core, though doubt it would be audible in the vast majority of apps.
Ill stick my kneck out and highly recommend neotech upocc copper solid core or stranded and yes it sounds fabulous. Want more fabulous -ness then go for the neotech upocc silver stranded or solid core and yes good sound does cost money. Good luck.
Hi,
my opinion on this is that the audible effects are mostly psychological and as such valid, but not "real". Reason is, on a short cable the electrical properties are negligible compared to properties of a voice coil, or multi-way speaker including passive network. As long as the wire is some sensible thickness, like any wire sold as speaker wire, or mains wire, it should work equally well. Just make sure the wire doesn't rattle inside the box and be mechanically audible.
If it makes you feel better, by all means use what ever you feel like. If you are making speaker with golden lining then why not paint the wires as well. I'm quite sure I couldn't hear any difference on a blind test but it doesn't mean you don't, people hear sounds 🙂 I'd spend the effort and currency units to acoustic treatment for example, or making acoustically better enclosure, or top of the pops drivers, all of which would make audible difference.
my opinion on this is that the audible effects are mostly psychological and as such valid, but not "real". Reason is, on a short cable the electrical properties are negligible compared to properties of a voice coil, or multi-way speaker including passive network. As long as the wire is some sensible thickness, like any wire sold as speaker wire, or mains wire, it should work equally well. Just make sure the wire doesn't rattle inside the box and be mechanically audible.
If it makes you feel better, by all means use what ever you feel like. If you are making speaker with golden lining then why not paint the wires as well. I'm quite sure I couldn't hear any difference on a blind test but it doesn't mean you don't, people hear sounds 🙂 I'd spend the effort and currency units to acoustic treatment for example, or making acoustically better enclosure, or top of the pops drivers, all of which would make audible difference.
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Oops forgot to mention what I'm using, I'm using copper cable from box store, the one that I could afford and was readily available. Not the cheapest, nor the most expensive one, but the sensible one.
Wikipedia has numbers laid out nicely, so you can get quick view on magnitude of things and make your own conclusions what cable is suitable for your project:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_wire
Wikipedia has numbers laid out nicely, so you can get quick view on magnitude of things and make your own conclusions what cable is suitable for your project:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_wire
generic OFC copper wire is good enough, thickness depends on the power it needs to handle, but for relative low power hifi (untill a few hundreds watt) 1.5mm/14gauge wire should be good enough. Pro audio use 2.4 or even 4mm wire cables (but then we are talking about kW's of power). Long distances also need thicker wire. (but speakers are not big enough to make this relevant). And if you use very low power speakers and want to raise the q of the driver (typically fullrange drivers) a cat5 cable wire is good enough. Solid core or stranded is a bit a subjective debate, i prefer stranded but both work. Silver wire also work, but is not better, it's actual worse as it rasises the treble, but so minimal that it's hardly worth thinking about it.
Waxx
"Silver wire also work, but is not better, it's actual worse as it rasises the treble, but so minimal that it's hardly worth thinking about it."
Are you saying that in your view silver wire "creates" excess treble, and that this is not actually there in the original signal?
As far as I can see, that would be difficult, I've always found silver interconnects just more resolving. So this would infer that copper leads "dulled down" the HF previously.
"Silver wire also work, but is not better, it's actual worse as it rasises the treble, but so minimal that it's hardly worth thinking about it."
Are you saying that in your view silver wire "creates" excess treble, and that this is not actually there in the original signal?
As far as I can see, that would be difficult, I've always found silver interconnects just more resolving. So this would infer that copper leads "dulled down" the HF previously.
yes, but so little it does not matter. It was measured on ASR long time ago and the difference is like 0.01dB at 20kHz. So it does it, but in reality it does not matter. Silver is faster oxidising and way more expensive altough. And many "silver wire" is actually copper with a silver layer on the outside. For HF (above 1MHz) use it does matter as the effect there is much bigger.
Silver is brighter and shinier than copper. Everyone can see that with their own eyes....
Not impossible in certain conditions -especially if teflon insultated. A lousy triboelectric combination since, given the right mechanical conditions you can get measurable ringing. YMMV, but it's happened to muggins here in a different situation, and others too -including Pano, if memory serves (with apologies if memory is not serving 😉 ).
Personally I just use whatever ensures minimum voltage drop for the application, and doesn't raise capacitance or inductance excessively for the loop-length relative to a shotgun pair with the closest spacing of the nominal +/- legs (not really, but we'll go with it) possible for the guage used.
"Silver is faster oxidising"
As the silver oxide is only on the surface of the wire, when using soldered connections this would have no effect. If you are now including silver plated copper conductors this brings in yet another type. I was only referring to solid silver conductors.
The "shinyness" is difficult to see either inside a speaker cabinet or inside insulation so I'll have to take your word on that.
As the silver oxide is only on the surface of the wire, when using soldered connections this would have no effect. If you are now including silver plated copper conductors this brings in yet another type. I was only referring to solid silver conductors.
The "shinyness" is difficult to see either inside a speaker cabinet or inside insulation so I'll have to take your word on that.
Rationale for this subject, and many other things in speakers, to me at least, is that even small things can matter with measurements, but if put to perspective of hearing then perhaps not. Like, hearing probably changes by the mood and coffee consumption more than if its silver or copper or aluminum wire inside the speaker. Or if curtains are in or out, refrigerator motor churring or not, friends visiting or staying alone inside for many weeks straight. Move head few centimeters from optimal listening position and the treble changes quite a lot unless very good directivity speakers, but still might be unnoticed, especially if not concentrating on it. What if one day when you return from work someone swapped the internal wire, would you hear that something is wrong with the sound?
Basically, its very unlikely ones listening condition is such that all small differences were really audible day in day out. But, for top top performance it probably pays out to tweak every variable, just be sure all the important ones are tweaked first to hear changes on the less important ones. Start from positioning, then room acoustics, then speaker acoustics, drivers, and only now one is on the electrical domain, study it only to find out the "high" impedance of "bad" wire could actually sound better on occasions and so on 😉 Listen the difference of two specimen and what ever bias you had probably makes the sound differ... day in day out until bias changes.
Basically, its very unlikely ones listening condition is such that all small differences were really audible day in day out. But, for top top performance it probably pays out to tweak every variable, just be sure all the important ones are tweaked first to hear changes on the less important ones. Start from positioning, then room acoustics, then speaker acoustics, drivers, and only now one is on the electrical domain, study it only to find out the "high" impedance of "bad" wire could actually sound better on occasions and so on 😉 Listen the difference of two specimen and what ever bias you had probably makes the sound differ... day in day out until bias changes.
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Having designed a couple of connectors in the past (AMP and MA Com) it was known that beyond a specified number of insertions HF performance of connectors did drop off a bit. This would though be relavent to interconnects rather than speaker connections that are in many cases "Made for life".
All of the HF products (telecoms) a saw made, would have real PTFE insulation (not FTP).
These subjective issues raise much in audio and do tend to "lead" one on a circular path I suppose. Now I tend to use solid silver for HF drivers and silver plated OFC copper (left over Aeroplane type, PTFE, insulated) for all other drivers. But each to their own.
All of the HF products (telecoms) a saw made, would have real PTFE insulation (not FTP).
These subjective issues raise much in audio and do tend to "lead" one on a circular path I suppose. Now I tend to use solid silver for HF drivers and silver plated OFC copper (left over Aeroplane type, PTFE, insulated) for all other drivers. But each to their own.
Thick OFC copper multistrand test/measurement wire made by MC/Staubli:- 2.5mm CSA, Silivolt-1V, OFC copper, wire, Silicone Jkt.
Belden 1313A, 1311A, 1309A. For subwoofer double run of Belden 5T00UP. My speaker cables outside the speakers are made of Belden 1313A.
Just keep in mind that going up in CSA does almost nothing in some instances, run a skin depth calculator for Frequencies 1,5 -20khz and you will see that at the upper frequencies a large solid core wire, does nothing but impede the signal and generate excess heat.
Also keep in mind that if you put a lot of vibration on a solid core cable, it will suffer from fatigue fracture and eventually break.
That is the reason they are forbidden to use for electrical installations on ships etc.
Multi core avoids those 2 issues at least.
Use what the application requires.
Also keep in mind that if you put a lot of vibration on a solid core cable, it will suffer from fatigue fracture and eventually break.
That is the reason they are forbidden to use for electrical installations on ships etc.
Multi core avoids those 2 issues at least.
Use what the application requires.