I will have to reacquaint myself with the cookbook before settling on anything, but I had silver or copper foil cables in mind. Obtaining the right foil could be a challenge though.
Mike Morrow uses solid core small gauge individually insulated wire. In my first speakers I built I used solid core copper insulated wire I bought at Lowe's that they use for thermostats I believe. It was small gauge but not too small and it was easy to work with and solder and cheap. Maybe I'll do that again.
I've tried it with *copper sourced from foil inductors - not as good as a good multi-strand for detail reproduction IMO, particularly for the tweeter. (..if the driver has lots of Mms, like a subwoofer, then I go for much lower gauge higher purity copper wire, and other than its softness - I really don't care about the manufacture of the cable.)
*Allen of course spec'ed silver.
OCC (copper or silver) wire tends to improve the result with low or no stridency, I also like mostly cotton sheathing for the midrange.
Allen Wright has both copper and silver foil cables in his cookbook, I think he preferred the copper version. I will try it, I currently use nordost solarwind cables, let’s see how it compares. The high capacitance of foil cables may tax some amps I believe, not sure how to anticipate that. Allen loathed stranded cable too but the cable book was written a long time ago, and some things may have changed since then.
Ex. gauge alone for respective drivers often allows for differences to be audible, which isn't something you can account for with loudspeaker cables. With loudspeaker cables it's often a matter of higher current capability with lower gauge cables being a priority - and those types of wires often trade-off something to achieve that. (..and I think it's why the foil cables often do a better job of balancing that desire for lower gauge while attempting to retain the (sometimes) benefits of a smaller gauge wire - same thing for woven litz construction.)
Of course there are several other reasons as well like the environment the wires are in - in the loudspeaker (vs. out of the loudspeaker), or all the passive components and their connections "behind" a loudspeaker cable (..part of the reason why lower gauge cables tend to sound better).
Of course there are several other reasons as well like the environment the wires are in - in the loudspeaker (vs. out of the loudspeaker), or all the passive components and their connections "behind" a loudspeaker cable (..part of the reason why lower gauge cables tend to sound better).
Been out of the loop for a few days and now need to get some replies up-to-date.
I have plenty of 3R9 10W (Elsinore) on hand now, just received more than 50. I have some 1R8 10W (Hamlet) on order and they should be here in a matter of days. I thought that if I did not know whether it was for Elsinores or Hamlets, I would simply include both and you fit the one you need.
Re 1.2uF, they are indeed a bit rarer but as per the Parts List, Jantzen do make them. If you cannot get them, you can use 1uF if not 100% perfect, still more than adequate. Do not go up in value. Also, 1uF X2 type polypropylene caps are more than adequate for the job. Even after that, you still have an option of adding 0.18uF or 0.22uF in parallel.
If you cannot get the right inductor value, you can indeed unwind a bit higher value. These days meters that measure inductance are easy to get.
I have made a correction to the webpage, where it said Hamlet Mk-6 with NRXC driver was meant to read:
Elsinore Mk-6 Parts List (using older discontinued NRXC drivers):
Maybe that had a part in the confusion?
Recently I have been using Teflon Silver on Copper wire. The name is "Brand Rex" and SPC00448A002 and you can get it in 25 metres or 100 metres.
As you may know or may not know, I had a little bit to do with that book. The whole issue of stranded versus single core (or flat ribbon) is a little bit more nuanced. We looked at the work done by Robert Fulton, particularly with copper wire which has hot and cold spots, so that current flowing down would jumb strands and they did, would cause noise and the surface of copper to darken and even in some cases, over a long period of constant use in recording studios, would even go black. One of Fulton's trick was to open up the power cables, carve them open and show them the discolouration inside. Put silver on copper, I am told is a fairly clean method of plating (van den Hul even explained to us that it can be done mechanically through a die with a sleave of copper on the outside - the silver is pressed into the surface of the copper).
Allen got into quite a talk about the hot-spots in cables with Fulton. He was thought a crackpot by many, but he was anything but that. Allen dedicated the book to him.
I am not a metallurgist, but I have friends who are, so I don't want to appear as a knowing all. The stranded wire I use is high-quality copper (OFC type) and has 19 strands (avoids hot-spots of copper stranded) and is then mechanically well damped by a Teflon coating. It is not too expensive, so if anybody here wants to try it, it is readily available.
I have plenty of 3R9 10W (Elsinore) on hand now, just received more than 50. I have some 1R8 10W (Hamlet) on order and they should be here in a matter of days. I thought that if I did not know whether it was for Elsinores or Hamlets, I would simply include both and you fit the one you need.
Re 1.2uF, they are indeed a bit rarer but as per the Parts List, Jantzen do make them. If you cannot get them, you can use 1uF if not 100% perfect, still more than adequate. Do not go up in value. Also, 1uF X2 type polypropylene caps are more than adequate for the job. Even after that, you still have an option of adding 0.18uF or 0.22uF in parallel.
If you cannot get the right inductor value, you can indeed unwind a bit higher value. These days meters that measure inductance are easy to get.
I have made a correction to the webpage, where it said Hamlet Mk-6 with NRXC driver was meant to read:
Elsinore Mk-6 Parts List (using older discontinued NRXC drivers):
Maybe that had a part in the confusion?
Recently I have been using Teflon Silver on Copper wire. The name is "Brand Rex" and SPC00448A002 and you can get it in 25 metres or 100 metres.
As you may know or may not know, I had a little bit to do with that book. The whole issue of stranded versus single core (or flat ribbon) is a little bit more nuanced. We looked at the work done by Robert Fulton, particularly with copper wire which has hot and cold spots, so that current flowing down would jumb strands and they did, would cause noise and the surface of copper to darken and even in some cases, over a long period of constant use in recording studios, would even go black. One of Fulton's trick was to open up the power cables, carve them open and show them the discolouration inside. Put silver on copper, I am told is a fairly clean method of plating (van den Hul even explained to us that it can be done mechanically through a die with a sleave of copper on the outside - the silver is pressed into the surface of the copper).
Allen got into quite a talk about the hot-spots in cables with Fulton. He was thought a crackpot by many, but he was anything but that. Allen dedicated the book to him.
I am not a metallurgist, but I have friends who are, so I don't want to appear as a knowing all. The stranded wire I use is high-quality copper (OFC type) and has 19 strands (avoids hot-spots of copper stranded) and is then mechanically well damped by a Teflon coating. It is not too expensive, so if anybody here wants to try it, it is readily available.
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OK, so I was wrong P.E. (Parts Express) has the .05mH coil...and I just found they have the 3R9 resistor, so at this point the ONLY component I'm missing is the 1R8...and since it took me 2 days or so to find the 3R9 on P.E. I would not quite rule out that they do not have it...LOL. P.E. search engines SUCKS! Basically Joe, if you cane say specifically what you are sending me, or alternatively I can tell you what I have not been able to source, and if you can send that...which is the 1R8.
I have some questions about cabinet thickness I am saving. There are no 25mm plywood, or MDF in the states. I am considering doing what I did before, which is laminating 3/16 HDF together. It worked really good, and it's a lot easier to work with than a big sheet of 4'x8' MDF or plywood. MDF weighs a ton.
If you can get 3R9 10W or even 5W, you have the option of paralleling them. A value between 1R8 and 2R max is OK. But no higher than 2R
Cool...I get more of these then....Jantzen Audio 3.90 Ohm 10 Watt Audio-Grade Superes Resistor
I used this in the Elsinores, Acousta-Stuf Polyfill 1 lb. Bag Speaker Cabinet Sound Damping Material I think it's inside my Nomex 164's and also used this in the Nomex...can't remember if i used the 1/2 in or 3/4 ...Sonic Barrier 1/2" Acoustic Sound Damping Foam with PSA 18" x 24"
I really like the Acousta-Stuf. I think I used spray adhesive to get it to stick to the walls.
I really like the Acousta-Stuf. I think I used spray adhesive to get it to stick to the walls.
Attachments
Joe,
1. There is Monacor MDM-4 which is blend of wool and polyester:
MDM-4 - Damping Material - Monacor UK | Monacor UK
Should be very close to your original spec?
2. One builder in the USA (SRMcGee) used a combination of Ultratouch denim insulation (50mm / 2" thick), and bonded Dacron (25mm / 1" thick):
The "Elsinore Project" Thread
1. There is Monacor MDM-4 which is blend of wool and polyester:
MDM-4 - Damping Material - Monacor UK | Monacor UK
Should be very close to your original spec?
2. One builder in the USA (SRMcGee) used a combination of Ultratouch denim insulation (50mm / 2" thick), and bonded Dacron (25mm / 1" thick):
The "Elsinore Project" Thread
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Damping material does NO effect close to the wall since the air is standing still there. The pressure maximum is close to the boundaries, and so is velocity minimum.
The damping material shall be placed close to the velosity maximum which is close to the backside of the speaker element. And in the geometrically CENTER of the box.
Sorry for my capital letters...
The damping material shall be placed close to the velosity maximum which is close to the backside of the speaker element. And in the geometrically CENTER of the box.
Sorry for my capital letters...
In my experience, there is really no rule as to where you place the damping material, unless you take time to measure the difference, generally we try different material and different stuffing methods until the sound is right. Too close to the driver, it actually creates pressure loading on the driver where in some cases, will cause the mid frequencies to be overly damped, which for woofer covering frequencies below 100 Hz only is not a problem. I will be testing some various stuffing methods on a Behringer B300 soon along with other mods.