Philo said:
We can't know everything! In my case it's very little I know in audio electronics compared to what I don't know.
In cable matters there's article published in The Audio Amateur, called "Pooge-2", where they modified a Hafler DH-200 amp.
It's from 1981, and you can get a reprint from AudioXpress. That article and the one one capacitors by the same authors (W.Jung and R.Marsh) are essential reading. The latter you can get in the Web: search for "capacitors" and "marsh".
Do read Jon Risch articles on cables and other matters.
Carlos
Thanks, I have refered to the Belden site's "Cable College" for occasional info about cabling in general and have read some of Jon's site but, cursed with destructive RAM memory and having slept since then...
Speaker cable
2mm diameter wire is a bit too thick if it's solid core. Try the equivalent in thinner multiple wires (Litz), which for 2mm should probably be six #24 gauge wires.
Using pure silver wire for speaker cables can be an enormous expense which I don't think is worth it, except on low power systems. Pure silver seems to favor tube amps.
But trying thin silver wires for interconnects may be a good thing and the cost won't be too high. There are several suppliers of silver wire in the US, like:
http://www.a-msystems.com/physiology/products/wire/coatedsilverwire.asp
That's of teflon coated silver.
Carlos
fezz said:
2mm diameter wire is a bit too thick if it's solid core. Try the equivalent in thinner multiple wires (Litz), which for 2mm should probably be six #24 gauge wires.
Using pure silver wire for speaker cables can be an enormous expense which I don't think is worth it, except on low power systems. Pure silver seems to favor tube amps.
But trying thin silver wires for interconnects may be a good thing and the cost won't be too high. There are several suppliers of silver wire in the US, like:
http://www.a-msystems.com/physiology/products/wire/coatedsilverwire.asp
That's of teflon coated silver.
Carlos
Re: Speaker cable
yup, i've found that too. the sound of silver tends to be "faster" and highly detailed, but can be a little thin, so the natural "bloom" of tube gear tends to complement this nicely. i have still gotten nice results with the right solid state gear however.
a nice site for DIY parts:
http://www.hndme.com/
sort of like Michael Percy, but more limited selection and often better prices - very reasonable, about the best i've found for what he carries. he has very nice solid silver wire, no insulation, but you can just use teflon tubing and make twisted pairs for interconnect. using tubing also gives you a little air dieletric between the silver and teflon, though it does leave it a little more prone to oxidation.
carlmart said:
yup, i've found that too. the sound of silver tends to be "faster" and highly detailed, but can be a little thin, so the natural "bloom" of tube gear tends to complement this nicely. i have still gotten nice results with the right solid state gear however.
a nice site for DIY parts:
http://www.hndme.com/
sort of like Michael Percy, but more limited selection and often better prices - very reasonable, about the best i've found for what he carries. he has very nice solid silver wire, no insulation, but you can just use teflon tubing and make twisted pairs for interconnect. using tubing also gives you a little air dieletric between the silver and teflon, though it does leave it a little more prone to oxidation.
thanks for the help, i think i will just go for teflon coated copper wire as i dont see the point in paying alot of money for a very small difference - i also presume that buying pre-insulated wire requces oxidation of the wire?
good choice, solid-core copper is always a safe bet. the insulation will prevent oxidation, as long as it's a good inert one like PE, PP, or teflon (PVC reacts with copper). for low-level signals, try to stay smaller (above) 22 gauge or so - i like using very fine magnet wire myself. for speaker wire skin effect from large gauge solid conductors is stilll present but seems to be less of an issue... i've actually heard that with certain amps and speakers, solid-core 8 gauge wire from the hardware store is the very best speaker cable you can use, albeit monstrously stiff and unmanagable. all a matter of system dynamics though.
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