Speaker Cable

[Lazarus Short]

I know the Tara Labs made a difference..

Tara cable is good stuff - I used to have some myself - lately I have been having good results with component video cable (Phillips PXT1000) with one of the three stripped off. You can get it really cheap, too, and I like that.

 

[laatsch55]

I'm kinda in Gibsonisns corner on this. Connections are as important as wires .

 

[ksrigg]

I agree Lee, the Tara Labs interconnects are the stuff. There are some good Audioquest interconnects out there (discontinued model) which are affordable..I think Tara And Audioquest both use the long grain copper in their cables and I think they both use double conductors with 95% shielding, for what it's worth..

 

[laatsch55]

Amen Sutton..

 

[NavLinear]

I agree Lee, the Tara Labs interconnects are the stuff. There are some good Audioquest interconnects out there (discontinued model) which are affordable..I think Tara And Audioquest both use the long grain copper in their cables and I think they both use double conductors with 95% shielding, for what it's worth..

Most of what I use for shielded cables has 95% shielding but I'm not familiar with long grain copper. I'll have to look that one up. What happens if it is short grain?

I do have some Tara Lab cables from the Larrt tho...

 

[ksrigg]

I'm not sure what it really means either. Only that Tara Labs and Audioquest both have this listed as a feature of their cables. I don't know that it means anything. My personal opinion is as long as you have a copper cable of a big enough gauge, you are good. As has been said here before....look at the wiring inside and amp, or inside the speakers. Most of the time, it's not silver coated gold, with blah blah...so.....I am not a cable snob. I have some of Larrt's interconnects, some Audioquest cables, and some from other makers. I just try not to use the little small gauge ones that come with an amp, or receiver or any of the ones that seem to appear and have the black and red and yellow RCA's attached to a tiny black wire. I'm not going to buy any $100.00+ interconnects, but I don't want to use the free ones either..

 

[Northwinds]

The first grade above normal high-purity copper is called Oxygen-Free High-Conductivity (OFHC) copper. OFHC is cast and drawn in a way that minimizes the oxygen content in the copper: approximately 40 PPM (parts per million) for OFHC compared to 235 PPM for normal copper. This drastically reduces the formation of copper oxides within the copper, substantially reducing the distortion caused by the grain boundaries. Additional improvement can be attributed to OFHC copper having longer grains (about 400 per foot), further reducing distortion. The sound of an OFHC copper cable is smoother, cleaner, and more dynamic than the same design made with standard high-purity copper. Not all OFHC is the same. Since the most important audible attributes are due to the length of the grains, we use the name Premium-Grade OFC to describe the very best OFHC

There is your explanation but I do not put any merit to it for the most part, especially with multi-strand copper that makes constant contact with other strands when wound together. I think that pretty much negates the "loss by jumping between grain boundries". I think this would more relate to single strand thick gauge copper wire

 

[JustMike]

[h=2]Industrial applications[edit][/h]For industrial applications, oxygen-free copper is valued more for its chemical purity than its electrical conductivity. OF/OFE grade copper is used in plasma deposition (sputtering) processes, including the manufacture of semiconductors and superconductor components, as well as in high vacuum devices such as particle accelerators. In any of these applications, the release of oxygen or other impurities can cause undesirable chemical reactions with other materials in the local environment.[SUP][7][/SUP]
[h=2]Use in home audio[edit][/h]The high-end speaker wire industry markets oxygen-free copper as having enhanced conductivity or other electrical properties that are supposedly advantageous toaudio signal transmission. However, conductivity specifications for common C11000 Electrolytic-Tough-Pitch (ETP) and higher-cost C10200 Oxygen-Free (OF) coppers are identical.[SUP][8][/SUP] Much more expensive C10100, a highly refined copper with silver impurities removed and oxygen reduced to 0.0005%, has only a one percent higher conductivity—insignificant in audio applications.[SUP][8][/SUP] OFC is nevertheless sold for both audio and video signals in audio playback systems and home cinema.[SUP][8][/SUP] By way of example, the resistance of most metallic conductors increases by about 1% for every 3 °C (5 °F) increase in temperature which means a small temperature rise would negate any benefit of having better conductors.
[h=2]Specification[edit][/h]Oxygen-free copper is typically specified according to the ASTM/UNS database.[SUP][3][/SUP] The UNS database includes many different compositions of high conductivity electrical copper. Of these three are widely used and two are considered oxygen-free.

• C10100 - also known as Oxygen-Free Electronic (OFE). This is a 99.99%pure copper with 0.0005% oxygen content. It achieves a minimum 101% IACS conductivity rating. This copper is finished to a final form in a carefully regulated, oxygen-free environment. Silver (Ag) is considered an impurity in the OFE chemical specification. This is also the most expensive of the three grades listed here.
• C10200 - also known as Oxygen-Free (OF). While OF is considered oxygen-free, its conductivity rating is no better than the more common ETP grade below. It has a 0.001% oxygen content, 99.95% purity and minimum 100% IACS conductivity. For the purposes of purity percentage, silver (Ag) content is counted as copper (Cu).
• C11000 - also known as Electrolytic-Tough-Pitch (ETP). This is the most common copper. It is universal for electrical applications. ETP has a minimum conductivity rating of 100% IACS and is required to be 99.9% pure. It has 0.02% to 0.04% oxygen content (typical). Most ETP sold today will meet or exceed the 101% IACS specification. As with OF copper, silver (Ag) content is counted as copper (Cu) for purity purposes.

 

[Lazarus Short]

​Mike, given what you've posted, there must be a lot of hype out there, as I've suspected for some time.

 

[Lazarus Short]

​Barbed wire would be difficult to insulate...bailing wire would work better.

 

[fitz43]

​Barbed wire would be difficult to insulate...bailing wire would work better.

Plasti-Dip?

 

[laatsch55]

Good problem solving there Doug!!

 

[Nick Danger]

Using some old photos: My DIY 14g, twisted back on itself, techflexed and finished with Nak banana connectors, cryo treated.

Sound no different to me than the 12g power cord I cut off an old steam mop and am currently using in the rig as speakers don't have 5 way binding posts installed on them.

Kable Direkt: snug connection, cheap, good shielding and small enough RCA connectors to fit my Pioneer 1020L which are right on top of one another. Note: RCA bodies are metal so throw a little heatshrink on 'em if you think that they are going to come in contact with each other.

 

[Lazarus Short]

That cryo treatment is funny! I LOL'd.

 

[Lazarus Short]

Rant time.

Needed speaker wire, as none of my sets were long enough, going from monoblocks to an integrated at the side of the room. Found on the 'bay a spool of 12-gauge "at least 150 feet" - well, it was only 130. That was enough wire, BUT it was that copper-plated aluminum crap. 1.4 ohms thru a 29-foot run, and it sounds nasty. I'm going to have to buy AGAIN! At least, it was cheap.

End rant.

 

[Fishoz]

New knowledge at your expense. Sorry and thank you!

 

[ksrigg]

Monoprice has some 12/4 gauge OFC that is priced right. That is the cheapest I have found for pure copper. Using two leads would give you about a 9 gauge cable. If that is too much, you could use 14/4 and get about 11 gauge, and it is even cheaper..If you want the cables made up for you, try apolloav on eBay. He makes cables cheaper than I can buy the connectors, wire and etc..Or is you want Canare cable you can go to Chromaleaf, and design your own..

 

[Lazarus Short]

Monoprice has some 12/4 gauge OFC that is priced right. That is the cheapest I have found for pure copper. Using two leads would give you about a 9 gauge cable. If that is too much, you could use 14/4 and get about 11 gauge, and it is even cheaper..If you want the cables made up for you, try apolloav on eBay. He makes cables cheaper than I can buy the connectors, wire and etc..Or is you want Canare cable you can go to Chromaleaf, and design your own..

Thanks - I'm going to see what's available locally, but I'll keep Monoprice in mind. Do they take PayPal?

 

[ksrigg]

I don't know about PayPal, but they have a "Pay with Amazon" icon on the site. They have the best prices I have found for raw cable....or wire....I got lucky with the pair I bought from apolloav. They had a pair of 16 ft cables with banana plugs and nicely finished for a starting bid of $59.00. I snagged them. The same cables had a buy it now price of $119.95. With shipping included, I think =I got a really great deal..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-awg-16ft...988?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d53fe920c

Here are the ones I got...

 

[Gepetto]

Rant time.

Needed speaker wire, as none of my sets were long enough, going from monoblocks to an integrated at the side of the room. Found on the 'bay a spool of 12-gauge "at least 150 feet" - well, it was only 130. That was enough wire, BUT it was that copper-plated aluminum crap. 1.4 ohms thru a 29-foot run, and it sounds nasty. I'm going to have to buy AGAIN! At least, it was cheap.

End rant.

That sucks if it was advertised as copper...