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Speaker Wire


LD2210

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  I have switched to Canare. It is insane expensive, a dollar a foot for the woofer run and 31 cents a foot for the mid/tweeter. 

  This is Star Quad construction. The AK6 and AL5 come wired internally with a different star quad wire. 

  If I ever upgrade speakers to AK6 or AL5 the wires will match. 

  It is a 25 dollar set of biwire cables. 

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I think I will stick with my 14AWG Oxygen free for my short runs @ $23 per 100 feet.

 

I know for a fact this wire can outperform my old abused ears, and the nonexistent livingroom sound treatments. :lol:

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5 hours ago, dtel said:

I think I will stick with my 14AWG Oxygen free for my short runs @ $23 per 100 feet.

 

I know for a fact this wire can outperform my old abused ears, and the nonexistent livingroom sound treatments. :lol:

That's right.

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Lamp cord is not OFC and will oxidize. Oxides are non-conductive. Don't see much point in using this stuff long term if you're even remotely serious about the hobby. If you can't handle a buck or so a foot for something decent, take up knitting or something.

I‘ s been using the same 16ga lamp cord for forty years. No oxidation here. Bought on a spool and I’vs never knitted. All it has to do is pass current and it does it well, just can’t brag about the price.


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11 minutes ago, Tony Whitlow said:


I‘ s been using the same 16ga lamp cord for forty years. No oxidation here. Bought on a spool and I’vs never knitted. All it has to do is pass current and it does it well, just can’t brag about the price.


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Oh come now Tony........you've never been tempted to spend $2500 for a pair of speaker leads/wires?

How about $40,000?

 

I like ur style, Tony :)

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33 minutes ago, Tony Whitlow said:


I‘ s been using the same 16ga lamp cord for forty years. No oxidation here. Bought on a spool and I’vs never knitted. All it has to do is pass current and it does it well, just can’t brag about the price.


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40 years? You must be colorblind.

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11 hours ago, JohnKuthe said:

Congrats! You created a new audiophile cabling technique! Now run with it! No pun intended!

 

The technique for using Cat5 for speaker cables has been around for a long time. It's a pain to twist together the lengths, though.

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On 5/14/2019 at 10:02 AM, Tony Whitlow said:


Color blind?

 

 

16 gauge lamp cord oxidizes faster than just about anything else (unless it's tin annealed copper), or terminated with a good connector and soldered. If it's bare wire, try stripping it back -- you'll notice how much lighter the wire is. A lot of oxidation will add resistance between the amplifier and loudspeaker.

 

I'm no wire freak by any stretch, but I do prefer a good tin annealed copper with better than average insulation. Like I said, a little over a buck a foot. Not exactly break the bank stuff going on here.

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16 gauge lamp cord oxidizes faster than just about anything else (unless it's tin annealed copper), or terminated with a good connector and soldered. If it's bare wire, try stripping it back -- you'll notice how much lighter the wire is. A lot of oxidation with add resistance between the amplifier and loudspeaker, not exactly ideal.
 
I'm no wire freak by any stretch, but I do prefer a good tin annealed copper with better than average insulation. Like I said, a little over a buck a foot. Not exactly break the bank stuff going on here.

Mine are fine. They pass current and that’s all that’s needed.


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1 hour ago, Tony Whitlow said:


I‘ s been using the same 16ga lamp cord for forty years. No oxidation here. Bought on a spool and I’vs never knitted. All it has to do is pass current and it does it well, just can’t brag about the price.


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Every lamp cord I've seen connected to speaker terminals get brown and nasty from oxidation. 

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59 minutes ago, Tony Whitlow said:


So? Either they work or they don’t.

Copper oxides don't conduct electricity, so it increases the electrical resistance of the wire to your speaker. Also, the oxidation can spread to your speaker terminals. 

 

Lamp cord is meant to connect to...lamps.

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I am still using some 12ga lamp cord I bought at least 30 years ago, and just stripped some insulation off to make some new connections. Amazingly clean and bright. I imagine that has to do with the composition of the vinyl covering. Even what was already exposed had very little oxidation. I would like more of this, but I can't make out the name from what is embossed in the plastic. What I have is very flexible and has way more strands than anything I have bought in the past ten years.

 

Bruce

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12 minutes ago, Marvel said:

I imagine that has to do with the composition of the vinyl covering ...

Right. Some inexpensive wire is insulated with a poor quality PVC, which interacts chemically with the wire. It's hit or miss with the really inexpensive stuff.

 

"I just spent $10,000 on loudspeakers and electronics."

 

"A DOLLAR A FOOT!"

 

This place kills me. 

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If only Radio Shack was still in business....

 

Their twisted flat wire was cheap and high quality, my 20 + year old wire still looks like the day it was purchased.

 

Dad used lamp cord back in the day, it did green up like it was kept outside.

 

As long as you keep an eye out and know what to look for its nothing to loose sleep over.

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