[andyr]

Just FYI, O fellow AKSAphiles, I experienced a crushing demonstration the other day of how the 30awg solid-core wire which I had been using as hookup wire in all my AKSA kit (between RCAs and PCBs) and for ICs, is destroying my sound!!  

I went over to a friend of mine who has the same phono stage, except he used VdH D502 Hybrid wire to connect the output to the RCAs.  This is stranded wire in total about 25awg, with one wire for 'hot' and one for 'ground' inside the shield.

Whereas I used 30awg solid-core.

We played some Prokofief which had some lovely base drum action.  Through my mate's phono stage, this came through loud and clear (and his speakers deliver top-notch bass!).  Then we substituted my phono stage ... and the bass was almost gone!

We then ripped out the 4 x 8" lengths of 30awg wire and replaced it with some fairly ordinary "microphone cable" which was 25awg.  Lo and behold ... the bass was there now!     Amazing!!  A lousy 8" of thin wire was enough to destroy the base!

So I now have to take apart 3 AKSAs, a GK-1 and a set of active crossovers to replace all this wire.  And rebuild all my bloody ICs!  

What I will now use is 24awg, solid-core ... so all youse guys who have been using the Belden 1585a which Hugh supplies, are fine!

Regards,

Andy

[Malcolm Fear]

Hi Andy
Have you tried the stuff I sent you (multi strand silver coated copper)?
I re-wired everything in my system with it. I prefer it to the Belden CAT 5 stuff.

[andyr]

Hi Andy
Have you tried the stuff I sent you (multi strand silver coated copper)?
I re-wired everything in my system with it. I prefer it to the Belden CAT 5 stuff.

Hi, Malcolm,

Yes, I used all 150' of it (well, 149' to be exact!   ) to make up a pair of ICs which will ultimately get used for active subs but, in the meantime, are now my main ICs from GK-1 to active crossovers.

What I'm using inside my amps etc. is not Belden Cat 5 but 24awg, solid-core teflon-coated XLO Cu wire from Michael Percy (supposedly 6 x 9s purity) ... ie. essentially the same but maybe higher quality?  At US69c/ft, certainly higher priced!!  

Regards,

Andy

[mb]

Hi Andy
Have you tried the stuff I sent you (multi strand silver coated copper)?
I re-wired everything in my system with it. I prefer it to the Belden CAT 5 stuff.

Sorry to jump into this, but FWIW:

When I started on my AKSA, Hugh was quite forthright in cautioning me against silver plated multistrand hookup. He was right.

I've since gone through most combinations except cat 5. The 'final' choice, if there's such is solid core 24ga silver for hookup, thicker (10-12ga) solid core copper for power, esp. ground buses. To my ears solid core has a coherence and clarity that distinguishes it immediately from multistrand, esp. fine multistrand. In contrast the silver coated wire had clarity but some noticeable grain too.

Cu v. Ag? After running-in, I don't hear a large difference, not as much as between 12, 24 and 33ga.

Andy: are you using silver or copper? Any of the super-high purity (ie. expensive!) stuff?

[andyr]

Sorry to jump into this, but FWIW:

When I started on my AKSA, Hugh was quite forthright in cautioning me against silver plated multistrand hookup. He was right.

I've since gone through most combinations except cat 5. The 'final' choice, if there's such is solid core 24ga silver for hookup, thicker (10-12ga) solid core copper for power, esp. ground buses. To my ears solid core has a coherence and clarity that distinguishes it immediately from multistrand, esp. fine multistrand. In contrast the the silver coated wire had clarity but some noticeable grain too.

Cu v. Ag? After running-in, I don't hear a large difference, not as much as between 12, 24 and 33ga.

Andy: are you using silver or copper? Any of the super-high purity (ie. expensive!) stuff? ...

Hi, mb,

Yes, I too am a fan of solid-core wire, from the "coherence" point of view.  That's why, as I posted, I am using teflon-coated, solid-core 24awg Cu hookup wire inside the cases.  The XLO wire I use is US 69c/ft.  I am not convinced that pure Ag wire is better ... so I haven't started to use it.

For my "main" IC, as I said, I am now using Mal's silver-coated Cu stranded wire because it is far easier to make up an 11m IC with this than using my normal "recipe".  At some stage, I'll use this for a sub (from the GK-1 sub-out connections) and make up a solid-core IC for my active crossovers.

Where do you get 10awg solid-core Cu wire from, BTW?  The thickest solid-core I can find here in Oz is about 13.3awg and I would like to use thicker for DC rails and earth busses.  I read on Cable Asylum that 12awg mil-spec teflon-coated silver-plated copper is good for DC rails.  

Regards,

Andy

[Malcolm Fear]

Hi Andy
The stuff I have comes in lots of thicknesses. I have a run of 4 core that is about as thick as a pencil.

[Malcolm Fear]

Hi MB
I was have been into the hook up wire scene for a few years (thanks to Jon Risch on Audio Asylum). On a trip to USA in Sept 2001, i purchased some CAT 5 (solid core, teflon coated). I used it for everything.
I was also anti multi strand silver coated (I had never heard it, I was just against it, probably from stuff on Audio Asylum).
I went back to USA last year and called in to see Scott Faller (runs the Gateway forum here). He raved about this multi stranded silver coated copper, with a fused teflon wrap, with a silver coated copper shield, with an outer coating of fused teflon.
Scott gave me a sample of it. I made up some cables, loaned them around to friends. We all preferred it to the CAT 5.
I ordered a 1000 foot reel.
I love it.
Have a look at the bottom of http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/1104/joeaudiophile3.htm
for a discussion from Scott.

Scott Faller wrote for TNT and now writes for Enjoy the Music.
I purchased the wire from http://www.worldwidewire.com/

[mb]

Thanks for the replies.

Andy: my thick solid core source? Sorry, it was just a short length that came with some other DIY kit ordered from Taiwan, and I don't see it available separately.

Malcolm: thanks for the additional info. The silver coated m/s wire you describe is a *lot* more complex than the off-the-shelf Belden silver coated teflon sleeved cable.  Sounds interesting..

[Malcolm Fear]

Hi MB
I do wonder if the fusing of the teflon coatings have anything to do with the sound. I would say that the cable is not very compressible. I get the feeling that you could put a chair leg on the cable and sit on the chair without deforming the wire. Perhaps the wire doesn't move around much? I don't know.
This wire is shielded, but I don't connect the shield at all.