[HT cOz]

I'm curious if you guys run smaller gauge wires?  What has been your experiences with say 18-24 gauge speaker wires?

Kind Regards,
Robert

[DeadFish]

I never thought about changing the guage of my wires when I went down in wattage....Duh!
Good question!  Any thoughts, anyone?

[Freo-1]

Smaller gauge wire will not help.  All the usual EE principals about XLR (capacitance, inductance, and resistance) still apply.

[planet10]

I happily use 24 g solid core.

dave

[rodge827]

DNM has developed speaker wire based on speaker efficiency :

Precision (smaller gauge) is for speakes that are 90db or higher.

Stereo (larger gauge) is for speaker less than 90db.

The Precision has been in production for something like 20 years and the Stereo was recently developed. DNM found that a heavier gauge of their solid core copper speaker wire, sounded better for lower efficiency speakers.
I used Precision in a Lowther Horn (103db) 300b set up with great results. I'm currently using Stereo with my Shelby + Kroll monitors (86db) and solid state system with the same great results.

Rodge

http://www.dnm.co.uk/datasheets/ThreeDNMStereoCablesUKversion2.pdf

   

[Quiet Earth]

I like DNM speaker cable too. I used to use their stereo version of DNM to bi-wire my Zingali speakers when I owned them. Those speakers were about 94dB eff. at aprox. 6 ohms. I used the same 8 watt 300B amp to drive them.  Pretty good value that DNM speaker wire.

I'm curious if you guys run smaller gauge wires?  What has been your experiences with say 18-24 gauge speaker wires?

I honestly don't know the actual gauge of my present speaker wire, but it is super fine litz wire, and not very much of it (17 strands). I would say that it is a small gauge and it is just fine for a low power application. I never considered that it might actually work better than a larger guage cable made of the same wire though . . .  just because the amplifier power is low and the speaker efficiency is high. Is that what you mean?

Or are you just wondering if 18 to 24 gauge is big enough? If it is good quality wire then I would say yes.

[Speedskater]

The two things that should determine speaker cable wire gage for most of us are:

a] Cable length,  the longer the speaker cable the heavier the wire.
b] Loudspeaker impedance, the lower the speaker impedance the heavier the wire.

The rules for a high power PA system may be different.

[jagtek]

For my hammer clones I use 2 strands of cat5 cable in a twisted pair.

[macrojack]

Does any of this apply when you are using mono amplifiers within 18 inches of the speaker terminals?

I just ordered the Hypex modules and I intend to incorporate them in some sort of package with my outboard passive crossovers. The speakers are very efficient (98db) (8 ohm) and the amps are rated at 200 watts per channel.
So is there anything I need to know about speaker wire optimization for this configuration? I hadn't given the matter any thought at all before I saw this thread.

[rodge827]

macrojack,

When I rewired my Lowther Medallion 2's with 2' of DNM Precision I was awestruck by the difference. I have no idea what the DNM replaced since I purchased the cabinets used from the 3rd owner and there were no markrings on the provided cables. The cable length from amp to speaker was 9'. At first I used the DNM cable with the provided internal cable and the sound never pleased me, very peaky and borderline shrill. The 2' of replacemant cable made all the difference.   

DNM is very reasonable, some would say a cheap cable, and can be purchased in a stereo pair by the foot. An authorized dealer would be the best to consult with about your unique needs, 98db with a 200w Hypex amp. Perhaps purchase both and decide what configuration you prefer.

I know this doesn't exactly answer your question, but it might help some.

Rodge

http://www.simplifiaudio.com/complete_systems/dnm/cables.html

   

[FullRangeMan]

My 2 cents are:
Low wattage fans are using single wire, low gauge speaker cable to up the impedance the amp see, for years.
But powerful entities in the hi-end market proclaim this is heresy, and corrupts the music, and not hi-end.
Translation: this procedure is not fancy, not enough tech and not (hi)profitable for these manufacturers.

For a low wattage amp I would like a very short spaeker cable.

[Freo-1]

The shortest speaker length between amp and speaker is ALWAYS good advice.

[Les Lammers]

Cardas SE wire is a smaller gauge for high effiency speakers.

[FullRangeMan]

Seems these Cardas speakers cables are not Single Wire, but stranded by Golden Ratio, which looks the best crossing technique.
http://www.cardas.com/content.php?area=products&content_id=2&pagestring=Speaker&product_id=60

[DaveC113]

I'm going to make a star quad of some solid core upocc copper wire, so there will be 2 strands per leg. Not sure if I want to use 20 or 24 ga for use with my 5 wpc el34 SET amp and single driver speakers, anyone have any recommendations?

[Quiet Earth]

How about one of each? 

[DaveC113]

How about one of each?

Too much $$$ for me, but I could see making a short run of each gauge and trying it with one speaker.

[Quiet Earth]

No, what I meant was,,,    instead of using either two 20 ga or two 24 ga per leg, use a combination of one 20 and one 24 per leg.

Or try some smaller ga wires if that cost too much.

(per leg you mean per positive and per negative, right?)

[DaveC113]

No, what I meant was,,,    instead of using either two 20 ga or two 24 ga per leg, use a combination of one 20 and one 24 per leg.

Or try some smaller ga wires if that cost too much.

(per leg you mean per positive and per negative, right?)

Yeah, 2 wires per +/-, twisted in a star quad to minimize induction. I like the idea of using 1 of each gauge per leg, I have heard that can work well. I think I'll try it.

I'm currently using 18g mil spec teflon/silver coated wire in a star quad and am thinking the occ copper will be a little warmer. I recently replaced Kiwame cathode resistors in my amp with Mills, and the final filter cap in the PS with a Mundorf M-Tube Cap. Those were big upgrades but did change the character of the sound a bit. Going to try the gold plated occ copper magnet wire being sold by "Clairvoyant Cables" on ebay right now. It's a good price for occ copper wire if you snipe the auctions.

[coverto]

So is it fair to say that low-wattage amps are more susceptible (than higher-wattage amps) to the ill effects of long speaker cables?