[skalos]

Audio fans,

Is there any reason using the foil "wire"that makes up Erse or any other high quality foil inductor can't be a great start in creating a DIY speaker wire?

I think one could un-roll a 12gauge foil inductor, leave the leads alone, attach whatever connector is appropriate to the leads, protect it with a sleeve, and you are ready to rock and roll.

Am I missing anything? 

How long is the wire in a 12gauge foil inductor of .47mh? Or, I should ask what size inductor would I need to build a 10ft. speaker wire?

[srb]

Foil inductors offer supposed advantages over wire inductors such as size reduction, better heat dissipation, reduction in voltage stresses between turns and greater mechanical strength, but these are all advantages for wound coils.  What advantages do expect to reap for non-coil straight wire applications?

Steve

[planet10]

Is there any reason using the foil "wire"that makes up Erse or any other high quality foil inductor can't be a great start in creating a DIY speaker wire?

I've done that. Longevity of the terminations was not great, but that is likely down to how i did it. In the end i went back to speaker wire made from a single twisted pair of solid core cryotreated CAT5.

dave

[Speedskater]

If you want to do something like that and I'm not sure why you would want to!  Remember this cable will place great capacitive loads on the power amplifier. But it would make a great low voltage DC power supply cable.

Go to an art craft store that has a leaded glass department.  Get a roll of wide adhesive backed copper foil tape and a roll of wider clear plastic tape.
For a speaker cable it would be |plastic|copper|plastic|copper|plastic|
For a DC power supply it's |plastic|copper|plastic|copper|plastic|copper|plastic|

[Danny Richie]

I have used some of the Groertz (Alpha Core) speaker cables. I liked the cables but not all amps liked them.

In the end I had cables that sounded better. They were then just extras, so I sold them and moved on.

[DaveC113]

MG audio makes cables out of copper foil oriented side-by-side so there is no capacitance. At least not measurable...

The advantage to foil over regular wire is increased surface area and reduced thickness to eliminate skin effect.

IMO, you are better off using upocc copper wire in 24 gauge or less and using multiple runs to achieve the gauge you need.

edit: it really depends on the speaker and associated crossover tbh...

[Early B.]

I just purchased a custom pair of 10 ft. DCCA Audio speaker cables comprised of a combination of 2" foil and wire. I can't speak to their technical attributes, but they sound very good so far. They replaced a pair of Synergistic Research active speaker cables. I was intrigued by foil for speaker cables after purchasing a three ElectraGlide foil power cords.

[Hugh]

We've been partnering with MG Audio at several shows and they are really excellent cables.

Their cables match real well with Melody products and our own Trinity speakers.

[DaveC113]

We've been partnering with MG Audio at several shows and they are really excellent cables.

Their cables match real well with Melody products and our own Trinity speakers.

They are very nice cables. The speaker cables I heard were warm, smooth and full-bodied. 

[Speedskater]

MG audio makes cables out of copper foil oriented side-by-side so there is no capacitance. At least not measurable...
The advantage to foil over regular wire is increased surface area and reduced thickness to eliminate skin effect.

While the skin effect would drop to close to zero, the added self-inductance would more than swamp it out.

edit: it really depends on the speaker and associated crossover tbh...

You can say that again.

[DaveC113]

While the skin effect would drop to close to zero, the added self-inductance would more than swamp it out.

They are not as accurate and resolving as some but they do sound really nice.    It is interesting the contrast between MG and Goertz...

[skalos]

OK.

If I am going to experiment by making a set of cables to listen to, I need 4 inductors. 

Which size of 12gauge Erse inductor will give me approximately 10 feet of foil wire?

Same question for 14 or 16 gauge inductor?

Steven

[Danny Richie]

OK.

If I am going to experiment by making a set of cables to listen to, I need 4 inductors. 

Which size of 12gauge Erse inductor will give me approximately 10 feet of foil wire?

Same question for 14 or 16 gauge inductor?

Steven

I have some used foil inductors I can make you a deal on.