Hi Martin,
There are at least two good reasons for twisting wires...
- noise: The amount of noise emitted from a noise source (like AC mains or 6VAC heater wires in the TLP and GK-1) increases as the loop area between the wires increases. An AC pair parallel and spaced an inch apart would have a very large loop area, a loosely twisted pair would have a much smaller loop area, and a tightly twisted pair would have a very small loop area. Also, the ability of a second pair of wires (for example, the signal input to the AKSA) to pick up noise is dependent on its loop area. So, tightly twist wires that can be sources of noise (to limit how much noise they can broadast) and tightly twist signal wires (to limit how much noise they can recieve). Reduce--as much as you can--any loop area between hot and neutral leads.
- inductance: When a high current flows through a wire a magnetic field is established which tends to resist the flowing current. If we twist a + and - pair however, the inductances of the two wires are opposite and partially cancel each other. This reduces the inductive impedance in the wire pair (and contributes to sharper, more well-defined transients, i.e., a faster amp). Inductance is an important factor whenever high currents are involved (i.e., mains wiring, to and from the transformers, the power supply to the amp, and speaker cables). When twisting is impractical (for example, the high level output from AKSA amp board to amp binding posts) keep leads as short as reasonably possible.
Peter
