U.S. source of UP-OCC magnet wire?

brj · « **on:** 2 Jul 2005, 04:53 am »

I'm contemplating the use of magnet wire (enameled, solid core, copper wire) for use as speaker cable, and UP-OCC seems to be the most advanced type currently available. I haven't decided on a gauge yet, but this will probably depend on availability and cost. Does anyone know of a source in the U.S., or one that ships to the U.S. (Texas)?

NeoTech seems to be the prime source of this type of wire, although a search through AC returned one post that referenced a total of 3 world-wide facilities that made it. NeoTech also advertises UP-OCC silver wire. Does anyone know if they make an enameled version of this? Has anyone tried it as speaker wire?

Thanks for any leads!

Parnelli777 · « **Reply #1 on:** 3 Jul 2005, 11:33 pm »

I don't see a magnet wire app, but UP-OCC wire with Teflon insulation is available in several awg sizes:

http://www.partsconnexion.com/crystalwire.htm

Magnet wire with all insulation types including enamel:

http://www.mwswire.com/

tianguis · « **Reply #2 on:** 3 Jul 2005, 11:41 pm »

brj:
I don't think Neotech makes magnet wire. However, I'm using Neotech UP-OCC stranded wire as speaker cable. I got it from Audiocom in England, cheap enough to experiment with. It replaced magnet wire and I haven't looked back.
http://www.audiocominternational.com/index.asp

Regards,
Larry Welsh

tianguis · « **Reply #3 on:** 4 Jul 2005, 12:13 pm »

brj:
Brain fart. The Neotech I'm using is single conductor, 24 AWG. I also have some Precide (Swiss) speaker cables which use stranded Neotech conductors. Good, but not as resolving in my system.

Regards,
Larry Welsh

Wayne1 · « **Reply #4 on:** 4 Jul 2005, 04:39 pm »

Vampire Wire is the US distributor for OCC solid core wire.

http://vampirewire.com/mcart/index.cgi?code=3&page=2&cat=8

You can order direct for a 10 lb spool.

Michael Percy also sells a variety of Cardas and Vampire "magnet wire" by the foot

http://www.percyaudio.com/Catalog.pdf

Look on page two.

Andrew JC · « **Reply #5 on:** 4 Jul 2005, 04:53 pm »

Here is one more source http://www.takefiveaudio.com/vampire_26_awg_continuous_cast_copper_magnet_wire.htm

brj · « **Reply #6 on:** 5 Jul 2005, 07:58 am »

Thanks for all of the replies, everyone!

I was having problems determining exactly what people were selling as "magnet wire". It appears that very little of the wire that Google directed me to is the Ultra Pure Ohno Continuous Cast wire that offers 99.9999% (6 nines, or 6N) pure copper (or silver). For example, while Vampire advertises that their copper wire is continuous cast, it makes no mention of purity. (It may be that "continous cast" automatically implies a 6N purity level, but I never found such an assertion.)

Frankly, such purity may be pointless anyway depending on what spades are attached to the ends of the wire segments and the manner of their attachment. I just figured I'd at least eliminate one variable by going all the way to UP-OCC wire.

It also seems that 20 gauge is about as large a diameter magnet wire as you can easily find in any form of "continuous cast", whether 6N or not. It may not matter, but I was initially hoping for something between 12 and 16 gauge.

Of course, the email response from Neotech did indicate that while they don't offer such a magnet wire product directly to the customer, they could do a special order for quantities between 6000 and 15000 ft, depending on AWG. A bit much for my needs!

Thanks again for all of the responses, and feel free to pass along any other information you run across!

JoshK · « **Reply #7 on:** 5 Jul 2005, 03:05 pm »

I asked the techs at Vampire and they assured me that Vampire Continuous Cast is indeed Ohno Continuous Cast. Ohno is patented and requires a standard for which it is developed. I think there is really only a handful of places that are making it, so the sources are inevitably the same no matter who the end seller may be.

I ordered bulk magnet wire from Vampire which is solid core by nature and is OCC. They specify the gauge in their listings.

brj · « **Reply #8 on:** 5 Jul 2005, 03:19 pm »

Quote from: JoshK

I asked the techs at Vampire and they assured me that Vampire Continuous Cast is indeed Ohno Continuous Cast. Ohno is patented and requires a standard for which it is developed.

Thanks for the clarification, Josh!

I guess the question is, does the description "continuous cast" necessarily imply 99.9999% pure metal?

MttBsh · « **Reply #9 on:** 5 Jul 2005, 03:28 pm »

I've read some glowing feedback from those who've used the Ohno Continuous Cast magnet wire for speaker cables. Can anyone describe how these sound compared to the big name/big $ retail cables? I've been using Analysis Plus 12 gauge speaker cables for years and have always been happy with their performance, but would replace them in a heartbeat if I believed that magnet wire would sound better. I suspect there's no area of the audio market more driven by hype than cables, yet I could care less about brand name, I just want the cable that passes the best signal to the speakers for the most reasonable price. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Matt

JoshK · « **Reply #10 on:** 5 Jul 2005, 03:31 pm »

I wish I could offer some empirical insight but I can't. I simply haven't had the time to try yet. I can say though that many of the big name top dollar guns use OCC wire. Geometry and implementation (what dieletric and how much spacing) will be the distinguishing factors determining ultimate performance.

Jon L · « **Reply #11 on:** 5 Jul 2005, 04:17 pm »

Quote from: MttBsh

I've read some glowing feedback from those who've used the Ohno Continuous Cast magnet wire for speaker cables. Can anyone describe how these sound compared to the big name/big $ retail cables? I've been using Analysis Plus 12 gauge speaker cables for years and have always been happy with their performance, but would replace them in a heartbeat if I believed that magnet wire would sound better. I suspect there's no area of the audio market more driven by hype than cables, yet I could care less about brand n ...

IME continuous cast Vampire magnet wire has a nice sound characteristic different from the usual copper/silver/silver-plated teflon wire. It still depends on geometry and awg, etc, but in general I find them to excel in coherence, tone, clarity. After listening to this stuff, a lot of other wire seems to have a slight "haze" obscuring things, especially the midrange. There will be other wires that do certain audiophile things better, bass slam, treble resolution, etc, but for the money this stuff is really great. I'm about to rewire my AKG K340 headphones with this stuff any time now..

MttBsh · « **Reply #12 on:** 5 Jul 2005, 04:57 pm »

Thanks Josh and Jon for your responses. There's probably no substitute for personal comparison and preference. I'll be giving the magnet wire a try.

Matt