[Carlman]

Just thought I'd post the results of some experiments using a couple of different internal wirings on the AKSA 100N.  

Initially, I used DH Labs T-14 Sonic Silver wire from the PSB's to the amp boards for pos and neg... and copper auto wire (Hugh supplied) for the ground.  And, I used some leftover, inwall Kimber speaker cable from amp board to positive post and star ground to negative post.
-Ok, this is was wrong and I'm embarrased.  

On to the new setup:
Power supply to amp boards (pos and neg) and binding posts are all Audience Auric 18 gauge hookup wire.  The only original wires I left were the auto wire for the ground wire from psb to amp boards.

So, what's the difference?  Signifigant.

Before the amp had a lot of gusto and punch and paired with my Revels, seemed to just hammer me with sound.  It was lively and rich.  At times, a bit harsh or fatiguing but, I chalked that up to the room.  (And to a large degree it is the room.)  The sound was always there, the amp sounded very alive and supplied a lot of sound at any volume.  The bass was a bit big and had a lot of slam.  It sounded good but, a bit big.

Now, with the new skinny wires, the sound is much more neutral and lacks the overbearing thunder it had.  Overall I would describe the sound as tighter and more controlled.  I can now hear bass notes I didn't know were happening because the bass was somewhat over-presented.  I guess the easy way to say is that bass detail has been dramatically improved and made more natural.  It sounds more like what bass sounds like, not what reproduced bass sounds like.

My speakers are insanely revealing.  I didn't know I had a 'problem' before with the original wiring but, since I will be using Audience cables throughout my system and I didn't like the way I had originally wired the amp, I decided to use their wire for the amp as well.

When I called Audience, they suggested the 18 gauge over the 16 because it would be overkill and wouldn't sound as good.  They said it's not always bigger=better and that the right size works best.  Since the 18ga handles 500V, I was already well within its tolerances in my application.  I agreed with their argument so, that's how I ended up with skinny cable.  I must say, it sounds incredible.  I didn't expect much of a change but, I got one.  Overall, it's a more natural sound.  
Hugh warned me not to use silver....  

I don't think his instructions said to use 3 different material, types, and sizes of cables, either.  That was dumb of me.  In any case, I would recommend using the SAME, good quality copper wire for the hookup wire.

Probably something everyone knows but, just thought I'd reinforce that here.

-Carl

[DSK]

Hi Carlman,
Congrats on improving the sound of your AKSA 100N, it's a great feeling when something works. Unfortunately the euphoria is usually short lived and it is not long before you become accustomed to the improved sound and start worrying about what else could/should be upgraded  

Don't think you are alone in being dumb, most of us are (but some of us are too dumb to realise it   ).

I absolutely agree that "thinner is better". Overly thick wire can often unbalance the sound, sometimes causing sluggish bass, rolled off highs and a closed-in type sound.

Hugh certainly advises against silver coated copper wire (can cause tizziness/splashiness), but I didn't think he was against solid core silver wire ? Many advanced DIYers seem to be getting excellent results with  enamelled solid core silver wire, although it can be a little difficult to work with (stripping the enamel to solder). And, some manufacturers use it in their mega-$ units. At some stage I would like to replace the CAT5E/teflon wire in my GK-1 with enamelled silver to see what happens.

Although the enamel coating (polyurethane, polyestemeride) is a lesser quality dialectric than teflon, a much thinner coating can be applied than is possible with teflon and supposedly interacts less with the signal. This seems to be the reason generally given for the improvement in sound. Until fairly recently, teflon (especially foamed teflon) was praised as being sonically invisible. Many people now believe that teflon adds a slight silvery sheen to the sound.  

Anyone out there tried the enamelled silver (or teflon coated solid silver) in their GK-1 or AKSA amp ?

Cheers,
Darren.

[SamL]

Not sure about power amp but in my DIY passive DACT preamp, "Thinner is better". I used two type of cable,  32ga silver and 20ga silver, both Teflon coated and the 32ga sound better with more life and bounce.
I think it got to do with the right size cable for the application where everything are balance - clarity, lifelines and bass.

My 2c,
Sam

[Tinker]

Hi Carlman,
I absolutely agree that "thinner is better". Overly thick wire can often unbalance the sound, someti ...

Anyone out there tried the enamelled silver (or teflon coated solid silver) in their GK-1 or AKSA amp ?

Right now I am talking about signal interconnects in my 55s (see other thread for comments on speaker wire).
The thin is good (yes it is!) thread continues. I have never been able to find teflon coated silver. I have used fine silver wire and coated it myself using tranformer lacquer and Kynar (a very toxic teflon derivative). I have also used cat 5 and silver plated wire-wrap wire. My conclusions silver and cat 5 both excellent, and virtually indistinguishable, BUT the silver must be painted to PERFECTION because it tarnishes and eventually sounds worse! The WWW sounds a little better than both the above (don't forget to let  it break in).

My Conclusion - All factors are significant, but skin effect considerations outweigh conductor material and plating by a long shot. Silver and copper have *very* similar conductances and this is unlikely to have much influence on the sound (apart from crystal structure) but silver is eager to tarnish unless factory sealed so now I avoid it like the plague!

My 2c.

[Tinker]

Getting back to power wiring, I have tried solid (lighting cable)and stranded wiring (mains cable) internally - but would not recommend solid for earth for safety reasons.

The solid sounds better. Not quite sure why yet. If you pick apart old wiring I have found a lot of discoloration on crimped stranded wire. Micro-arcing perhaps? I'll have to do an experiment and find out why.

[SamL]

My Conclusion - All factors are significant, but skin effect considerations outweigh conductor material and plating by a long shot. Silver and copper have *very* similar conductances and this is unlikely to have much influence on the sound (apart from crystal structure) but silver is eager to tarnish unless factory sealed so now I avoid it like the plague!

Well seems like eveyone have their own experience.

This is copy from http://www.tnt-audio.com/tours/audionote_e.html
Factory visit Audio Note - Tokyo - Japan.

"The silver strings now used for ANJ's interconnects and speaker wires were in stock for nearly 20 years to get "age-anneal" effect. Can you guess how much it cost? I can't and really don't want to know. "


Sam

[andyr]

Just thought I'd post the results of some experiments using a couple of different internal wirings on the AKSA 100N.  

Initially, I used DH Labs T-14 Sonic Silver wire from the PSBs to the amp boards for pos and neg... and copper auto wire (Hugh supplied) for the ground.  And, I used some leftover, inwall Kimber speaker cable from amp board to positive post and star ground to negative post.
-Ok, this is was wrong and I'm embarrased.  

On to the new setup:
Power supply to amp boards (pos and neg) an ...

Carl, (unfortunately the quote that appears above doesn't extend to your stating that you changed to 18g hookup wire) ... 18g cannot be considered to be "thin" for ICs - ie. the wire that connects the PCB to the RCA sockets.

18g AWG wire is just over 1mm in diameter.  Thin for ICs is, say, AWG 25 at just under 0.5mm.  REALLY REALLY thin is AWG 30 at 0.25mm.

Why don'tcha try some thinner wires?  You obviously have good ears (as U were able to hear and identify the difference with the 18g wire) so U should B able to hear what the thinner wire brings.

Just for the record, my AKSAs have:
* 20amp (13AWG) solid-core mains cabling,
* 30amp (approx 11AWG), multi-strand auto hookup wire for the +/-/earth PCB power wires- so I get minimum voltage drop and sag across these wires,
* Nordost 2 Flat for spkr active and return, and
* 30AWG teflon insulated, tinned-Cu hookup wire for the signals (from RS Components).

This latter is not optimal (I understand tinned-Cu is as bad as silvered-Cu) so I will change this at some stage to either transformer wire (polyurethane-coated Cu) or teflon-insulated bare Cu.  However, I am planning on sticking with the really thin stuff unless there are some good posts here to make me change my mind!

Regards,

Andy

[Carlman]

Just for the record, my AKSAs have:
* 20amp (13AWG) solid-core mains cabling,
* 30amp (approx 11AWG), multi-strand auto hookup wire for the +/-/earth PCB power wires- so I get minimum voltage drop and sag across these wires,
* Nordost 2 Flat for spkr active and return, and
* 30AWG teflon insulated, tinned-Cu hookup wire for the signals (from RS Components).

To clarify, I have not changed the wires from the RCA connectors to the amp boards.

My AKSA now has:
* multi-strand auto hookup wire for mains
* Auric 18 AWG for the +/-/earth PCB power wires-
* Auric 18 AWG for spkr active and return, and
* Cat-5 teflon insulated, solid-Cu hookup wire for the signals

My surprise was that I could use such tiny cable for the traditionally larger cable areas.... i.e. where most people use 12ga.  It sounds very nice, though.  Sorry if this wasn't clear in my original post.

[andyr]

Thanks, Carlman, for elucidating.  It is certainly surprising that changing the PCB power wires makes so much difference (given U had what might be called 'reasonable' wires before).

Are the Auric 18 solid or multi-stranded?

Regards,

Andy

[Carlman]

It's fine multi-stranded.  It's stranded in a way that I am not familiar with, though.   It's kind of tight spiral covered with a loose spiral.  Don't know if it has a sonic benefit but, it's neat to look at.  I think having all one type of material and the same type and gauge probably made the most difference for my amp.
(just a guess)

[U4EA]

Good info Carlman.  Thanks for posting it.