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Re: Speaker wires

June 3rd, 2020, 2:48 pm

I got some wire from Walt today. It is a brute of a coax cable that he has used in the past for speakers.
It looks like a 12ga solid copper for the center conductor with a double braid and two foil shields. Very stiff and very tedious to deconstruct to terminate. The copper core had a thin varnish covering that came off easily with steel wool and the braid was coated with an oily substance that blackened an acetone soaked rag.
The sound was surprisingly smoother than the thermo wire. Edges were still there but a lot less so. The extremes were much more pleasant. There is just a touch more weight to everything. A much more balanced cable.

thanks Walt

Re: Speaker wires

June 3rd, 2020, 3:15 pm

That is radio frequency coax cable. RF signals are so weak, the cables have metal shield Of about 1cm dia to minimize emf interference.

Re: Speaker wires

June 3rd, 2020, 4:14 pm

That copper conductor is going to oxidize very quickly. I suppose there is nothing to be done about that.
I have the wires directly connected to the 5-way binding posts without spades or bananas

Re: Speaker wires

June 3rd, 2020, 4:59 pm

I have seen aluminum center core and copper coated aluminum center core. They should have anti-oxidation coating.

Re: Speaker wires

June 3rd, 2020, 5:00 pm

As I stated this is solid copper core

Re: Speaker wires

June 3rd, 2020, 5:08 pm

mix4fix wrote:Where were the wires stored?


Where were the old wire stored, and for how long?

Re: Speaker wires

June 3rd, 2020, 6:25 pm

If you are referring to the wires I tossed.... various places for many years

If you are talking about Walts Coax I'm sure they were stored in the very best possible conditions

Re: Speaker wires

June 3rd, 2020, 10:02 pm

Pelliott321 wrote:I got some wire from Walt today. It is a brute of a coax cable that he has used in the past for speakers.
It looks like a 12ga solid copper for the center conductor with a double braid and two foil shields. Very stiff and very tedious to deconstruct to terminate. The copper core had a thin varnish covering that came off easily with steel wool and the braid was coated with an oily substance that blackened an acetone soaked rag.
The sound was surprisingly smoother than the thermo wire. Edges were still there but a lot less so. The extremes were much more pleasant. There is just a touch more weight to everything. A much more balanced cable.

thanks Walt


You're welcome!

Re: Speaker wires

June 3rd, 2020, 10:04 pm

Pelliott321 wrote:That copper conductor is going to oxidize very quickly. I suppose there is nothing to be done about that.
I have the wires directly connected to the 5-way binding posts without spades or bananas


Not at all. It's encased in nitrogen-foamed Teflon.

Re: Speaker wires

June 3rd, 2020, 10:23 pm

Ok but what about the part that is exposed at the connection.
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