What have people found to be the "best" hookup wire for wiring up a component?
Line-stage, amp... whatever...
What gauge is desirable too?
For both power and signal, respectively..
Solid or stranded...
Twisted or not......
Shielded or not...
Silver or copper?
Etc. or etc. (any other considerations I may have omitted)
Not nescessarily the most expensive...
What makes an audible difference and why?
VS. what is just hype.....
TIA!
Hmmm... maybe this should have gone under "Parts" forum??
Line-stage, amp... whatever...
What gauge is desirable too?
For both power and signal, respectively..
Solid or stranded...
Twisted or not......
Shielded or not...
Silver or copper?
Etc. or etc. (any other considerations I may have omitted)
Not nescessarily the most expensive...
What makes an audible difference and why?
VS. what is just hype.....
TIA!
Hmmm... maybe this should have gone under "Parts" forum??
Diamond is an insulator I think.
Why not use this new carbon nano tube super conductor stuff.
Pretty sure I've seen adverts for it being used in retail products months ago.
Why not use this new carbon nano tube super conductor stuff.
Pretty sure I've seen adverts for it being used in retail products months ago.
Apex Jr. has teflon insulated, silver plated copper wire in both solid and stranded. I use the 22 and 24 gauge solid core for signal level runs and 18 gauge for power supply runs.
20-22 AWG stranded. UL1007 (300 V) or UL1015 (600 V) depending on the voltages in the circuit. Copper because the electrons don't care much about copper vs silver. For higher current connections internal to a chassis, I go up to 16 AWG. It's plenty of cross-sectional area and still quite malleable.
If you're in the US, Remington has good deals on wire: https://www.remingtonindustries.com/hook-up-wire/
Mouser and Digi-Key carry hookup wire by the foot as well.
I use red/black/blue for the +/0/- on split power supplies.
Tom
If you're in the US, Remington has good deals on wire: https://www.remingtonindustries.com/hook-up-wire/
Mouser and Digi-Key carry hookup wire by the foot as well.
I use red/black/blue for the +/0/- on split power supplies.
Tom
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A piece of wire isn't just a piece of wire.
I did some research about 20 years ago for a project with long wires on a CCTV system.
I bought in a good range of wires and tested them and was very surprised how much the resistance varies.
We went for the lowest resistance copper wire for the best price.
I did some research about 20 years ago for a project with long wires on a CCTV system.
I bought in a good range of wires and tested them and was very surprised how much the resistance varies.
We went for the lowest resistance copper wire for the best price.
By definition hookup wire is not shielded/screened. However, some internal connections may need to be screened/shielded so for those do not use hookup wire. Some people get away with using twisted wire for these connections, but twisted wire is really for balanced connections. However, twisted should be used for AC heaters and other AC wiring - including the charging pulse loop in the power supply.
The best hookup wire depends on the application. Use wire which is thick enough to cope with the current, even when under a hot chassis. Insulation should be thick enough to cope with the voltage. A variety of colours will help you debug; this will help us debug remotely too if you need assistance. Solid core stays where you put it; stranded is more flexible; audio signals don't care. Don't use silver - unnecessary for audio.
You will get an audible difference if you don't screen a wire which should be screened, or don't twist a wire which should be twisted - in both case you will get hum or buzz. Apart from that audio does not worry about wires so you should not worry.
The best hookup wire depends on the application. Use wire which is thick enough to cope with the current, even when under a hot chassis. Insulation should be thick enough to cope with the voltage. A variety of colours will help you debug; this will help us debug remotely too if you need assistance. Solid core stays where you put it; stranded is more flexible; audio signals don't care. Don't use silver - unnecessary for audio.
You will get an audible difference if you don't screen a wire which should be screened, or don't twist a wire which should be twisted - in both case you will get hum or buzz. Apart from that audio does not worry about wires so you should not worry.
Blue is only good for jazz.
I find red has that extra bit of speed for rock or roll tracks.
And of course you'd want white for purist vocals.
Black would be good for deaf metal, grunge, emo and the like.
I like teflon or kynar insulation for my point to point projects where the soldering iron gets waved around a lot. Surplus houses have this sometimes, sometimes e-bay. Solid is only useful if the circuit goes in and stays there. Where I have to take the board out several times for debug, some solid will fracture, especially NTE. Belden solid was better but still broke after 10 board moves or so. Stranded teflon silver plate 24 from Alpha or Belden is a lot of fun, but about $.60 a foot.
24 ga for signals, 22 from the drivers to the output transistors, 18 in the power supply. I'll use PVC insulation where I need a unique color or don't think I'll be in there to modify anything, but I've had to replace some runs that I burned. Especially annoying in vacuum tube circuits where the wire you burned is on the bottom of the eyelet with 6 wires or component leads on top of it. Watch voltage rating with vacuum tube stuff, lots of hookup wire is 300 v rated. Not enough for plates and screens, only the filament.
24 ga for signals, 22 from the drivers to the output transistors, 18 in the power supply. I'll use PVC insulation where I need a unique color or don't think I'll be in there to modify anything, but I've had to replace some runs that I burned. Especially annoying in vacuum tube circuits where the wire you burned is on the bottom of the eyelet with 6 wires or component leads on top of it. Watch voltage rating with vacuum tube stuff, lots of hookup wire is 300 v rated. Not enough for plates and screens, only the filament.
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I'm a big fan of covering my wires with fiberglass silicone sleeve. It feels much safer where potentially higher temperatures and voltages might be, as well as the better mechanical resistance.
In 1980 when I started in electronics we were taught to lace wiring looms.
Since then I have found with audio this isn't always the best thing to do.
High current wires mixed in with signals can cause cross interference.
Since then I have found with audio this isn't always the best thing to do.
High current wires mixed in with signals can cause cross interference.
Diamond wire is used for cutting stones. I use 1-1.5sqmm for rails and .25 or .5 for small supplies. For signal I use thin mic cable, so no fancy rare metals. Just plain copper.
I use 22 solid nickel plated copper for almost everything I build. It stays where you put it. I use 18 solid for higher current 12V heater supply lines.
I use solid twisted CAT5 for audio signal, cheap and good quality copper. Do not use solid wires for power connections, it can easly break and your Amp will loose +/- or ground and will burn, been there, done that.
I am now testing my setup with Brandrex Cat5E shielded solid wires cable. 2 conductors for signal and two for neutral each conductor either signal or neutral are taken from each twisted pair and soldered together , the foil screen is only connected to one end neutral.
The sound is clean and powerfull but also a bit laid back in clarity.
So now will test with awg20 silver plated copperwire Teflon insulated wire, 2 wires for neutral and one for signal twisted together.
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