Internal speaker wires

[delta76]

As aesthetics go, I want to hear my music and not see equipment. But yes I get the picture came from a high end audio show...

Given the above, I do try to hide speaker cabling (my wife really hates visiible wires). Are those silver cables for wiring or security locks? I inow what they look like to me.

double that. from the wall it's likely just someone home with a lot of money to throw into cables (or rather, throw away)

these types of set up was once the main reason I didn't want to get into audio. so complicated, so expensive. If only I knew better (I do now, thanks to ASR)

 

[Trell]

PS If one wants to buy wires based on aesthetic design or perceived quality of construction -- that's fine*.

_____________
* With the additional qualifier that it should be safe to use, e.g., not prone to starting a fire. Of course, this applies more to AC mains cable than it does to speaker wire.

Including blocks of wood on the cable, of course.

 

[Rick Sykora]

Including blocks of wood on the cable, of course.

Am guessing the wood blocks either meant to distract from the ugly wire or have some otherwise mystical property that I can only guess…

Maybe they are just fancy price tags!

 

[TurtlePaul]

Including blocks of wood on the cable, of course.

It is like a cargo cult. Someone saw ferrite beads and didn't know how they worked but knew they needed blocks near the end of the cable.

 

[fpitas]

It is like a cargo cult. Someone saw ferrite beads and didn't know how they worked but knew they needed blocks near the end of the cable.

Fleecing audiophiles is like shooting fish in a barrel.

 

[DVDdoug]

Wire resistance is directly related to diameter and length.

So with shorter runs/sections you can use thinner wire.

Here is a chart showing Ohms per 1000ft and per kM.

 

[Ron Texas]

If you use silver for the internal wires in your speakers then the speakers will be protected from theft and damage by vampires.

 

[robwpdx]

Are internal speaker wires as important as external cables?

​

Yes. Both are largely unimportant.

I have my JBL 4312C, professional monitors of the 1970's similar to the current Classic L100 apart on the bench. 18 gauge internal wiring to the drivers. 18 or 16 to the passive crossover.

As others have said, it is all RLC from physics. Resistance, inductance, and capacitance. Fortunately we can calculate and measure them!

Friends do manufacturing in China for large companies including audio. The factory will bid low to break even, then they will cost reduce, less material or cheaper material, to make a profit in the long term.

 

[egellings]

True. Important in the sense that: No wire = no sound.

Unimportant in the sense that any wire with sufficient gauge and specific resistance for the length in question will do the job.

Agree. And look at how thin the wire is in voice coils.

 

[mhardy6647]

Including blocks of wood on the cable, of course.

Of course!
Goes without saying, doesn't it?

 

[fpitas]

I wonder if the direction of the grain matters

 

[egellings]

I wonder if the direction of the grain matters

Of course it does!

 

[mhardy6647]

I wonder if the direction of the grain matters

Of course it does!

The most esoteric cabling actually competes with Home Despot for the best lumber for this application. This also helps explain the cost of some audio cables.

 

[robwpdx]

I wonder if the direction of the grain matters

Hahaha, I'm not aware copper wire can be manufactured with grain. Steel can be manufactured with grain in the form of electrical steel used in large transformers to improve the magnetic characteristics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_steel

 

[fpitas]

Hahaha, I'm not aware copper wire can be manufactured with grain. Steel can be manufactured with grain in the form of electrical steel used in large transformers to improve the magnetic characteristics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_steel

True, but I was referring to the audiophile wood blocks on the wires in the picture in post #17.

 

[mhardy6647]

Hahaha, I'm not aware copper wire can be manufactured with grain. Steel can be manufactured with grain in the form of electrical steel used in large transformers to improve the magnetic characteristics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_steel

True, but I was referring to the audiophile wood blocks on the wires in the picture in post #17.

 

[Prana Ferox]

I find it ironic that the same folks claiming the need for expensive speaker cables are the same ones advocating the need for air core conductors in crossovers. A typical woofer crossover would have one or more inductors in series with the driver(s). An open core inductor of the typical values needed is tens of feet of wire and would typically have a resistance of at least .25 ohm. Using 2 inductors may put half an ohm or more in series with the woofer.

No fancy speaker cable is going to improve upon having way more added resistance inside the box than outside.

ESR from crossover components can (and generally is) accounted for as part of the crossover itself, as part of manufacturer design and component selection. You can argue internal speaker wire falls under that as well, although it is rare and goofy when a manufacturer claims that.

ESR from consumer add-ons (speaker wire) upstream are unknowns and can't be accounted for by the crossover design. In theory, this is a valid concern, in the same way that oddball amplifiers with high output impedance can affect system FR. In practice of course, for home-length speaker systems and non-insane installs the RLC of the interconnecting wire is trivially small.

What is important for internal wire (since this is the DIY forum) is that it is firmly terminated at both ends and is sized / routed / anchored etc such that it cannot flap around and buzz against speaker internals. I like to glue the cable to braces but a lot of people just put a foam tube around long runs. Remember you may want to pull a driver out of the (almost) finished product for whatever reason so you may want some cable slack to do so.

 

[kemmler3D]

Fleecing audiophiles is like shooting fish in a barrel.

It's even easier, because fish don't go to their friends and brag about their bullet wounds.

 

[morpheusX]

Just use something well constructed and flexible.
Cables from Canare, Klotz, Mogami, Van Damme, sommercable, etc around 2€/m are good enough.

 

[mhardy6647]

It's even easier, because fish don't go to their friends and brag about their bullet wounds.

It's encouraging, in 2023 CE, to (still) find someone who can encounter a metaphor simile and run with it.

I salute you, @kemmler3D