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speaker wire
Speaker wire is used to make the electrical connection between
loudspeakers and audio amplifiers. Modern speaker wire consists of two
electrical conductors individually
Electrical insulation by
plastic. The two wires are electrically identical, but are marked (eg a ridge on the insulation of one wire, color of one wire, a thread in one wire, etc) to allow convenient polarization connection. Certain older designs also featured another pair of wires for electrical power for an
electromagnet in the loudspeaker. At least one such speaker design is still in production (in France), but essentially all drivers now made use Magnet#Permanent magnets, which have become economical to produce and use.
The effect of speaker wire upon the signal (information theory) it carries is a much debated topic in the
audiophile and high fidelity worlds. The accuracy of much
marketing claims on these points is also a matter of much debate.
Explanation
Speaker wire, like any other electrical component, has three parameters which determine its performance:
electrical resistance, capacitance, and
inductance. If a perfect wire were possible it would have no resistance, no capacitance, and no inductance. The shorter a wire is, the closer it comes to being perfect as resistance increases with length in all conductors. Resistance has by far the largest effect on speaker wire performance. Capacitative and inductive characteristics of speaker wire are vanishingly small relative to the loudspeaker itself and are effectively independent of the
frequency of a signal being passed through the wire, at least for audio frequencies.
The quality of construction is often chosen for aesthetic purposes and convenience. Stranded wire is more flexible than solid wire and hence easier to work with. For a wire that will be exposed, often in a home, (rather than run within walls, under floor coverings, or behind molding), appearance may be a benefit, a wholly Subjectivity one, but is irrelevant for electrical characteristics. Better purification of
oxidizing materials such as copper will result in more consistent conductive properties throughout the length of the wire. Better jacketing may be thicker or tougher, less likely to tangle and easier to pull through a group of other wires, or incorporate a number of
shielding techniques.
Even with a poor wire, an
Sound degradation of sound may not exist. Many supposedly audible differences in speaker wire can be attributed to listener bias or the placebo effect. Listener bias is helped in no small part by the large number of wire manufacturers making claims about their products with little or no engineering or scientific basis. Many manufacturers catering to audiophiles (as well as those available in less expensive retail locations) make poetic, if unmeasurable, claims about this wire sounding open, dynamic, or smooth. To justify the claims, many rely on little understood electrical properties such as skin effect, characteristic impedance of the cable, or resonance. None have any measurable effect at audio frequencies, though each matters at radio frequencies .
Resistance
The lower the
Electrical impedance of the
loudspeaker, the greater the significance of the electrical resistance of the speaker wire will be. Essentially no speaker systems have the same impedance throughout their frequency range. The rated impedance is generally either the maximum or the average impedance, depending upon the source of the claim. In speakers with variable impedance, the resistance of the wire will have the most effect at the frequencies where the speaker's impedance is least, potentially leading to audible variation in the output if the impedance of the wire is high enough. Calculations suggest that this effect is very small, and, given known deficiencies in all speaker drivers and systems, unlikely to be significant.
Wire gauge
Thicker wires in a cable reduce resistance; insulation thickness or type has no effect. Oddly, the measurement of wire thickness decreases as thickness increases. In the commonly used
American wire gauge (AWG) system, an 8 gauge wire is thinner than a 4 gauge wire and thicker than a 16 gauge wire. Sizing in
meter is also common and less confusing.
Wire material
The generally advised material for speaker wire is copper, which has low resistance and cost compared to other plausible materials. Its combination of characteristics has made it the dominant conductor material. Copper and aluminum both Redox but the oxides of copper are conductive, those of aluminum are insulating.
Silver has a slightly lower resistivity than copper, which allows a thinner wire to have the same resistance. Silver is expensive and so a thicker copper wire with the same resistance will cost considerably less. Like copper, silver also suffers from oxidation.
Gold has a higher resistivity than either copper or silver, but it does not oxidize, so it is often used for wire end terminations to prevent oxides from interfering with connections. This is probably the best use of gold in audio wiring.
Terminations
Speaker wire terminations are optional and largely for convenience, as bare wire works just as well or better electrically. The most common termination types are soldered wire ends, soldered or crimped pin or spade lugs, and
Banana connector. Which type to use is determined by the connectors at the speaker system. Many terminations are plated in gold to prevent changes in conductivity due to oxidation.
Many speakers and electronics have flexible Binding post that can be screwed down or held down by a spring to accept bare or soldered wire and pins or springy "banana" plugs (through a hole in the outward facing side of the post). Use of larger 12awg wires may require trimming some 30% of the strands at the wire end (in common stranded wiring). This makes no measurable change in the electrical characteristics of the wire.
there are several types of proprietary connectors, though these are largely on all-in-one entertainment centers and bookshelf stereo systems.
In recent years, the
Neutrik Speakon connector is appearing more and more on
pro audio equipment. One reason is simple: in many European Countries the banana plug is coincidentally the same plug used for live electrical outlets (with 230
volts). A mistake will damage equipment and may injure or kill people as well. Recent
European Union regulations prohibit banana plugs in non-AC equipment, unless equipped with a safety pin mechanism preventing insertion into a wall outlet; there is such a connector available (from WBT Connectors) but it is not widely used.
Additionally, the Neutrik Speakon connector twists to lock in place, preventing intermittent failure and accidental disconnection common in well used banana plug connections. The Speakon also carries more current than a heavy duty 15A 1/4" phone plugs (originally used in the telephone industry) and doesn't short two conductors together at insertion.
See also
Speaker wire manufacturers
- Acoustic Research
- Audience
- AViC Cable
- AV Cable
- Axiom Audio
- Belden
- Belkin
- Blue Jeans Cable
- Canare
- Cardas
- Cobalt Cable
- Coleman Cable Inc. (Signal Brand)
- Empirical Audio
- Evidence Audio
- Goertz
- Impact Acoustics
- Kimber Kable
- Mit
- Monster Cable
- PacificCable.com
- Pear Cable Audio Cables
- River Cable
- Straight Wire Cable
- Synergistic Research Tesla Series AV Cables
- Transparent Cable
- Tributaries Cable
External links
- Speaker Wire - Roger Russell (former McIntosh Laboratory loudspeaker designer) opinions on loudspeaker wiring