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Copper Clad Aluminum CCA Speaker Wire

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Posted on February 10, 2016 at 12:48:58
Synthsayer
Audiophile

Posts: 113
Location: Lexington, KY
Joined: December 20, 2009
 I have been helping a friend choose new speaker wire.
In doing so I discovered that something called Copper Clad Aluminum or CCA wire is being widely sold via Superstore and Amazon sellers.
What is CCA and is it okay to use it for speakers?
I ordered 12 gauge OFC copper speaker wire from Parts Express.
The 12 gauge speaker wire I gotfrom Amazon was neither 12 gauge or copper.
It was so cheap I doubt I will bother with the hassle of returning it. However, it does seem proper to notify Amazon of the discrepancies in the item description and whether this wire is suitable and safe for hooking up amplifiers to speakers.
"Ad Astra Per Alia Porci", - To the stars on the wings of a pig: John Steinbeck

 

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RE: Copper Clad Aluminum CCA Speaker Wire, posted on February 10, 2016 at 14:16:25
Crazy Dave
Audiophile

Posts: 14371
Location: East Coast
Joined: October 4, 2001
 CCA is used in voice coils in speakers. It is also used in car audio. The nearest I can tell is that it is a cheap way of getting a large gauge wire that looks impressive. Copper is more conductive than aluminum, so you would need a larger gauge to equal the same resistance as copper.

Dave

 

RE: Copper Clad Aluminum CCA Speaker Wire, posted on February 10, 2016 at 14:27:06
Synthsayer
Audiophile

Posts: 113
Location: Lexington, KY
Joined: December 20, 2009
 Thanks Carzy Dave!!!

That's awesome.

Can I ask you about some AR speaker wire I have.
It is AR 10 gauge Master Silver Series that has a 6mm dielectric between the conductors.
It is pretty wire but one very good wire comparison I found said this causes a high inductance?
It sounds okay but the conductors are separating in places.
I may just replace it with wire similar to what I got at PE for now until I can afford better.
Do you think that would be/sound best?

Thanks again!
"Ad Astra Per Alia Porci", - To the stars on the wings of a pig: John Steinbeck

 

Conductivity to Mass Ratio is Good nt, posted on February 11, 2016 at 07:09:40
Zipcord
Manufacturer

Posts: 707
Location: No. California
Joined: December 19, 2002
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RE: Conductivity to Mass Ratio is Good nt, posted on February 11, 2016 at 09:23:17
dave slagle
Manufacturer

Posts: 5430
Location: NYC
Joined: April 27, 2001
 Yes and that is why it finds use in speaker voice coils. As far as I know the copper plating is primarily there to allow for ease of soldering the leads to the unit since aluminum is tough to make a solid electrical connection to. The aluminum work hardens much quicker than copper so using it for any sort of interconnect that will need to flex is a step down a path not worth taking.

dave

 

RE: Conductivity to Mass Ratio is Good nt, posted on February 11, 2016 at 12:40:19
b.l.zeebub
Audiophile

Posts: 9361
Location: 52deg 28'N,1deg56'W
Joined: April 17, 2006
 I suspect that the copper coating is because aluminium oxidises almost instantly at room temperature and aluminium oxide is an electrical insulator.
It used in the production of chips for that very reason.

Aluminium doesn't work harden in my experience (I'm an aluminium welder by trade and I've never noticed it work-harden appreciably. At least not to anywhere near the level titanium or stainless steel do.) but it has practically no fatigue strength. If an aluminium part flexes it will eventually fail. It is predictable when danger of failure will occur, this is the reason why civilian airliners with an aluminium airframe have a limited lifespan from the moment they leave the factory while titanium-framed military jets can go on for almost ever.

 

RE: Copper Clad Aluminum CCA Speaker Wire, posted on February 11, 2016 at 15:18:05
Crazy Dave
Audiophile

Posts: 14371
Location: East Coast
Joined: October 4, 2001
 Amps wire and speakers act together. Some amps, like British amps that lack a Zobel filter, prefer a high impedance load. Other amps do not like high impedance loads. I suspect a lot of amps don't care. Other than the spaced conductors, AR speaker cable is pretty much the same as all the other Monster-like cables. So probably the easiest way to tell is get some 10 gauge Monster-like cable and compare. If you hear a difference, go with the one that sounds best. If you don't hear a difference, use the one that looks the nicest.

Dave

 

RE: Conductivity to Mass Ratio is Good nt, posted on February 11, 2016 at 15:21:29
Crazy Dave
Audiophile

Posts: 14371
Location: East Coast
Joined: October 4, 2001
 That was fascinating information!


Dave

 

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