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Re: OTL rewiring...

Posted by Lew (A) on February 10, 2005 at 07:49:51

In Reply to: OTL rewiring... posted by boll001@pol-it.org on February 10, 2005 at 05:48:28:

There are no "correct" answers to your questions. While I do hear very subtle differences between silver and copper chassis wires, either one can give you superb results. If you had me at gunpoint, I might say that silver wire tends to emphasize slightly the upper mids and treble, but not in a bad or irritating way. There's just a little more "shimmer". (Sorry for the arcane English word; I don't know the equivalent word in Italian.) Copper might be a little richer in the mid-bass and bass vs silver. But notice how my desciptions are suggested by the color and texture of silver vs copper. I think we are highly influenced by color in our thinking about sonic qualities. In other words, I may be imagining these differences, but many others have similar opinions of silver vs copper.

As for "diameter", it should be determined by function. For wires carrying high amperage, e.g., wires to and from the power supply, you want the wire to be substantial enough so that it does not heat up noticeably, i.e., you want the resistance per foot to be as low as possible. In addition, I prefer solid core vs stranded wire, but it's not so important for power supply purposes. For wires carrying the audio signal, I firmly believe in using the narrowest gauge wire possible, and solid core is my preference at all times. For wires carrying high voltage, insulation is necessary and teflon is the current best choice. Vintage amplifier guys like to use organic cloth-insulated wire, too, and I am sure that is good also. Where you can get away with it, no insulation is better than any insulation, but otherwise choose teflon.

None of us buys wire directly from a "manufacturer". In the US, I think most of us use vendors who sponsor the Audio Asylum, like Welbourne Labs or Michael Percy or Handmade. These guys buy wire from suppliers like Cardas, Vampire, Kimber, XLO, etc, who in turn buy wire made by real but unknown manufacturers. Polyurethane-coated, solid core copper magnet wire, available in many diameters (or "gauges") down to at least 26-ga is said to be a great-sounding bargain and is widely available. The 26-ga is probably a great cost-effective choice for signal wire. The polyurethane insulation is much thinner than what can be done with teflon and probably sounds as good or better.

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