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RE: Free wire size calculator for your audio system

Posted by Dawnrazor (A) on September 22, 2010 at 20:13:23

In Reply to: RE: Free wire size calculator for your audio system posted by colebearanimals on September 22, 2010 at 14:01:28:

Hi Paul,

Magwire is short for "magnet wire". It is the wire you can usually see in transformers, and it usually solidcore and has a very thin insulation. The solidcore and thin insulation have a lot to do with its success as a speaker cable. The gauge IME also helps alot. And the Anticables that everyone raves about is just 12g magwire, though magwire can come in many insulations and all are not created equal.

Anyhow, radioshack has a package that contains 3 spools of it. One is 22g, one is 26g and one is 30g. Damn inflation. it is now $7. I hope that doesnt turn anyone off!!

I used 2 of the 30g for each conductor for my bass panel.

An easy thing to try is just to replace your wire with one strand of the green wire (26g), one for each conductor. You can strip off the insulation with some sand paper.

I am NOT saying that this is ALL you have to do. But it is enough to get your feet wet and see if the magwire is for you. It removes a veil and is ultra clear. Some systems may not dig that, but most who have tried it stick with the magwire.

Once you are hooked, you can make a more durable construction and start to address vibrations. A simple recipe is to take some cotton string like they sell in grocery stores for tying up chicken and "braid" the 2 strands of magwire like the pict:

You COULD use one conductor for + and - though that would put some strain on the tiny wires. So my recommendation for noobies is to make a run like the pict for + and - (four total...2 for each speaker) and terminate each wire with something like this or the dayton knock offs:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=093-540

If you solder right at the lip, you can stuff some of the wire inside making an upside down "u" and use the screws to screw into the tech flex and cotton, providing some strain relief.

One day I will do a step by step.

Anyhow IME for a few bucks and some time you can make cables that will shame most of the expensive store boughts.

Cut to razor sounding violins

• http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=203627   (Open in New Window)

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