With the exception of my interconnects (copper/silver alloy, stranded) my power and speaker cables use solid core conductors.
The power cables are ~15 gauge DIY Home Depot-style solid core wires, twisted and non-shielded. These are connected sans powerstrip so that the respective conductor-ends (lead, return and ground wire) are tightened directly to each other via screw terminals.
Speaker cables are Mundorf's ~15 gauge Silver/gold (99% silver; 1% gold) solid core wires, teflon insulated, and tightly spaced in a pure cotton outer sleeve. As an on/off experiment these are connected in (single-wire) parallel mode with Mundorf copper foil coil-"wires" (28*0.07mm = ~14 gauge), with the foils more loosely spaced.
A friend gave me this tip, and while initially I was somewhat reluctant into following his advice - for no other reason really than ill-based skepticism (I'm no "techie") - I must say this combination of copper foil and silver/gold wire offers a very satisfying result as well. Compared to the silver/gold wires alone leading edges here seem sharper, less smeared; low end appears better integrated and more coherent, likely because of better very low end control and mid bass energy; mids have slightly more texture, fullness and presence, and the highs are a bit smoother with more substance.
Overall the sense of quickness, coherency, lack of smear, and presence/texture is more outspoken - in a sense a more intimate presentation, but without the soundstage being restricted as such.
I'd be very interested in knowing from others who've experimented with parallel speaker cable runs in single-wire configuration (solid core, preferably :)), particularly with different conductor materials and/or overall cable geometry.
The power cables are ~15 gauge DIY Home Depot-style solid core wires, twisted and non-shielded. These are connected sans powerstrip so that the respective conductor-ends (lead, return and ground wire) are tightened directly to each other via screw terminals.
Speaker cables are Mundorf's ~15 gauge Silver/gold (99% silver; 1% gold) solid core wires, teflon insulated, and tightly spaced in a pure cotton outer sleeve. As an on/off experiment these are connected in (single-wire) parallel mode with Mundorf copper foil coil-"wires" (28*0.07mm = ~14 gauge), with the foils more loosely spaced.
A friend gave me this tip, and while initially I was somewhat reluctant into following his advice - for no other reason really than ill-based skepticism (I'm no "techie") - I must say this combination of copper foil and silver/gold wire offers a very satisfying result as well. Compared to the silver/gold wires alone leading edges here seem sharper, less smeared; low end appears better integrated and more coherent, likely because of better very low end control and mid bass energy; mids have slightly more texture, fullness and presence, and the highs are a bit smoother with more substance.
Overall the sense of quickness, coherency, lack of smear, and presence/texture is more outspoken - in a sense a more intimate presentation, but without the soundstage being restricted as such.
I'd be very interested in knowing from others who've experimented with parallel speaker cable runs in single-wire configuration (solid core, preferably :)), particularly with different conductor materials and/or overall cable geometry.