@b4icu
This has been interesting and might I add amusing to read.........OK, I'll play, why not, I might learn something useful.........Bryston 4BST amp, bi-wired to Vandersteen 3A signature speakers. Advertised DF is 500+ if I recall correctly.........Currently using 15 foot runs of Belden 10AWG, two per speaker to single terminal on the amp.............What's your suggestion? |
Sorry for the double post, site isn't acting right :( |
@b4icu
Thank you sir, I'm not sure I buy what you're selling..........for free as you say:), but I may look for some 0 awg and give it a try. It could prove interesting..............It's obvious that I have a WAY smaller budget than many here, and my system reflects that. That said, I'm always looking for ways to improve what I hear.........If the "0" gauge wire doesn't do anything for my system, I can always use it to tow a car or something :) |
Seems to be the case. Shorter/thicker generally gets the nod. Not sure how much audible difference there would be. That said, just did a quick search for "0" AWG OFC wire, pretty cheap, especially by A-phile standards. Seems to be popular for car installs. Guess it can't hurt to try.......Not sure if terminations for that stuff would fit standard binding posts or strips, but I'm sure there are methods..............Any non-audiophile would surely think you'd lost your senses seeing battery cable hanging off your speakers. Lots of things in this hobby are/seem crazy, but if they work for you in your system, I guess it's not crazy........I might try it. Looks doable for less than $100. |
b4icu..........thank you again. I did have my amp between the speakers until recently, with shorter cables. The spot was inconvenient, but I understand your point, shorter is better.......and less expensive :)............Most here seem to be male, I made that assumption in your case.............My apologies. |
Quick check of car audio sites has "speaker wire" in the sizes we're talking about. The stranding is very fine and likely to be much more flexible than what I saw at HD today. That had 19 strands, each of which was quite thick and not bendy.............The weight and size will still be about the same I guess............0 AWG is still 0 AWG..............Starts to get a bit pricier though since now we're talking about speaker wires Vs welding cable!!......Anything "special" costs more :( |
OK, had to run an errand, so I stopped in Home Depot to check out 0 AWG wire.............Smallest/largest they had on hand was 2 AWG.............My God, the stuff is huge, heavy and stiff and this was stranded, sort of..............I'm not an electrician, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The biggest stuff I've used around the house was 10 AWG.........Cut a couple feet of this stuff and you could beat somebody to death with it!!.......I can't begin to imagine how you would properly connect it to binding posts or terminal strips.................Did I mention that it's huge? and that wasn't even the 0 AWG I went looking for......Amps and speakers, at least the ones I've seen and own aren't set up for anything nearly that big, heavy or stiff...............Hope you have a workable fix for that little problem b4icu!!...................The upside is that it's pretty inexpensive by audiophile standards, especially if you can keep it on the shorter side. At least from a cost perspective it would be a reasonable experiment. |
I am assuming, based on your posts, that if I got the amp back closer/between the speakers and could reduce the length by half, that I could then use a slightly smaller gauge, perhaps a 3AWG x 2 would then suffice?.......Or did I forget something?...........I agree that attempting to solder cable that heavy without a professional level machine would be a bad idea, so crimping seems to be the way to go.........However, I still don't see how I connect them to my amp's binding posts. I could use some sort of stand-off on the speaker terminal blocks, but the binding posts on the amp are unlikely to accept that large a spade lug..............I'll have to pull my amp and make some measurements to be certain.
If I do this, I will of course pass on the results for the benefit of anyone else who may be interested. |
Sonicelectronix.com............NVX "0" AWG, OFC, high flex, silver tinned. On sale $170 for 50 foot roll, free shipping.......Any takers? |
When in doubt, try it out.........isn't that what we all do anyway? Some things seem to work for some people, in some systems, some things don't. If I do something to my system and hear an improvement, but you can't replicate the results, does that make it BS??? .........I recall years ago a product that was called........I think......Maringo dots.......Tiny little things that you were supposed to strategically place in your listening room for wondrous results........Never bought them, thought it HAD to be BS...........but I'm sure some people did and maybe they even thought it made a difference................Stop beating the poor guy up. If you don't buy what's he's selling.........free I might add......don't try it........or try it for a few bucks...........It won't cost anymore than dozens of other "tweeks" that we've tried before, often with questionable results..........How is his theory any crazier than a lot of the stuff that you probably paid good money for in hopes of better sound.........As high tech as this hobby can be....and expensive, isn't it worth a few bucks to at least TRY it before you flame the guy...............Maybe it's BS, maybe it works, haven't had time to try it myself, but until and unless I do I have to give the guy the benefit of the doubt and a little respect at least....Everybody deserves that much and he's not asking you for money, just an open mind............jeez |
All very interesting and somewhat entertaining...............b4icu MAY have a valid point concerning what is best or at least better, vs what is PRACTICAL..........As some have already seen, connecting "0" awg to any gear I've ever seen is at the least challenging. They're simply not designed for welding cable, per se, so cable makers are forced by physical constraints to work with what fits, even (possibly) knowing that they could do better.............just a theory............Still haven't tried this myself, as I have other priorities at the moment, but I do plan to give it a whorl at some point...............worst case it does nothing impressive and didn't cost much to find out. Best case, a little money well spent and my system sounds better................We can argue theory, intelligence, credentials, integrity, etc. all day.............Bottom line, as with everything audio, is that you will hear an improvement, or you won't.........It's a cheap enough tweek to roll the dice............How many tweeks do you already have collecting dust, what's one more if it works?? |
