Question for users of bare wire ends speaker cable

Bare wire is SUPPOSEDLY best. This takes into consideration that the metals being used ( wire material and speaker terminal i.e. binding post, spring terminal ) don't react to each other. Dissimilar metals tend to corrode quickly. To help protect the wire from corroding, you might treat the wire and the terminal with something like Caig Pro Gold Liquid. This supposedly cleans and treats the metals, minimizing oxidation.

As to using some type of connector, a "real" crimp is supposedly superior to soldering the connector on. This would be "preferred method #2". Soldering the connector on is third in terms of a good connection. Crimping and soldering is supposedly fourth. I take this from information presented by Jon Risch on AA and others that are pretty well versed in things of this nature.

Having said that, i prefer to crimp and then solder any type of connection. You have to make sure that all the connecting surfaces have been properly prepped and cleaned, crimp the connection using a REAL crimping tool, use good quality solder, allow the solder to completely flow into the joint, let the joint set up and cool ON ITS' OWN ( no blowing on it to help it along ) before moving or disturbing it, etc...

Here's why i do this: crimping makes a metal to metal bond between the connector and wire. This assures low resistance. Soldering the connection seals the joint from oxidation. It also fills in any gaps and increases the surface area that is making contact. All bases should be covered if done properly.

The argument against soldering is that most solder is not very "pure" or a great conductor on its' own. That is why i crimp first, as this makes the basic connection and does not rely on the solder itself. Besides that, i see NO "theoretical" losses since there are HUNDREDS or THOUSANDS of solder joints in the signal chain. If someone was truly worried about the poor conductivity of solder, i would HIGHLY suggest re-flowing all of the connections on the circuit boards of each component using a high grade solder.

If you are not used to soldering, always use a THIN solder. You can always feed more as it melts and is needed. On the other hand, using a large diameter solder can tend to cool the solder joint / solder tip too quickly. This can end up in a high resistance / low strength connection that look poor and is not secure. Some good solders that i have used are Wonder Solder and Cardas. I find that Wonder melts easier and flows better. The Cardas requires higher heat and a little more attention. Supposedly, Jena Labs states that Cardas is the best sounding solder ( in their opinion ). Silver Bearing solder is MUCH harder to work with and not for beginners by any means. Common "generic" solder such as Radio Shack will work, but tend to degrade much more drastically over time. It becomes brittle and can become resistive as it gets older. Kester is a good alternative to this without costing an arm and a leg. The "no residue" solders that i have tried worked like junk, so skip them.

I think that much of the differences in the various formulations are not so much the metals used to make the solder, but the actual rosin. Keep in mind that you should never use Acid core for electronics unless you want a big mess with potential damage to components. Hope this helps. If you have further questions, try doing a search over at AA. Sean
>

Karls, you state that all of the exposed copper is oxidized EXCEPT for where the actual crimp is making connection. Since "skin effect" is a common term used in wire / cable conversations, don't you think it would be better to treat and seal the entire stripped and exposed area than to have corroded copper /good connection at the crimp / corroded copper at the end with all of that being in the signal path ? After all, once something begins to corrode, that corrosion tends to "wick" into other areas. Kind of like "rust" on a metal surface. It starts small and gradually works its way into everything. Sean
>

Karls, stranded wire is a poorer conductor at ANY frequency. This has to due to with skin effect, stray capacitance, strand jumping, etc... You will find that the best audio cables and high frequency RF cables all use solid wire for very specific reasons. The ONLY benefit that stranding has is that the cable is more flexible and less brittle.

Having said that, please keep in mind that i do own and use some stranded wire in several of my systems. Less "technically correct" or not, they seem to work better in those specific situations than some of the others that i've tried.

As to trying to insulate the excess exposed cables from corroding, you can easily slide shrink wrap, electrical tape, wire sealant, liquid tape, etc... up over the cable and receptacle end of the spade, banana, pin, etc... This might not make it airtight, but it will surely slow down the process. Sean
>

Bomarc, as to "doing my science homework on on cable manufacturers websites", let me know when scientists know and can explain everything. Until then, i can stop learning all of this "dis-information" and get the REAL "edjamikashun" when all is said and done. Sean
>

Karls, the SHAPE and SURFACE AREA of the wire is what determines if there will be a problem with skin effect. That is why Tara uses an oval wire, as it has more surface area than a round wire. Goertz takes this WAY further and makes the entire conductor "surface area". Since the conductor has no depth to it, there is no time delay or smear as frequency is varied. You get the best of all worlds i.e. large gauge for low series resistance, high current capacity, no smear or time delay from skin effect, etc...

Nordost takes a similar approach but in a different manner with different electrical characteristics. They too use flat conductors to minimize skin effect and increase surface area, etc... Instead of one big conductor though, they use several smaller conductors arranged in a different geometric pattern. This is done to alter the electrical characteristics to meet their specific design goals. Sean
>

If "skin effect" has no effect at audio frequencies, try building some IDENTICAL geometry interconnects using identical materials BUT with the only difference being wire gauge. For the sake of comparison, you would have to use solid wire since stranded wire does not come in "micro" gauges.

For specifics, i'm talking about using some teflon jacketed solid wire of various gauges arranged in a twisted pair configuration. Start off small ( for instance, 26 gauge ) and then make a pair that is several gauges heavier ( 20 gauge ) and one other pair that is several gauges heavier than that ( 16 gauge ).

Given the fact that the materials are the same or very similar, the geometries are near identical, etc.. the electrical parameters should be "ballpark". Not exactly the same, but ballpark. The one that i know that you will mention is probably series resistance, but that should be less than 2 ohms total so long as the cable is not more than a few feet. Since the load that the source will see is in effect multiple thousands of ohms, this should have little to no bearing on the results.

Now hook one set up at a time and listen to them. Then swap to the next heaviest, and repeat the swap for the last set. You should instantly notice a difference in tonal balance, high frequency extension, the clarity and quality of high frequencies, etc... between these three cables. Overall, there should be a MARKED difference in treble performance.

If anyone HAS done "testing" like this, PLEASE post your results. Then try to explain why you think you hear the differences that you do. Keep in mind that "current limiting" has NOTHING to do with an interconnect, as we are talking the lowest levels possible. Of course, EE's and anybody else with a "theory" is welcome to join in. Just so long as you know and understand that it is a "theory" that we are discussing. Sean
>

Ehider, you are touching on MANY of the subjects that Jon is trying to cover over at AA in the cable forum. I do NOT attribute all of the differences amongst cables strictly to "skin effect". Then again, if what we were hearing was merely a matter of simplistic electrical equations taking place, we could "duplicate" the sonics of a cable by lumping electrical components together ( resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc...) and duplicating the end impedance via Thevenin's Theory. If you have ever tried doing such an "experiment", such AIN'T the case. There are obviously other things that we aren't measuring that obviously DO affect the interaction between components and various cables.

Outside of all of the "bickering" that goes on here, some of you might want to check out this post. It has TONS of references in it regarding wires and cables, etc... Sean
>

http://www.AudioAsylum.com/audio/cables/messages/40899.html

Anytime there is an "exchange of ideas", there is "bickering" taking place. Each party is "arguing" or "presenting" their side of the story. This is NOT to say that understanding or learning can't come out of a "heated discussion".

With that in mind, i do try to learn as much as possible. I try to better understand where various points of view are coming from so that i can more easily pick them apart : )

As such, i probably do come across as "confrontational" in some / many of the posts that i make. This probably limits the amount of input that specific threads would receive, so i probably need to shut up a LOT more often than i do. I'll keep this in mind. I know that you didn't say that, but i'm sure that it is true.

As to your comments about velocity of propagation and the waveshaping that takes place in various components, etc... i agree wholeheartedly. Those are the things that are measurable ( with the right equipment ), so i have a hard time understanding why it hasn't already been done. Sean
>