Does it matter the wire gauge used in interconnects?

Two VH Audio 18 gauge solid core sounds best. Many of us who have built these know first hand. Better than one 18 gauge on its own. Nicely extended top end. TFA on the negative for single ended or ground/pin 1 for XLR. This recipe just works. The VH Audio 18 gauge solid core silver Airlok is even better, but very costly. I made a Helix design USB cable with it as the data conductors and TFA 16 gauge as ground. The sound is stunning. Just stunning as a USB cable. Yes, I had to modify the rear of the usb connectors to fit these heavy gauge conductors. Once again these gauges sounded better than the usual 24-30 gauge conductors used in usb cables. Why? Well the experts can argue, but folks that have listened and compared agree. I know this goes against the USB “white paper” articles. Go figure. Trust your ears every time.

No problem fitting the double design in a connector as I have done it many dozens of times. I can give some tips if one is pretty skilled with a soldering iron.

I would not mix copper and silver as part of the twisted pair double.  I would not use different gauges either.  The negative and/or ground conductors on ICs simply need a good quality stranded conductor that is easy to coil into a Helix, keeps its shape, and offers enough flexibility or spring to stretch evenly across the length of the cable.  The TFA is ideal for this. Many others don’t work nearly as well.  

Thanks grannyring for the additional information. Since I have already ordered the materials I will try a single run first. Perhaps later I will try the dual runs.

ozzy

Grannyring, I'm new to cable making but am ready to give the double Helix a try.  Under that arrangement, would i be twisting a "+" and a "-" together, repeating this and then twisting the 2 separate sets together every 4", or twisting 2"+"'s together and 2 "-"'s together before twisting the 2 sets together every 4 inches?

@ozzy - RE:

I don’t understand why doubling up the cable is better than just using a heavier gauge wire?

Mainly because the resistance of the "signal conductor" is halved

So why not 3, or 4 or 6 wires? wouldn’t that improve performance ?

• unfortunately, the larger the number of wires the more complex electrical fields come into play and even 3 wires produce inferior results, i.e. in MY system

What about using a larger gauge?

• I have tried wire gauges from 24 gauge to 16 gauge in single and double strands for interconnects
• on my system 2 x 18 gauge wires seems to provide the best performance in interconnects.

My current cables (i.e. power, speaker and Interconnects) ALL have 2 wires for the Signal or Live conductors simply because that is what I have found to provide the very best sound quality.in MY system.

You could try different combinations of wire gauges for yourself, but initially, I would rely on the recommendations of others that have already experienced many different wire types & gauges

You could use a single wire for the signal conductor and the results would still be amazing compared to many other cable brands,

• e.g. if budget is a concern
• and you could easily upgrade later to two wires as the budget allows

Also - always keep the gauge, insulation and wire type (i.e. the metal) the same for SIGNAL WIRES - mixing any of these WILL result in inferior sound.

Which brand/type of wire should a person select for the Signal conductor?

Now we are getting into the area of personal preference

• I prefer bare UP-OCC solid copper wire inside teflon tube
• Others prefer Mundorf Solid silver with 1% gold - it provides a more mellow sound
• Duelund Tinned Copper is also a well respected wire that provides more "body"
• If you are so inclined you can try some different wires

Another variable is whether you go full "Double Shotgun" or not

• Single/Single - I started with a single signal wire and single Helix wire (i.e. single/single)
• Double/Single - I moved to a double signal wire and a single Helix wire - this is now my personal preference in MY system
• Double/Double - I also tried the double signal wire and the Double Helix wire
• The Double/Double provides the very best sound, but the Double/Single is a very close "second" and saves a little on the wallet

Hope that helps - Steve

 

Interesting thread that has me contemplating my next builds.  I have primarily used Canare 4E6S for most of my recent RCA/XLRs.  I do feel having double conductors does provide a performance boost.   May have to look at larger AWG as it seems to have a consensus here.   

I have used various wire from Chris VH over the years and may go back to his OCC Airlock.   What I'm curious about is using bare OCC copper.   Wondering if that would be a good option.  

 

Looks like some type of Helix configuration is in my near future....