On the list of "stupid" my number one is people that bundle several strands of a signal wire with improper insulation (like silk) to make a power cord.
Now THAT is a fire hazard!
If you haven't tried magnets, don't knock them. I've found they reduce noise better than anything else. Then again, you need to use the RIGHT magnet of the RIGHT polarity in the RIGHT situation (have fun experimenting).
As for band width, don't ask me...I'm not a WE engineer.
What I can say is that when we've compared the enameled WE solid core signal wire with the plated solid core signal wire and found that the plating had a bright and hard top end. The enameled sounds MUCH more organic.
We also found that compared to the best of modern cotton covered and air dielectric high purity copper signal wires of a similar gauge that both of them had among the most detail of ANY wire we ever heard in the mid band but lacked energy in the bass and were hard in the top end.
The resulting sound, though impressive at first, was on the thin side and gave me a headache in combination with some music or audio gear.
I can only GUESS that since this wire was intended for VOICE they did something that optimized it in the mids. Once again, I'm not a WE engineer.
As for the WE speaker wire...
It is all PLATED and uses a polymer insulation. The wire itself is actually the same they used for AC...they just made them in twisted pairs with marking or color to ID + from - and called it speaker wire.
Not a sin...didn't we all use the same zip cord for AC and speakers in the day? That was pro and zip cord was for home use.
All I can say is that when you compare it to the best of modern speaker wires you will find it lacking in the top end. Overall it sounds VERY warm and attractive...a great cure for "digititus."
Once again, I can only GUESS that since this was used with older tube amps on high efficiency speaker systems that utilized compression horn drivers (like the famous VOTT), that it was OPTIMIZED for that system.
I've heard VOTTs in a home with this wire. It sounded GREAT. Then again, when you are sitting less than 20' from a compression horn driver that was meant to fill a THEATER you can appreciate a bit of a rolled off top end.
BTW, the VOTTs only go up to about 12Khz...15KHz at best. Once again, they didn't need the extension in the top end.
Please keep in mind, I can only GUESS at the reasons WE did what they did.
My friend and mentor that introduced me to all of this vintage wire called himself an "audio archeologist" and was a collector. He had a ROOM filled with the "whose who" of vintage drivers and amps and would pull them out and set-up systems that we would play around with.
On the other hand, his MAIN system was all high end studio gear. Quite a contrast between the "brutally accurate" modern studio gear and the "attractive distortion" of the vintage.
Now THAT is a fire hazard!
If you haven't tried magnets, don't knock them. I've found they reduce noise better than anything else. Then again, you need to use the RIGHT magnet of the RIGHT polarity in the RIGHT situation (have fun experimenting).
As for band width, don't ask me...I'm not a WE engineer.
What I can say is that when we've compared the enameled WE solid core signal wire with the plated solid core signal wire and found that the plating had a bright and hard top end. The enameled sounds MUCH more organic.
We also found that compared to the best of modern cotton covered and air dielectric high purity copper signal wires of a similar gauge that both of them had among the most detail of ANY wire we ever heard in the mid band but lacked energy in the bass and were hard in the top end.
The resulting sound, though impressive at first, was on the thin side and gave me a headache in combination with some music or audio gear.
I can only GUESS that since this wire was intended for VOICE they did something that optimized it in the mids. Once again, I'm not a WE engineer.
As for the WE speaker wire...
It is all PLATED and uses a polymer insulation. The wire itself is actually the same they used for AC...they just made them in twisted pairs with marking or color to ID + from - and called it speaker wire.
Not a sin...didn't we all use the same zip cord for AC and speakers in the day? That was pro and zip cord was for home use.
All I can say is that when you compare it to the best of modern speaker wires you will find it lacking in the top end. Overall it sounds VERY warm and attractive...a great cure for "digititus."
Once again, I can only GUESS that since this was used with older tube amps on high efficiency speaker systems that utilized compression horn drivers (like the famous VOTT), that it was OPTIMIZED for that system.
I've heard VOTTs in a home with this wire. It sounded GREAT. Then again, when you are sitting less than 20' from a compression horn driver that was meant to fill a THEATER you can appreciate a bit of a rolled off top end.
BTW, the VOTTs only go up to about 12Khz...15KHz at best. Once again, they didn't need the extension in the top end.
Please keep in mind, I can only GUESS at the reasons WE did what they did.
My friend and mentor that introduced me to all of this vintage wire called himself an "audio archeologist" and was a collector. He had a ROOM filled with the "whose who" of vintage drivers and amps and would pull them out and set-up systems that we would play around with.
On the other hand, his MAIN system was all high end studio gear. Quite a contrast between the "brutally accurate" modern studio gear and the "attractive distortion" of the vintage.