connect 2 different wire gauge to pos and neg speaker terminal

As far as the directionality thread is concerned Al and Atmasphere have definitely not proved their points. Furthermore, it should be pointed out much of Al’s argument (as is often the case) is an Appeal to Authority, citing experts to support his argument. Even citing his own expertise, not to mention Atmasphere’s. That’s an appeal to authority. You know, a logical fallacy. Geez, all you would have to do to win any (rpt any) technical argument is say well, I found this guy so and so and he says such and such so I must be right.

Cheers

Dielectric constant of Teflon is about 2. Vacuum has dielectric constant of 1.

Yes, Teflon will slow down electromagnetic wave. Insulator will slow down electromagnetic wave by amount based on its ability to store energy - Permittivity. Dielectric constant is just relative Permittivity. This speed of electromagnetic wave thru typical insulated wire is about 60% of the speed of light in the vacuum. For typical cable it comes to about 5ns/m and it is exactly true for cat5 cable. There is no different electromagnetic wave for audio signals and other signals.

Typical velocity factors, numbers on left are percentages of velocity of light in a vacuum.

Transmission line
95–99 Open-wire "Ladder" Line
83 RG-6 Belden 1189A coaxial cable
82 RG-8X Belden 9258 coaxial cable (foamed polyethylene dielectric)
80 Belden 9085 twin-lead
66 Belden 8723 twin shielded twisted pair stranded (polypropylene insulator)[10]
66 RG-213 CXP213 coaxial cable (solid polyethylene dielectric)

Thank you, Kijanki. I was just about to post that numerous references can be found on the web indicating that the dielectric constant of Teflon is in the vicinity of 2.0, or even a bit more, not 1.0. Also, the 70-85% figure Geoff cited is of course at best an average or typical propagation velocity, and examples of audio cables having propagation velocities that are significantly slower and significantly faster are easily found.

Steve (Williewonka), the book you referenced looks like an excellent read! I note, btw, that the section your link goes to was authored by Bill Whitlock, of Jensen Transformers, who like Ralph Morrison is a noted authority on such matters. And I note that Mr. Morrison himself is referred to in Mr. Whitlock’s writeup.

Also, if I may be a bit presumptuous, let me extend kudos for your interest in gaining as thorough a technical understanding of such matters as possible, to complement what I know is your very extensive practical experience experimenting with various cable configurations.

Regards,
-- Al

kijanki
3,274 posts                                                                     08-24-2017 6:39pm

Dielectric constant of Teflon is about 2. Vacuum has dielectric constant of 1.

Yes, Teflon will slow down electromagnetic wave. Insulator will slow down electromagnetic wave by amount based on its ability to store energy - Permittivity. Dielectric constant is just relative Permittivity. This speed of electromagnetic wave thru typical insulated wire is about 60% of the speed of light in the vacuum. For typical cable it comes to about 5ns/m and it is exactly true for cat5 cable. There is no different electromagnetic wave for audio signals and other signals.

kijanki,

Can the type of dielectric used cause distortion of an analog signal as it travels through an interconnect? What frequencies, would you say, are affected the most?
Example PVC vs Teflon?

Tough question.... Can it be measured?

Jim