Does it matter the wire gauge used in interconnects?

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....

My experience with using heavier gauge interconnect wire is that the highs are not as pure.

ozzy

@ozzy - that could be due to the insulation -

• larger wires have thicker insulation
• the greater the amount of insulation the greater the dielectric impact resulting in distortion
• also larger wires have a larger surface area - again exacerbating Dielectric issues

Bare wire in a larger Teflon tube has a dielectric constant close to air and therefore much better clarity across the entire audio spectrum. Using a larger wire reduces the resistance of the "conductor", improving sound quality.

@mbolek - I currently use this wire in many of my cables and it is very good when used inside a Teflon tube

VH Audio is very good and the Airlok insulation (which is foamed Teflon) is much better than ordinary Teflon, but still not as good as bare wire inside Teflon tube.

I have cables that use

• Parts Connexion (PC) bare solid copper 6N wire inside Teflon tubes
• VH Audio solid copper wire with insulation removed and then inserted in Teflon tubes
• Both wires are identical gauge in almost identical interconnects
• The PC wire has a slightly faster dynamic performance,
• But to the casual listener they would appear the same
• Either wire may sound quite harsh in some systems
• whereas using the VH Audio wire with the Airlok insulation can take the edge off the harshness.

With wires at this level of perofrmance it often becomes a matter of personal preference

Hope that helps - Steve