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DIY speaker wire: does insulation matter?

I'm planning to make solid core copper speaker wires and have a couple of options as to the insulation to use, and would like your input: cotton, mylar, Nomex, or mica-based.

Does the insulation material matter?
How thick should the insulation be?
BTW, what kind of voltage are speaker wires subject to?

Looking into Anti-cables, they use VERY thin PVC, I believe.

FWIW, speakers are B&W 804S, amp is McIntosh MC275, wire length will be 8 feet, wire diameter 0.098 inch (gauge 10, I believe), and I'm planning to biwire the speakers.

Thank you!
lewinskih01
lewinskih01 OP
912 posts
 
Thanks Elizabeth.

How close together? Should I twist the pair? Anti-cables are suggested to be twisted at 3 to 4 twists per foot.

Thanks
cpk
190 posts
 
Cotton is a terrible suggestion as a dielectric for a copper conductor. Untreated cotton will absorb moisture from the atmosphere and allow unabated access of the atmosphere to the conductor. In the form that you will be using it in it's dc is a min. 3.9 a bit higher then PVC (not good for this app.)BTW I believe anti-cables use a polyester varnish like magnet wire not PVC.

The only thing cotton has going for it is that it reduces vibrations that is why it is used as a filler not an insulation.

Try something with teflon...
http://www.takefiveaudio.com/mall/shopdisplaycategories.asp?id=8&cat=Cable%2FWire
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,531 posts
 
I tried Anti-Cables twisted and not.... I untwisted them for a more open and effortless sound.
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Re voltage levels, I had my calculator handy and I did a representative calculation. 200 watts into an 8 ohm speaker corresponds to 40 volts rms (root mean square) or 57 volts peak.

Regards,
-- Al
lewinskih01 OP
912 posts
 
Thanks all.

Al: thanks for the explanation and running the numbers. My amp is 2x75 W so taking 57 V peak is more than safe. Still, 57V is rather low voltage in terms of insulation, so that's good news.

CPK: thanks for pointing out anti-cables are insulated with poliester. Maybe insulating mine with mylar (which is a poliester) is a good start. I didn't understand your comment: "In the form that you will be using it in it's dc is a min. 3.9 a bit higher then PVC (not good for this app.)" Could you elaborate?

Thanks again!
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