question about wire types

[tonycamp]

all little things matter in the bigger culmination , some people say changing to higher quality caps in a power supply won't make a difference in sound quality, i say, yes it does! I have no proof it does, I also put tinfoil on my head and tried to talk to space aliens when i was a kid, so... what ever poops :-\

 

[Phrazemaster]

Yes, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Ahaha!  ;D

 

[ln76d]

all little things matter in the bigger culmination , some people say changing to higher quality caps in a power supply won't make a difference in sound quality, i say, yes it does! I have no proof it does, I also put tinfoil on my head and tried to talk to space aliens when i was a kid, so... what ever poops :-\

Probably will be difference, especially when you are changing old used capacitors in psu. Probably cheapest chinese caps will affect in same way.
But did you tried to change new cheap caps on theoretically "better"?
Truly, in most cases i put everywhere in circuit better caps. These cost are low, i'm not manufacturer, i will not save one milion, saving one dollar on one cap.
I have no doubt that I have done everything possible to get the best result - at least I have peace of mind.

Another -  probably
Probably your tryings to contact with aliens were doomed to failure from the start.
Everybody knows, that alu/tin foil is for shielding to protect your brain from mind control by aliens...

You should not wear it on your head  ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[Matador]

The whole "this wire type gives more highs" thing is bunk.

Even tiny 28 gauge stranded wire can carry well in excess of 1 amp, and all of the wiring inside a typical microphone probably adds up to about 1/100th of an ohm of resistance.  Any good wire will work here:  something bigger than perhaps 30 AWG, so long as you can strip it, bend it the way you want, and the color is pleasing to your eyes, then use it.  The electrons won't care, I promise you.

And selection bias plagues everything related to audio:  if you are convinced you will hear a difference, then you always will in fact, even if the sounds are identical.

As for oxidation:  this only impacts the outer surface.  Anything coated in solder will be protected.  Anything covered by insulation will be protected (as long as the insulation is of good quality).

Net net:  don't sweat it.

 

[buildafriend]

Excellent point! Twist your wires together with hot and cold low signal wires. The stray effects help to cancel noise.

 

[0dbfs]

I use bits of cat5 wire for this and tons of other things. Stranded. It's very cheap and you get 8 different colors.

Never had a prob that I could blame on the wire.

Ciao!
jb

 

[MagnetoSound]

Jesse knows the answer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs5oLYiB2Cg

 

[buildafriend]

Thanks buildafriend. I read an interesting article in which the designer of a high-end amplifier was using regular ol' zipcord for speaker wire connections!

It was a lengthy article, but the upshot was, plain ol' copper is perfect. What makes the difference is the gauge. He did a lot of testing of this and proved it in blind listening sessions.

Funny thing, however. His customers were so annoyed that he was using zipcord that he ended up buying more expensive wire just so they would stop focussing on the wire instead of his amplifiers!

haha well yeah I mean intrinsic copper is intrinsic copper. smart guy, but no shielding on the cable!

 

[Phrazemaster]

Yeah he never mentioned anything about shielding. Bummer I can't find the article link right now, but it was a very lengthy article.

 

[HellfireStudios]

Why would speaker wire need shielding?

-James-

 

[ln76d]

The whole "this wire type gives more highs" thing is bunk.

Even tiny 28 gauge stranded wire can carry well in excess of 1 amp, and all of the wiring inside a typical microphone probably adds up to about 1/100th of an ohm of resistance.  Any good wire will work here:  something bigger than perhaps 30 AWG, so long as you can strip it, bend it the way you want, and the color is pleasing to your eyes, then use it.  The electrons won't care, I promise you.

And selection bias plagues everything related to audio:  if you are convinced you will hear a difference, then you always will in fact, even if the sounds are identical.

As for oxidation:  this only impacts the outer surface.  Anything coated in solder will be protected.  Anything covered by insulation will be protected (as long as the insulation is of good quality).

Net net:  don't sweat it.

Try to use thicker wires in turntable tonearm - you will hear what's the real "bunk"
This are not "holy grail of audiophile" differences. Those are obvious differences, not subthreshold. Probably it depends on cartridge sensitivity and resolution also.
Standard for tonearms, if i remember good, is 33 AWG litz.
In case of headphones!
In this case probably insulation is more important factor, because standard headphone wires have no typical pvc insulation. I don't know how this type is name, but it looks like all of strands are enameled separately.

Not only ohm and kirchhoff laws works here, "elektromagnetism" have their rules here also

I'm completely unbeliever in audiophiles voodo, but sometimes i was really suprised. On few hi-end stereo systems with very high resolution i heard few differences. It was funny experience

I don't belive in this kind of toys and i'm skeptical in principle. This whole psychological factor associated with the design and apperance of cables does not work on me.
Most of them i saw inside not only on pretty colored outer side.

Oxidizing wires!

You will be surprised if i will show you some of wires, oxidized under insulation.
Unfortunately i've put them to thrash some time ago.
These was  a copper wires in some pvc insulation. Ofcourse it was not on whole insulated length, but at quite a length. Insulation was fine without damages.

 

[ln76d]

I use bits of cat5 wire for this and tons of other things. Stranded. It's very cheap and you get 8 different colors.

Never had a prob that I could blame on the wire.

Ciao!
jb

I know few people which use them as speaker cables - you have xlo or kimber cables thousand times cheaper
In multiroom systems, cat5 is used for sending control and audio signals.

 

[ln76d]

Why would speaker wire need shielding?

-James-

Really don't know, but some manufacturers use Older generation of wireworld cables have an alu foil screen.
In one instalation, when i had to cross (this was not my idea) mains cables inside the wall with the speaker cable, this screen do the job, typical speaker cable doesn't.

 

[Matador]

Try to use thicker wires in turntable tonearm - you will hear what's the real "bunk"
This are not "holy grail of audiophile" differences. Those are obvious differences, not subthreshold. Probably it depends on cartridge sensitivity and resolution also.
Standard for tonearms, if i remember good, is 33 AWG litz.
In case of headphones!
In this case probably insulation is more important factor, because standard headphone wires have no typical pvc insulation. I don't know how this type is name, but it looks like all of strands are enameled separately.

Perhaps, but let us go back and look at what the original question is about:

A bit of a newbie question here.  Just checking to see if there are particular parts of a microphone's internal wiring that require "special stuff".

There are many types of wire for many types of applications, and surely there is no way to provide a succinct answer to every conceivable usage case.

So one can apply my answer in the context of the original question asked.

 

[ln76d]

Yes, but those were natural ways of discussion develop, especially when we started to write about some factors affecting to the sound and an urban legends also
Because you didn't specified on which post you reply, to have sure, I replied, if you wanted to challenge what I wrote
In fact, if noone shared with us with his experience about using different wires, why not to write about experiences with other type of gear.
Not everything is always so obvious in electronic circuits and simplification of some factors by some people is sometimes to big.
I did not want to outwit in any way, only I shared with my experiences, which maybe to someone can give new light on few aspects.
I'll really be happily if someone could write in same way (can be same long and boring ) about his experience with capsules, because for now i have marginal experience.

 

[0dbfs]

I use bits of cat5 wire for this and tons of other things. Stranded. It's very cheap and you get 8 different colors.

Never had a prob that I could blame on the wire.

Ciao!
jb

I know few people which use them as speaker cables - you have xlo or kimber cables thousand times cheaper
In multiroom systems, cat5 is used for sending control and audio signals.

I use them tons for line level, control, and aes in multi room installations. Literally thousands of channels. Tons of scraps available that I then use for hookup in builds just because it saves space in the unit, is flexible, and multicolored. I have used them in tube mic's but still want to get a couple spools of Teflon coated silver for the tube mic's and those type of high impedance apps like capsule connections. Just because I feel the high impedance of Teflon insulation is a benefit. Those sections are very sensitive so I feel it's probably worth it. Plus even if it's subtle intent matters in a visceral sense. To me anyway.

My 2 sheckles. Hope it helps or provides some food for thought. Solid core is a bitch though for hookup in my opinion.

Cheers,
jb

 

[Phrazemaster]

Found A link about wiring, but not quite the one I wanted to share. Still interesting.

http://sound.westhost.com/cables.htm

 

[SIXTYNINER]

I use bits of cat5 wire for this and tons of other things. Stranded. It's very cheap and you get 8 different colors.

Never had a prob that I could blame on the wire.

Ciao!
jb

that cable type is very versatile ,
ethernet apart ,
can be good for wire many type of "control" connections ,
and power too , like leds , switches that drive relays , and related..
with adequate attention of the max voltage/ampere supported limit ,

but for internal box interconnections audio signals
in professional analog audio recording and processing devices ,
better use a specific dedicated type of cable ,

because some  unexpected unpleasant sound surprise could appear….
from a various thousand bucks microphone…..

also better use proper good quality cable for connect the mic to the preamp ,
and same for line type like preamp analog out to AD  converters
between outboards , from DA converters to mixing console or for analog external insert routings ,

and for electric guitars the "thing" becomes even more delicate….

the cable can be  ( or is)  an Eq.

 

[AusTex64]

I use 28GA silver coated PTFE wire with silver solder. I find it’s easier to use with the silver coated wire. Also bought a set of small wire strippers for the PTFE cable, they really help. Also appreciate the not shrinking of the PTFE insulation when soldering.

Thought I would get fancy on a mic build and use solid silver wire from the capsule. Turns out the solid conductor was microphonic. Bad idea.