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Running out of time!: Wires

post #1 of 6
11/19/09 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 
I have to get this done before I go to work, so straight to the point...

In order of importance -

Can you use solid wires to make audio interconnects, or is that a 'no-no'.

Is stranded wire better?

Should I use speaker wires or the stranded wire you buy on a spool?

Is there a comercially available (i.e. you can buy it at RadioShack) brand of wire that is better than the rest?

I'm such a newb....
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post #2 of 6
11/19/09 at 6:58pm
Solid is OK, stranded is more flexible and more widely used. I also remember hearing that solid conducts better.
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post #3 of 6
11/19/09 at 7:01pm
While I cannot speak of the difference in sound, I can say that that solid wires will be un-flexible. Also, the can be fragile if one bends them too much.
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post #4 of 6
11/19/09 at 7:40pm
Solid wire is ok, you just won't get a lot of flexibility.

Made with 30ga solid silver:
Cotton Silver Interconnect Construction

Can't see why you couldn't do something like this with copper (with or without insulation).

And stranded wire is made of a number of solid conductors
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post #5 of 6
11/19/09 at 9:11pm
But as the conductor gets thicker, the bending stress on the edges magnifies, contributing to more wire fatigue, which is why stranded takes bending far better. If the IC's aren't going to be flexed very often, it may not be a big deal. But for things like headphone/MP3 player cables that see a lot of movement, solid definitely wouldn't be my first choice.
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post #6 of 6
11/20/09 at 2:02am
I just fixed a snapped wire 2 nights ago, and it is a very flexible solid wire. I'd stay with stranded any given day.
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