[5genez]

LItz wire is designed to reduce AC resistance at higher frequencies, so if it has any audible effect, one would expect it to sound airier and brighter contrary to the duller sound you're describing.

What it was designed for was good. The "side benefits" for audio use was not what they had in mind.It eliminates a certain audible harshness that regular cables have... Many attribute that harshness to being electronics sound. I found Litz makes my solid state sound more tube like.

It can sound nicely airier. It just won't sound harsh (tizziness). Some of the harshness we hear typically comes from the naked strand effect of regular cabling that Litz overcame. That is why for certain applications audiophiles have looked to solid core cable as a preferred cable. (solid core does not have electrical interaction with other strands) .. Litz gives the best of both worlds. When using Litz that harshness is gone. The first impression could be that it sounds duller. But, it actually sound more like real music, less electronic, without the harshness. That's been mine and others experience.

This is not an endorsement... But Cardas HP cables are litz. Not simply braided. Smoothness is one trait. Q-Audio also offers Litz HP cables. http://www.q-audio.com/shopz/q-french-silk-tm-cable

 

[DJ The Rocket]

The problem litz solves is something I can only explain in layman terms.....

Litz has each thin strand coated with a polymer that causes each strand to be insulated from all the others in the cable.
With the usual standard stranded cable (no matter how good the copper or silver) each thin strand is bare and not individually insulating each strand from the other strands.
With regular cable when the signal is being sent through the wires without insulation the current/voltage will skip and jump from one strand to the other. That is why solid core
tends to sound smoother, but if too thick can suffer from other types of signal degradation.

Litz allows for the signal to pass from one end to the other of the cable while avoiding most of the distortions that are unavoidable with regular stranded cable.

When trying litz in my system for the first time, in comparison to the regular cables, .. it sounded almost dull. For all that high end tizz was now missing. What was missing was the normally heard high frequency tizz that is caused by the interaction taking place within the non insulated strands. Litz may requires that you reset your system because many audiophiles compensate for that tizz and try to find ways to dull it down. Litz gives a very tight accurate sound when everything is optimal.... I love it. Its warm when the music is warm... and very quick when its there to be heard.

I don't enjoy correcting people, it doesn't make me popular. But it bothers me on a deep level seeing misinformation like this spread.

Here you go:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litz_wire
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect

 

[5genez]

I don't enjoy correcting people, it doesn't make me popular. But it bothers me on a deep level seeing misinformation like this spread.

Here you go:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litz_wire
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect

Don't worry... That's not correcting my point. I understand those attributes concerning litz wire. Originally it was not designed for audio applications. Its because of how it was designed to achieve that stated benefit it turned out to also have an additional benefit when applied to audio. It may just be the reason why all Audio Research tube equipment was wired with litz. Believe me. It was not wired that way to play in the megahertz range. It was used because of the unique audible benefits we will hear within the normal audio range,..... Its because of its weave and having each strand dialectically isolated from all the other strands in the cable. You will never find that strand isolation in standard stranded wire, no matter what metal is used.

 

[5genez]

1. Cables That Use Stranded Wire:

Under the insulation of a cable, you will most likely find tiny bare wire strands all twisted together. This is called stranded wire. In stranded wire designs, the strands touch each other thousands of times at various points along the length of the wire, causing the signal to jump from strand to strand instead of flowing through a solid continum.

The results are phase distortions at each point where the strands come into contact, causing distortion of the signal; blurred imaging, lost soundstage cues, bloated and non-defined bass, etc. Details like the 3rd and 4th echo off the hall, subtle harmonics and depth are lost. http://morrowaudio.com/about-us/ssi-technology

 

[Speedskater]

The results are phase distortions at each point where the strands come into contact, causing distortion of the signal; blurred imaging, lost soundstage cues, bloated and non-defined bass, etc. Details like the 3rd and 4th echo off the hall, subtle harmonics and depth are lost.

Of course this is all incorrect and total imagination. There are no advantages for using Litz or Solid core conductors in hi-fi situations.

 

[5genez]

Of course this is all incorrect and total imagination. There are no advantages for using Litz or Solid core conductors in hi-fi situations.

Stranded, Litz or Solid Core?
Most cables consist of thin strands of wire bunched together to form 2 conductive cores. However there are alternatives in the form of “Litz” and “solid core”. If you don't know what Litz wire is, then it's best described as a bunch of thin wire strands within a conductor, in which every strand is individually insulated from it's neighbour. Favoured in many high end cables, this configuration has the advantage of completely eliminating signal degradation caused by electricity jumping from strand to strand as it passes along the cable. Electricity “jumps” in normal stranded cable because it travels the quickest path. The bunched strands making up the cable do not run straight, but have a light twist to hold them together for manufacturing reasons. This twist causes “jumping” but any bend in the cable will have a similar effect. As one might expect, elimination of the jumping effect manifests itself in a very pure sound, devoid of grain and background haze.

A well designed Litz wire always seems to perform well as an interconnect. However for speaker cables it is not as consistent. Maybe because it presents a higher impedance for low frequencies. On account of this, it's best avoided as a speaker cable on valve and low power amplifiers. For anything over 40 Watts solid state, Litz cable can be a huge advantage.

Solid Core cable is usually a single, relatively thick conductor instead of a bunch of thin strands. Similar to Litz, there is no signal degradation caused by electricity jumping across boundaries and as you would expect, the sound is pure and transparent.

The tonal balance of a solid core wire is affected by the thickness of it's core. Thin solid core wires (less than 0.5 sq mm cross section) are highly transparent but bass light, thick solid cores on the other hand are bass heavy (2.5 sq mm cross section 30 amp mains wire) – mains wire with conductor cross-section of 1sq mm is about right for many systems and still popular in some quarters.

A large diameter solid core wire such as Origin Live Soli-Core is highly favoured by valve amp users. No one really seems to know exactly why thick twisted solid core wire works so well on valves but it outperforms exotic alternatives including Litz wires.

https://www.originlive.com/choosing-hi-fi-cables.html

 

[Speedskater]

Once again that's all incorrect!

Audio signals don't care if the conductor is stranded, solid or Litz.

 

[5genez]

Once again that's all incorrect!

Audio signals don't care if the conductor is stranded, solid or Litz.

I have seen you pop up in several forums. Your operation is always the same.. It is to simply make contrary, unsubstantiated comments in order to try to chuck a wrench in the gears by saying something contrary. I seen you post enough times to see this consistency, not only here. Its always the same modus operandi you have.

And, yes... audio signals have no feelings. They do not care about what ever you want to do with them.

Its our ears that care. That is... if we have ears to hear. Some will hear. Some won't. And some will refuse to even listen.

And, some others? ... These few are called polarity responders. https://www.quora.com/What’s-the-most-outstanding-life-hack/answer/Phil-Callaghan

You're a condition. Not a solution.

 

[Speedskater]

I have seen you pop up in several forums. Your operation is always the same.. It is to simply make contrary, unsubstantiated comments in order to try to chuck a wrench in the gears by saying something contrary. I seen you post enough times to see this consistency, not only here. Its always the same modus operandi you have.
You're a condition. Not a solution.

I only make corrections to audiophile engineering misunderstandings and myths!
What's the problem with understanding engineering facts of life?

 

[5genez]

I only make corrections to audiophile engineering misunderstandings and myths!
What's the problem with understanding engineering facts of life?

They are not corrections, sir.... They are only the conclusions of some engineers who can not hear what it is, and only know how to measure for things.. not knowing what else is needed to be measured for.

 

[KarmaPhala]

Its not a myth. Come on. Stop, it. Maybe your headphones make no difference. But on audio equipment in general it removes the high frequency tizz and gives more precise
imaging.My speakers sound amazingly accurate with litz. And, only like hi-fi without. But, if I had not so good speakers I am not sure what I would be hearing. We are assuming here that people are seeking the best sound they can get.

Its amazing... Certain people always pop up in all kinds of forums wanting to prevent others from discovering something that will add to their happiness. What's with these guys?

MEDIA=youtube]bTSYdoweivo[/MEDIA]​

I see that you use litz for loudspeaker, how bout portable audio ( earbud, iem, headphone, portable battery powered DAP ), are portable audio benefit litz cable ????

 

[5genez]

I see that you use litz for loudspeaker, how bout portable audio ( earbud, iem, headphone, portable battery powered DAP ), are portable audio benefit litz cable ????

I still use litz cable for my speakers. I recently switched over to WyWires Blue speaker cables so I can get a finished look.

Makes no difference if its portable. If it requires cables to connect? You can benefit. Yet, it all depends on how revealing your portable set up is. It may not be revealing enough to warrant the use of litz. Litz benefits the most for very revealing systems. It takes off the rough edges that revealing systems will allow to pass through.

 

[5genez]

Anyone wanting to learn of the history of Litz cabling being used in hi-end audio a good article is to be found here:
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/a-short-history-of-high-end-cables/

 

[nikitasius]

Well, i made mine, ~1.5m:

Spoiler: final

I used Litz 0.71mm^2, 90x0.1mm each. golden plated 3.5mm stereo jack (G+R+L). golden plated mini-XLR.

This cable have configuration: G+R & G+L (2 grounds separately).

G+L twisted, G+R twisted with different step. Then G+L litz and G+R pairs are twisted between each other with bigger step.
Next they are in nylon sleeve (white), next in a copper shield, next i used heatshrink as an isolation for copper shield (silver on photos) and another one coloured nylon sleeve as a finalization.

Finally, this cord (regarding my measures) have 0.5 Ohm per channel (or less), while original for AKG550MK3 has 1Ohm. This cord pretty hard, so i use it when i'm working and not moving

About sound: i looped audio fragments on my cowon j3 (flac) and tested them:
- litz sounds a bit louder
- i have move low freq, music is juicy

Nextone will be mobile version for walking

P.S. i got my components in an audio shop, not AE, and i use sn96.5ag3.5 to solder it with simple rosin. I ordered more than i wanted, but price for such cord:
- 32.4€ for ALL (including mini-xlr and EXCEPT 3.5 jack)
- 12.9€ for hell expensive 3.5 jack

 

[DaveLav]

Its not a myth.

Actually, for audio, it is a myth and it is only seen in the consumer audio market. That is because the pros in pro audio already know better. Any engineer worth a salt would instantly spot this as a bogus marketing ploy. While Litz wires do have application in RF (and usually in the MHz and even GHz range), it has zero perceived benefit (except maybe placebo) in the audio range. That is because you'd have to be up near 20kHz to even begin to notice a difference, and even then it would only measurable as opposed to human perception.