[llama_egg]

Well, I've finally decided to bite the bullet so to speak and have begun my transition into the fun world of DIY, as I've been craving a new hobby considering the town I'm currently in has well...nothing (other then stealing, drinking or vandalism, sadly I'm not exaggerating).

But here in lies the problem, this town has nothing when it comes to DIY supplies, I mean, other then the Source. So I've been exploring online for a place to order things like wire and what-not (I grabbed quite a bit of stuff off digikey already). The problem I'm finding is that every site it seems I stumble across want's you to order 200-500 feet of wire, instead of say, 50-100. I really don't want to go ahead and order 500 feet of a single color of say, hook up wire, of a random brand, for something that I've only started doing.

I didn't really stumble across much when using the search feature, maybe I'm just using the wrong keywords, which is extremely possible, but anywho, if anyone knows any good places I would be extremely pleased!

 

[rds]

a lot of headfi diyers get wire here.
The wire is excellent value imo.

 

[gore.rubicon]

Parts Connexion?
Take Five Audio?
Both in Canada? You buy by the foot.

 

[llama_egg]

Ah, thanks! I managed to stumble across the Johns site after god knows how many pages of searching.

I know this is an odd question, but what's the difference between normal wire and hook-up wire? I honestly can't seem to find the answer anywhere, and I don't really want to grab the wrong stuff!

 

[rds]

Hook-up wire is intended to be used inside enclosures where it won't be flexed back and forth (ie it is not recommended for headphone cables, interconnects, etc). Lots of people still use this wire for cables, but it is prone to breaking. Ideally you want something with a high stand count and a jacket that protects the wire when it is being flexed for making cables.

High strand count wire is rare in diy audio, because it is more expensive to produce (I find this ironic, since people are paying huge amounts for their audiophile wire).

Jena wire is an example of audiophile wire with a high strand count (though personally I wouldn't buy a foot of wire from that company).

 

[llama_egg]

So I don't need a wire that is labeled as hook-up wire for, say, a CMOY, a high strand count in Teflon would work just as well?

 

[llama_egg]

Edit;

Nevermind, after checking through the forum I think I've stumbled across the answer. Went ahead and ordered some 24AWG Kepton and just normal Teflon so I could try out both types.