[Audiotodd]

I've come to realize as I've gotten more and more interested in hi-fi audio that I will spend, over the course of my life, a ridiculous sum of money on mediocre interconnects, headphone cables and extensions/adapters. I am well aware of the tools and materials involved but I am curious as to which materials and sizes will be the most useful.

Obviously, my number one concern is finding wire. I personally like big, heavy, substantial wires. Given this, what would be the best gauge of wire for headphone recabling, interconnects, extensions, etc...? Also, What is the consensus on stranded vs. solid wire? I gather the preferred supplier of cheap wire is navships on ebay. Are his wires really on par with more expensive suppliers such as Homegrown audio?

Also, what would be the most useful sizes of heatshrink and sleeving?

Thank you for your help.

 

[penger]

If you want an interconnect "kit" I think homegrownaudio has some.

 

[MASantos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audiotodd /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've come to realize as I've gotten more and more interested in hi-fi audio that I will spend, over the course of my life, a ridiculous sum of money on mediocre interconnects, headphone cables and extensions/adapters. I am well aware of the tools and materials involved but I am curious as to which materials and sizes will be the most useful. Obviously, my number one concern is finding wire. I personally like big, heavy, substantial wires. Given this, what would be the best gauge of wire for headphone recabling, interconnects, extensions, etc...? Also, What is the consensus on stranded vs. solid wire? I gather the preferred supplier of cheap wire is navships on ebay. Are his wires really on par with more expensive suppliers such as Homegrown audio? Also, what would be the most useful sizes of heatshrink and sleeving? Thank you for your help.

Welcome to head-fi and sorry about your wallet. Welcome also to the Do-It-Yourself Forum!

This being your 4th post, and reading its content I can assume you didn't take your time reading and browsing the multiple cable threads that are on the 1st page. You can take a look at the "post pictures of your cables" thread or the "how to make your own interconnect" one too. And if you search on the DIY forum, you find the answers to all the questions above, and much more information you didn't knew you'd want to know!

I say this with no hint of sarcasm, just letting you know that the search function is your best friend around here.

This said, there is no consensus on stranded vs. solid the same way there isn't one on silver vs. copper.

26-22AWG for headphone recables, interconnects, extention cords, amplifier audio signal wiring, and so on, 22-18AWG for ammplifier power wiring, and all of this is of course depending on the specific application.

Don't let the price fool you, there are great wires at great prices, the same goes for connectors.

As for the heatshrink and sleeving question, that will be your homework to find out!

Good luck and don't forget to post your pictures in the thread I mentioned above!

 

[JamesL]

22-26 awg is best for headphone wire in my opinion.
In fact, 22-26 awg is a good bet for any application. headphone recables, interconnects, internal wiring, etc.
I always have a spool of 24awg wire, and a bit of 18 and 20awg for power.

The only place I'd ever use solid core wire is internal wiring for amplifiers and other projects, and even then, I usually use stranded, simply because I have more stranded wire than solid.

3/16" multifilament nylon is pretty useful for alot of cable work up to 6mm diameter.

 

[Audiotodd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MASantos /img/forum/go_quote.gif This said, there is no consensus on stranded vs. solid the same way there isn't one on silver vs. copper.

So I gather. To be honest, I never heard of silver core wire being used for audio applications until I came here so I have no great desire to start using it. However, is there any benefit to using silver-plated copper wire? It seems that a lot of the boutique audio stores (APS, Headphile, Moon-Audio, ALO) are using silver-plated wire for their headphone recables, extensions and other cables.

Also, for the record, I've been a long time lurker and I have performed many a search. I was hoping, however, that someone could provide a more comprehensive set of useful gauges and sizes. It seems that 22 AWG wire is probably the most useful but a few lengths of thinner and thicker wire might also come in handy. Does that sound accurate?

 

[Tomo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audiotodd /img/forum/go_quote.gif So I gather. To be honest, I never heard of silver core wire being used for audio applications until I came here so I have no great desire to start using it. However, is there any benefit to using silver-plated copper wire? It seems that a lot of the boutique audio stores (APS, Headphile, Moon-Audio, ALO) are using silver-plated wire for their headphone recables, extensions and other cables.

You can make silver solid core. There is a website explaining it.

DIY Silver Interconnects

I also recall some people getting silver rods and painting polyurethane or something. I can't find the website now.

I am worried about silver tarnish when building silver interconnects though. I check the material and Silver Tarnish (Silver Sulfide) is an insulator.

Also, anyone know if I have to use silver-pregnated solder or something?

T

 

[Audiotodd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am worried about silver tarnish when building silver interconnects though. I check the material and Silver Tarnish (Silver Sulfide) is an insulator.

Silver tarnishes primarily because of contact with the sulfur in air. So unless you are using air as an insulator it shouldn't be a problem. I gather though that silver is not terribly popular unless its silver plated copper.