[vrao81]

I want to replace some of the wire inside my tube headphone amp. I am looking at some low cost options. How about this wire:
http://www.markertek.com/Cables/Bulk-Wire-Cable/Bulk-Audio-Cable/West-Penn-Wire-Corp/291-BLACK.xhtml?291
It is rated to 300V. Is that suitable for internal amplifier wiring? Or can someone suggest an alternative?
I just need about 10 feet of wire, so an expensive spool is not really what I want.

 

[jdkJake]

I have had nothing but a positive experience with:

http://www.johnswireshop.com/

John will sell you whatever you need. The quality is excellent and the service perhaps even better.

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

I typically like Kimber TCSS for point to point wiring within a tube amp, it strips nicely and makes use of Teflon dielectric. http://www.partsconnexion.com/product3369.html

 

[Uncle Erik]

I like solid core copper with Teflon. I'm not particular about brands, etc.

 

[bhjazz]

Cardas or DH Labs at www.partsconnexion.com.  These are sold by the foot as well.

 

[deadlylover]

Quote:

I have had nothing but a positive experience with:

http://www.johnswireshop.com/

John will sell you whatever you need. The quality is excellent and the service perhaps even better.

 
+1, it conducts as it should.

 
You definitely want something with with Teflon insulation, otherwise, it'd burn by just looking at it.

 

[Iniamyen]

Quote:

I have had nothing but a positive experience with:

http://www.johnswireshop.com/

John will sell you whatever you need. The quality is excellent and the service perhaps even better.

+2
 
Silver/Teflon is nice to work with... easy to bend, keep in place, solder, etc... plus you can buy in small quantities for good prices.
 

 

[jcx]

Teflon is not "easy to work with" - properly striping without nicking the underlying wire is difficult - the nick then becomes a stress concentration that causes the wire to break with any vibration - over time
 
silver plated stranded Teflon insulated wire wicks solder up the wire, turning it solid to well past the nick
 
pros use hot blade thermal strippers to cleanly strip the Teflon without nicking the wire - without thermal strippers inexperienced hobbyist are very likely to nick the wire
 
additionally Teflon is very plastic - it flows in response to pressure - basically forever - if you have bent over edges, clamped the insulation it will creep with applied pressure and thin, possibly to the point of electrical breakdown
 
cross linked polyolefin like polypropylene can be easier to work with - nothing wire touches should be getting hot enough to damage "ordinary" insulation
 
PVC does melt, char during soldering - very unaesthetic

 

[qusp]

actually for this reason the vhaudio copper in airlock (foamed teflon) is my new favorite internal wiring, only comes in solid, but you dont need a blade at all to strip it, a fingernail will do the trick just fine. as its solid its not really the best for things like iem cables etc, but for internal hookup its excellent. the knack of stripping without nicking takes a little while, but once you have it its second nature. i have a separate straight edge blade i use for this purpose only as its an older blade, sharp enough to strip the wire, but not overly sharp. otherwise ive taken to using belden solid copper/ptfe mini coax for input wiring and internal signal connections. I use a LOT of neotech upocc copper/ptfe too, pity it only comes in red.
 
I can also recommend apexjr for regular good quality spc in ptfe, comes in all guages and multiple colours, great pricing and good service. particularly for power amp building, or power supplies. he has some nice milspec coax too as well as cheap nos caps. the availability of multiple colours for insulation in the same gauge is a benefit not to be underestimated, not a fan of johns stuff, good price, good service, but i find the ptfe too thick and not the easiest to strip
 
these days i'm also using a bit of high end spc/ptfe ribbon cable for dac projects, great for keeping things neat, but the really high quality stuff is only available in large amounts

 

[Rhashime]

-

 

[qusp]

disagree, but each to their own, i still have the vast majority of the wire i bought from him 2 years ago, the one and only time i did so. for starters absolutely none of the wire he sells is silver wire, its spc and the wire i linked from apecjr is imo far superior and available in a wider range, for equally good pricing. its much easier to strip, a big bonus imo. nothing wrong his wire really per se, but its not worth the wraps and number of recommendations it gets here, especially for headphone cables, i swear other people could hear the wire microphonics on the cable i made with it.

 

[bhjazz]

Hot blade thermal strippers, sure.  But I'd use a solder pot for that type of work.  The American Beauty models are not all that expensive and do the trick every time.  

 

[fiddler]

I just use whatever stranded wire I've got lying around. If I can strip it with my teeth, all the better. Teflon doesn't allow that.