Loudspeaker internal wiring

[John Duncan]

So, one of my Neutron Vs stopped working yesterday, and a quick disassembly revealed a loose connection to the woofer, so quickly sorted. What surprised me however was just how thin the wiring inside the speaker was (well, it didn't surprise me that much), raising the question of why we bother using loudspeaker cable that wouldn't look out of place in the Mariana Trench when it ends up going through bellwire?

 

[Anonymous]

If you take the fatso shielding off most cables it will look like bellwire, it has to put up with more interference over a longer distance - probably running close to other equipment and mains (or something like that).

 

[Anonymous]

JohnDuncan:So, one of my Neutron Vs stopped working yesterday, and a quick disassembly revealed a loose connection to the woofer, so quickly sorted. What surprised me however was just how thin the wiring inside the speaker was (well, it didn't surprise me that much), raising the question of why we bother using loudspeaker cable that wouldn't look out of place in the Mariana Trench when it ends up going through bellwire?

Some folk rewire their speakers innards for that very reason but if the cables are short it shouldn't matter that much.

 

[Anonymous]

JohnDuncan:...why we bother using loudspeaker cable that wouldn't look out of place in the Mariana Trench when it ends up going through bellwire?

It's the resistance of the wire that makes the difference. For a short length of wire inside a speaker cabinet it would have to be stupidly thin to affect the performance. I this really bothers you, consider the thin tracks on the PCB in you amplifier...

But hey, facts and science has not stopped audiophoolery yet so feel free to replace with the current flavour of the month woodoo cable at ££££ per metre. At least you'll do your thing for keeping the economy rolling

Matt E.

 

[Big Chris]

JohnDuncan:So, one of my Neutron Vs stopped working yesterday, and a quick disassembly revealed a loose connection to the woofer, so quickly sorted.

Wouldn't happen with my 602s.......

;-)

 

[John Duncan]

Big Chris:JohnDuncan:So, one of my Neutron Vs stopped working yesterday, and a quick disassembly revealed a loose connection to the woofer, so quickly sorted.

Wouldn't happen with my 602s.......

;-)

Yeah, I was slightly disappointed but am prepared to forgive seeing as was easily fixable (and because here I can raise any issues with the man directly

)

 

[Anonymous]

Grimly Fiendish:
JohnDuncan:So, one of my Neutron Vs stopped working yesterday, and a quick disassembly revealed a loose connection to the woofer, so quickly sorted. What surprised me however was just how thin the wiring inside the speaker was (well, it didn't surprise me that much), raising the question of why we bother using loudspeaker cable that wouldn't look out of place in the Mariana Trench when it ends up going through bellwire?

Some folk rewire their speakers innards for that very reason but if the cables are short it shouldn't matter that much.

hi John, i also know what you mean regarding the internal wiring and speaker cable - i was actually pondering this last night. also worth considering the quality of the terminals in this equation.

i have actually bypassed this problem by directly wiring my speaker cable onto the crossover (not easy or practical for most) and rewiring the innards with kimper 4pr speaker wire. unfortunately i also replaced my tweeters at the same time so how much of the improved sound is a result of the rewiring im not sure...

 

[chebby]

JohnDuncan:So, one of my Neutron Vs stopped working yesterday, and a quick disassembly revealed a loose connection to the woofer, so quickly sorted. What surprised me however was just how thin the wiring inside the speaker was (well, it didn't surprise me that much)....

"It's shoddy, shoddy workmanship!"

(Father Ted)

 

[John Duncan]

chebby:JohnDuncan:So, one of my Neutron Vs stopped working yesterday, and a quick disassembly revealed a loose connection to the woofer, so quickly sorted. What surprised me however was just how thin the wiring inside the speaker was (well, it didn't surprise me that much)....

"It's shoddy, shoddy workmanship!"

(Father Ted)

Either that or an unowned-up-to short, sharp contact with the floor.......

 

[Anonymous]

Meldenridge:
JohnDuncan:...why we bother using loudspeaker cable that wouldn't look out of place in the Mariana Trench when it ends up going through bellwire?

It's the resistance of the wire that makes the difference. For a short length of wire inside a speaker cabinet it would have to be stupidly thin to affect the performance. I this really bothers you, consider the thin tracks on the PCB in you amplifier...

But hey, facts and science has not stopped audiophoolery yet so feel free to replace with the current flavour of the month woodoo cable at ££££ per metre. At least you'll do your thing for keeping the economy rolling

Matt E.

It's not just the cable resistance, it's the capacitance and inductance too. Inductance is likely to be negligable on a short, uncoiled wire tho.

 

[Anonymous]

I spoke to a speaker manufacturer who told me they suggest using cheaper decent thick gauge wire. I looked at what they used in their testing room as we spoke on the web, and it was something like £3 to £4 per metre. I think it was van damme from memory. They thought the cable made no difference, as long as it was reasonably good enough.

I don't have a view on speaker cable because I don't have the time to tweak this part of set up, but passing on the info for the discussion.

 

[Anonymous]

I would be tempted to rewire them with better gauge wiring, and also consider replacing the caps with Clarity cap SA's.

Then stand back and listen in disbelieve!