Just out of curisosity, What's the difference between speaker wire and and regular electrical wire? Won't speakers still work with regular electrical wires? Is there something different in speaker cable copper that is different from regular copper cables? Also is it okay to use solid wires instead of stranded? Thanks in advance to everyone for your replys.

Boy, you're asking to open Pandora's Box with that post! I'd suggest, as a starting point, you read through all the threads in this forum. Then maybe ask a little more specific question...

You pose some good questions, Jonathan. The most basic answer is "yes, if you use regular electrical wire a speaker could work" -- as long as you have two same-size conductors for positive and negative, you'll get sound. There are differences in the metal used and in shielding (for some speaker wire, but not all). There are also some considerations regarding solid vs stranded that I don't remember at the moment but will try to dig up later -- I'm about to unhook all the computers so we can paint the study today.

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Gonk

Actually as long as both are big enough a size difference shouldn't matter, and stranding without insulating each strand likewise.


Charlie

The real problem with solid wire for me is its stiffness, which makes it harder to run in many cases.

i have audio quest type-4 it is solid wire, and i have no problems running it. i could hear a difference between it and my old acoustic resurch stuff, which is somwhat simler to a lamp power cord, but a little better.

When I was referring to the stiffness of solid core wire I was referring to general electrical wiring as found at Lowes or Home Depot. I was not referring to speaker wiring with solid versus stranded cores. I assumed that was the electrical wire reffered to in the initial post. Just wanted to clear that up.

[This message has been edited by morphsci (edited March 21, 2002).]

( “Is there something different in speaker cable copper that is different from regular copper cables? “ )
Yes. How copper is refined and extruded. For a quick overview go here: http://www.outlawaudio.com//products/cables_about.html#
and look at OFC and OCC processes.
( “Also is it okay to use solid wires instead of stranded?” ) Everyday electricians, definitely use smaller multi-stranded wire applications, Vs solid strand, for wires when vibration, or flex is a factor. As Morphsci pointed out in speaker wire, in speaker wire manuf. the flex factor should be accounted for whereas when buying wire at a building supply you should factor this. There are complaints about wire on occasion even when manufactured specifically for speakers or interconnects, (solid or multi-strand) being exceptionally stiff causing difficulties on bends around busy backs of hardware, also the stiffness, weight factor, causing connections to back out or work loose in some applications. How solid strands Vs multi-strand bundles affects resistance, inductance, capacitance, is another world of info. ‘Skin effect’, Dielectrics, winding geomety, un-insulated strand bundles arch effect, electromagnetic’s, and on and on.
( “work with regular electrical wires?” ) Lots of people make, DIY braided multi-strand or a run of solid strand, speaker wire, out of products they get from building /electrical/electronics suppliers.
Do an archive search on sites like this and you find heated debate on whether or not electrons being passed, from point A to B on a wire, can affect sound.
For myself, In the simplest basest terms possible, when I reflect on how electrical impulses are passed through a wood ladder Vs an aluminum one, (basic conductive/insulation principles), I personally assume that the manf. and design of wire, can and will affect how electrons travel, but theres a world of “degree” here.
Mankind is so innovative and fun, personally it wouldn’t surprise me to find “Ionic Cables” listed for sale someday. Little tiny sealed tubing, with wire running through saltwater.
Choice is good!

I just stumbled into this thread (excuse me!), and it got me thinking. In reality, stranded cables are really only groups of small, bundled, solid cables. Lena (smart indeed!) wrapped it all up pretty succinctly about the physics involved. My take is this: Use good quality copper cable (OFC or better). The largest guage that you can afford and use effectively. Solid is an interesting idea if you want to make a sculpture or an individualiy statement, but there's no real reason to go to the trouble. Use the highest quality connections with the most connetion-point surface area. In this case gold does make a difference due to it's conductivity and anti-corrosive characteristics. If you're going to solder your own connections, then make sure that you are good at it and use only silver solder. Any other kind of solder will introduce a less-conductive link in the chain and you've defeated the purpose. You can spend thousands of dollars on 'audio jewelry'. If that's what you're into, then
more power to you and I have a bridge that I'd like to sell you. If you follow the above principles, then you'll be fine.
Personal Observations: I'm very impressed with the Outlaw interconnects. High build quality, great-looking, good price. I'd be interested to see what they'd do with speaker cable. I've used all manner of connector types. I got used to Speakon connectors (Neutrik) in the professional realm, but they're not practical in the consumer world. I've soldered my own, etc. Presently I'm using banana plugs. High surface area, tight fit, and convenient. Just my choice.
Bottom Line: Listen with you're ears, not your eyes.
Mix

is outlaw planning on coming out with speaker cable? it would be great if they would come out with some bi-wire cabling and so forth.

regarding solid vs. stranded wire...
this is to add a some info to Lena's great post. it's been a while since i've read about these issues, but i'll do my best. This post is long, but please read carefully. i won't come down on either side, stranded or solid.
"the Skin Effect" is primary differentiating factor between solid, stranded, and even insulated and uninsulated wire. Everything else interacts with this issue. Strands, insulation, winding/twisting, even wire cross section (it' not ALWAYS made to be round).
At the heart of the skin effect is the physic involved in electrical conduction. electrical signal travels almost exclusively on the surface of a metal, not at it's core. This is true of stranded wires also since they are many small solid strands.
Take a solid core insulated wire. A signal travels along only the outer diameter of the wire. This wire can interact with the insulation/dielectric. The argument against solid core says that the dielectric material which shouldn't have any effect on the signal, does.
For a stranded wire, the surface area of the wire is increased dramatically as each strand has an intermediate diameter that sums to an overall outer diameter. In simple view, this ought to be good. But, while providing more surface area for the signal to travel, in addition to dielectric interaction, the solid core people would say that the signal from each strand can now interact with the other strands, and the properties of the bounded surfaces would act differently than the outer diameter. Please keep in mind there would both be gaps between the strands, and strands in direct contact with each other. (Can you see why the physics can become hairy?).
This is just the dielectric we're talking about.
Let's move on...more on the skin effect...
Even assuming you have two OFC wires, ignoring grain structure, even trace amounts of anything could affect the signal carrying ability of the wire. As I have mentioned before, the signal travels on the wire surface, and also, it quickly diminishes carrying capacity as you head toward the center of the solid or strand. But just because it diminishes, does not mean the signal diminishes at the same rate, without favoring certain frequencies. Basically, the source and refinement of the wire could/can make a difference. This is also takes part in the skin effect.
Finally, let's talk about wire geometry. Likely somewhere after the dawn of Radio Shack and zip cord, people have been devising various ways to form cable to try and improve the sound. For the longest time, cables sat in "voodoo" mystique, because cables weren't that developed, and it didn't matter when your 78's, and LP's were so prone to deviation (let's not talk about static, or phono pickups with moving coil vs. moving magnets!) So...back to the story. People have been trying (and trying...) different cable geometries to find "THE ANSWER". I remember seeing a few companies sell flat solid wire to increase surface area. I still see other companies using different gauge strands, and different winding, braiding, and even "twists per inch" to tweak out better sound. Long explanation...here's the punch line.
There's good solid core, there's bad solid core. There's good stranded, there's bad stranded.
Even worse, based on your exact models used in your set-up (your components & speakers, and other wires), your cables interact with all these.
To sum all this, basically, better conductor, better insulation, and better geometry can improve your cable, but ultimately, it's how they work around the skin effect that creates any hopefully appreciable improvement in the sound.
Remember, this is all physics that is extremely difficult to measure...so the discerning ear experiences something beyond our capacity to empirically measure for the time being.
Ultimately, buy some cheap zip wire, (hey, it's cheap! help out radio shack!) use it. You'll always have spare cable in a pinch. Buy some better wire (it's not uncommon to test out wires from higher end stores which is a great reason to patronize brick & mortar), and while you're there, pick the brains of the salespeople (preferably a mid to hi-fi audio place that doesn't sell low or midgrade Monster Cable), tell them what kind of sound you like, what kind of music you listen to, what equipment you have, and what percentage of listening is audio or A/V, and bring home a set for listening.
With all the variables I've mentioned, along with all the companies who make cables (I cry to think about doing DIY wire), "it's a jungle" is an understatement. Just notice if you notice a difference, and measure if you think that it's worth the cost. Who knows... maybe you'll become a cable junkie! Either way, once you've figured out what works, the satisfaction will leave you grinning for quite a while. Happy shopping!