Well, some time passed and I did experiment with lots and lots of Litz wires. I bought what I could afford for DIY and borrowed some Litz phono cables whenever possible. Without getting into too much detail, I was slightly disappointed by the results. In the beginning the ideas behind Litz wire construction and my experience with my handmade cable gave me the impression that Litz equals to the best result you can get. I was very wrong, and I am not sure why. Some wires (like the audionote sounded good) but most of them were missing the sparkle of silver one can get from many solid and even bare stranded wires. I just get the impression that the very thin strands in the conductors are over-dampened by their coatings. I guess there is some effect of the insulation on the strands which I like in some copper cables (like Cardas) but on silver, where I expect speed, clarity and detail to a large extend such an effect was quite undesirable. Still trying to figure out what made that initial handmade Litz so special. Thinking of getting a ready-made Litz cable from the same guy and see if it could keep up with my initial impression. Anyone has any further thoughts about Litz wires?
Pure silver wire: solid, stranded or Litz wire?
I have quite a long experience in using pure solid silver wires in my DIY cables. Overall I am very happy with the results but I always enjoy trying out different things. After having tried a few types of solid silver I ended up with OCC. Not so much because of the claims about 6N-7N purity and mono crystal nature but because it simply sounds at least as good (but probably much better) than the standard 99.99% silver, it is much easier to work with and it is immune to corrosion. These are my observations and not claims by the various suppliers.
However, I am interested in trying out a stranded or Litz version of this silver (or any other type of silver that may be available at reasonable prices? Anyone with experience on it? Positives & negatives?
Regarding the stranded pure silver I do not see many benefits other than flexibility. I am also not impressed by the idea that many bare silver wires are in constant contact with each other. On the other hand Litz silver wires (individually insulated cores braided/twisted together forming a sigle conductors with an outer insulation)seem to be the ideal situation. However, they do not seem to be widely available?
I have come accross Litz type silver only in the case of internal tonearm wires (i.e. Audionote)but at very small sizes and very high prices.
Other than this some online research only came up with very limited sources about larger sizes (HGC and audionote). I have collected a few relevant direct links from different suppliers if anyone is interested but I am not sure if I am allowed to post them in the forums.
Anyway, in terms of Litz style wire, it appears that there is the usual Litz of very fine coated/enamelled cores or a simpler form with larger cores (but less in number)threaded in tiny teflon tubes of the same size before they are tightly twisted together. The second seemed quite an attractive option. It is much cheaper than the first Litz option, more flexible than solid wires, and the little Teflon tubes offer better insulation than a few coatings can do. It also offer improvements in terms of skin effect, ringing, while adds to the overall surcace area of the conductor without the need to use larger sizes.
Any ideas about known suppliers of such wires? Anyone has personal experience?
However, I am interested in trying out a stranded or Litz version of this silver (or any other type of silver that may be available at reasonable prices? Anyone with experience on it? Positives & negatives?
Regarding the stranded pure silver I do not see many benefits other than flexibility. I am also not impressed by the idea that many bare silver wires are in constant contact with each other. On the other hand Litz silver wires (individually insulated cores braided/twisted together forming a sigle conductors with an outer insulation)seem to be the ideal situation. However, they do not seem to be widely available?
I have come accross Litz type silver only in the case of internal tonearm wires (i.e. Audionote)but at very small sizes and very high prices.
Other than this some online research only came up with very limited sources about larger sizes (HGC and audionote). I have collected a few relevant direct links from different suppliers if anyone is interested but I am not sure if I am allowed to post them in the forums.
Anyway, in terms of Litz style wire, it appears that there is the usual Litz of very fine coated/enamelled cores or a simpler form with larger cores (but less in number)threaded in tiny teflon tubes of the same size before they are tightly twisted together. The second seemed quite an attractive option. It is much cheaper than the first Litz option, more flexible than solid wires, and the little Teflon tubes offer better insulation than a few coatings can do. It also offer improvements in terms of skin effect, ringing, while adds to the overall surcace area of the conductor without the need to use larger sizes.
Any ideas about known suppliers of such wires? Anyone has personal experience?
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- 34 posts total
- 34 posts total