Balanced Line
09-21-2006, 03:31 AM
What about oxygen free copper?
In the last few years much has been made of the term “oxygen free copper”. I said to myself, “Duh, self, I didn’t know there was any copper cable that had oxygen in it (except for trace amounts). One of the first things I did was look to one of the finest American producers of cable, Belden. Belden makes an amazing array of different types of cable. Until recently the phrase Oxygen Free Copper did not appear in their literature. Belden preferred to state the purity of the copper used in their wire and cable, typically 99.95% pure. Oxygen Free Copper is not oxygen free per se but annealed in an oxygen free environment.
The reality is the wire you can buy at Lowes or Ace is plenty good enough to hook up your speakers. The sound is indistinguishable from exotic cables which by the way can cost up to Five Thousand Dollars for a pair of twelve foor runs. Ordinarily at $5K, you will also be provided with a carry case for the speaker cables. Is that a fair exchange for your $5K? Exotic cables can be made of silver or silver jacked copper. Silver is about 5 per cent more conductive than copper. Surprisingly gold is less conductive than either material. The audiophile speaker cables can have strange and exotic constructions. One idea that was in fad for a while employed Cat 5 data cable. Typically Cat 5 is composed of four pair of copper #24 wires. So if you use all the conductors you will have the equivalent of a #20/2 conductor which is kind of puny. Mythical properties openness and transparancy were claimed for connections made with this Cat 5 concoction. It used one conductor from each of the four pairs. The benefits were more cerebral than acoustic.
Today, most DJ hook ups require a connector on each end. We all now know (or should know) the old standby the 1/4 inch phone plug and jack are inferior to the new Neutrik Speakon connector. The Speakon has lower resistance, better current carrying capacity and has no exposed contacts. There is much less potential for shorting. Last but not least, the Speakon Locks. If you are going to use a connector for your speaker wires the Speakon should be your first choice.
Next time we'll look at how wire guage and speaker impedance affect what cables you should choose for your setup.
In the last few years much has been made of the term “oxygen free copper”. I said to myself, “Duh, self, I didn’t know there was any copper cable that had oxygen in it (except for trace amounts). One of the first things I did was look to one of the finest American producers of cable, Belden. Belden makes an amazing array of different types of cable. Until recently the phrase Oxygen Free Copper did not appear in their literature. Belden preferred to state the purity of the copper used in their wire and cable, typically 99.95% pure. Oxygen Free Copper is not oxygen free per se but annealed in an oxygen free environment.
The reality is the wire you can buy at Lowes or Ace is plenty good enough to hook up your speakers. The sound is indistinguishable from exotic cables which by the way can cost up to Five Thousand Dollars for a pair of twelve foor runs. Ordinarily at $5K, you will also be provided with a carry case for the speaker cables. Is that a fair exchange for your $5K? Exotic cables can be made of silver or silver jacked copper. Silver is about 5 per cent more conductive than copper. Surprisingly gold is less conductive than either material. The audiophile speaker cables can have strange and exotic constructions. One idea that was in fad for a while employed Cat 5 data cable. Typically Cat 5 is composed of four pair of copper #24 wires. So if you use all the conductors you will have the equivalent of a #20/2 conductor which is kind of puny. Mythical properties openness and transparancy were claimed for connections made with this Cat 5 concoction. It used one conductor from each of the four pairs. The benefits were more cerebral than acoustic.
Today, most DJ hook ups require a connector on each end. We all now know (or should know) the old standby the 1/4 inch phone plug and jack are inferior to the new Neutrik Speakon connector. The Speakon has lower resistance, better current carrying capacity and has no exposed contacts. There is much less potential for shorting. Last but not least, the Speakon Locks. If you are going to use a connector for your speaker wires the Speakon should be your first choice.
Next time we'll look at how wire guage and speaker impedance affect what cables you should choose for your setup.