Tube amps and speaker wire ?

So I just purchased a tube amp...The Glow One Amp. Now what I am curious about is what gauges and brands of speaker wire are best with a tube amp, and how they affect the sound quality. I currently use "12 gauge Challenger 2 Ultra High Resolution OFHC Copper" wire with my solid state amps and love it.
The speakers I will be using are either Klipsch RB-61's or a pair of homemade bookshelfs. The homemade bookshelfs use a first order crossover and I know the impendence curve of them. So my ultimate question is... I need your recommendations on gauge and so on ! I would rather use something easily accessable and not expensive ! Opinions please !

 

Any OFC copper wire will be fine. I use 16ga all the time.
-Bill

 

Okay my main concerns are gauge...And I confused the heck out of myself reading about wire capatance and wire impedences and how it changes by frequency and so on.........Now another question...Am I just over analyzing all this ?

 

If you like your current wire, and seems you do, try it, you'll likely really like it. You may be over-analyzing this. . . a tad.

 

Thanks everyone !

 

Hey Steve,
So you don't worry as much about speaker wire as say... interconnects ?
There's not much difference between better quality speaker wire ?
I guess it comes down to one's definition of "good quality" cable.
I remember a quote from you in the Fisher thread where you said you were using some old stuff from years ago and it actually added a bit of grit to the sound which you found beneficial.
I like suggestions like that, based on what you're getting/enjoying from the listening experience.

 

If you like the DIY approach, try some solid core wires - perhaps in silver. If you have short runs, sometimes the lighter gauge silver wire works beautifully.

Not the cheapest option out there, but one of the better ones.

http://www.audio-consulting.ch/?Parts:Silver_Wire_with_cotton_isolation

You could make something equivalent with silver wire and your own cotton insulation.

What length are we talking about?

 

I recommend DNM Precision 2 Solid Core copper speaker wire. Good stuff for tube amps.

I looked up your amp and noticed it is also has a headphone output. Are you going to use this amp for headphone listening? I bet it would be good as a headphone amp.

Scott

 

I have a lot of time for some of the design ideas Denis Morecroft (DNM) has come up with over the years. Here is some interesting reading

http://www.dnm.co.uk/intro.html

 

I really had no intention of using my amp for headphone listening. Basically ....We had some tube gear in the house growing up,macintosh fisher etc. I just feel my modern gear is awesome (Marantz & KI Pearl mainly) , but it's not true to what I want. So trying tubes again and want to "get my ducks in a row" !

 

McIntosh [below] and Fisher [middle right] sound nice even with monster speaker wire.

 

z
WOW!!!!!! NICE GEAR!

 

Thanks Limelakephoto.


Steve

 

You must not be married.

-Bill

 

We realize that it's too late for such nonsense.
On the other hand, she does let me keep the C28/MC240 combo at her house.

 

I'm married ! 37 years young no children (one on the way). My wife is a doll ! She rarely gives me crap about my audio equipment and often says my stereo sounds so beautiful. She never bats an eye when I buy expensive SACD's and vinyl. Now I do get the odd cheap shot about my addiction like most audio addicts....Not often though !

 

Cronus magnum 2 integrated tube amplifier with Alon model 1 speakers and Klipsch Quartet speakers on ocassion. OFC 16 Guage still the best choice? I need 8-10 foot lengths...recommended brands?

 

So do I.

Yes.

The gauge of speaker wire is determined by the current that needs to flow through the wire. 4-Ohm speakers need more current than 8-Ohm speakers do. Tube amps are not different than SS amps in regard to speaker wire. The length of the speaker wire is the most important factor in determining the proper gauge to use.

For most normal speaker runs under 25', 16-gauge is sufficient. If you are more toward the 25' run, then move to 14' gauge wire.

I buy RCA 16-Gauge speaker wire from Amazon, at $19.95 for a 100' roll.

RCA AH16100SR 100 Ft. 16-Gauge Speaker Wire



It is currently being offered for $12.22. The best price I have seen for 16-gauge speaker wire of this length.

14-Gauge is currently $24.78, if you want to splurge.

Rca AH14100SR 14-Gauge Speaker Wire (100 feet)

 

Hi
Yes speaker cables makes big difference ,also IC cables.
I had speaker cable (500CD s ) and 300CD s IC cable . I switch them for Duelund tinned cooper wire 16awg speaker wire (no spade or banana ) sounds better, 20awg Duelund tinned cooper for rca.
Best improvement. You can buy from Partsconnecion ,special price now, 16awg 13.60 CDS, 20awg.I am using with set amp .LM518 ia. and Coherent audio gr 10 speakers.If you are interested. pm in private i can send you photo ,and some advice regarding the RCA how to do it .
Regards.

 

Thanks, it's so easy to get caught up in the hype over speaker wire. I have upgraded interconnects and power cords in the past. I have definitely noticed SQ change in the power cords, not as much in the interconnects, only minute changes.

I do have wifi extenders and a bluesound node 2 connected in the same room so I have also wondered whether an insulated wire would be more beneficial.
I know that power cables and interconnects are insulated in most cases and when I see speaker wire in a clear plastic coating I wonder if RF & EMF interference could adversely affect signal.....maybe the coating on that rca cable does insulate...I'm not sure...

 

Any 12 to 16 gauge zip cord will perform like $1000 speaker cables. Now phono cables is a different story and brand/type makes a small but noticeable difference. Speaker feeds are very low impedance thus wire type makes no difference. On the other hand, phono cables are high impedance (1000 times higher than speakers) and that makes the phono circuit sensitive.