Upgrading internal speaker wiring. Any merits? (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Tsang]

I'm not here to start a cable war. Assume for this discussion that cables do matter, would changing the internal wiring somehow affect what the designer acheived in the first place, or is it as simple as swapping speaker cables? I'm not an EE and I don't know if changing the resistance or impedance by using diff wires can ill-affect the crossover's function.

Some manufacturers use Cardas internally. Why don't we hear more about this as a tweak? My guess is that even if it works, it's risky to do because

1. not everyone is the DIY type
2. finding someone trustworthy to do it
3. what if it doesn't sound good, reversible but more involved
4. messing around with the contacts on the drivers and X-over by soldering over and over again might cause permanent damage, which is why #2 is important.

 

[Kenneth Harden]

I'll take a stab:

Probably won't do anything. If you have very old speakers, it might help if the wire is old, but other than that, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Lewis Besze]

Yeah you're right very few speaker makers are "advertising" what cables they use inside of their speakers,and you never hear what's inside of an amp for instance. Why?If cables do matter then they should be replaced everywhere,that includes all wireing inside electronics as well.Why is it that the cable makers only advocating that only "visible" cables matter?

 

[Jeff Gatie]

If you are going on the premise that cables do matter (above things like quality construction, etc.) then yes, all wire should be "upgraded" from inside the source, all through the receiver and into the speakers. But, going by the often espoused "wires are the weakest link in the chain" statement, isn't this more of a refutation of the "cables make a difference" school of thought, considering I don't see any manufacturers offering "boutique" wiring for internal components?

 

[Kevin T]

plinius advertises the use siltech wiring in their amps. naturally, this is the wire they recommend for use with their amps. i owned a plinius sa-102 for a short period. a little nicer sounding than the aragon monos it replaced, but i decided to go for tubes instead.

if we were to assume that cables matter as stated in the original thread, then changing the internal wiring of a speaker cabinet would have an effect on the sound. good or bad? that's up to the listener. however, i seriously doubt changing the internal wiring would do much to improve the sound quality.

kevin t

 

[frank manrique]

Replacing internal speaker wiring will not make any sonic difference whatsoever (and what about voice coil wiring? Wouldn't that have be changed that too?)... :rolleyes

-THTS

"...hi, my name is Frank...and am an SVS bassaholic..."

 

[Aaron Gilbert]

Well, some Infinity speakers advertised being wired internally with Monster Cable.

As for soldering though, most commercially sold speakers use quick disconnect terminals that can be removed without soldering, almost always from the drivers, but sometimes from the crossover as well.

As for changing the sound, it's highly unlikely, given the short lengths inside even a floorstanding speaker cabinet. While it's true that the designer can factor in the resistance of the internal wiring when calculating the crossover, a change of a few milliohms will be inaudible. For instance, let's say your speaker uses very small 20 gauge wire inside. Even if there is 10 feet of it (unlikely), that's still only 0.119 ohms, or compared to an 8 ohm overall impedance, about 1.5% of the total. Frank makes a good point about the voice coil wiring.


Aaron Gilbert

 

[Robert Cowan]

some higher end driver manufacturers will specially choose wire just for their voice coils. its not like they just juse the cheapest crap available (like most people on this forum).

also, some amp manufacturers do care about the components they use, such as wire and resistors, etc... whether you buy into it or not, that's your choice.

maggie owners have been upgrading internal wiring since the 70's with great results. maggies are pretty picky about wiring though.

as always, DO IT and see what you figure out. or, be a cable nay-sayer