DIY speaker wire: does insulation matter?


I'm planning to make solid core copper speaker wires and have a couple of options as to the insulation to use, and would like your input: cotton, mylar, Nomex, or mica-based.

Does the insulation material matter?
How thick should the insulation be?
BTW, what kind of voltage are speaker wires subject to?

Looking into Anti-cables, they use VERY thin PVC, I believe.

FWIW, speakers are B&W 804S, amp is McIntosh MC275, wire length will be 8 feet, wire diameter 0.098 inch (gauge 10, I believe), and I'm planning to biwire the speakers.

Thank you!
lewinskih01

Showing 3 responses by lewinskih01

Thanks Elizabeth.

How close together? Should I twist the pair? Anti-cables are suggested to be twisted at 3 to 4 twists per foot.

Thanks
Thanks all.

Al: thanks for the explanation and running the numbers. My amp is 2x75 W so taking 57 V peak is more than safe. Still, 57V is rather low voltage in terms of insulation, so that's good news.

CPK: thanks for pointing out anti-cables are insulated with poliester. Maybe insulating mine with mylar (which is a poliester) is a good start. I didn't understand your comment: "In the form that you will be using it in it's dc is a min. 3.9 a bit higher then PVC (not good for this app.)" Could you elaborate?

Thanks again!
Cpk,

I was thinking of getting wire from some guys who wire electric motors (electrolitic copper), and they offer to insulate it for me. I believe the wire is not completely bare but rather has a very thin enamel-type insulation. Would this be a good idea?

Am I looking for a lower or a higher DC? Mylar is 2.8 to 3.7...is that good??

Thanks again,