Magnet Wire Question


I've decided to try some magnet wire as speaker cable. I'd appreciate some help.

Is 18 ga heavy enough for a 10' run?

Do I twist two lengths and use one of the twisted leads for positive and one for negative? Or do I need to keep the legs separated with painters tape or something similar?

Any other info would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Gary
uncledemp
I have to agree with Don c55. Why bother making those yourself when Anti-Cables are available so readily and cheaply? Plus, if you don't care for the sound of them, Anti-Cables will at least have some residual resale value.
Hi,

Good question. I can buy 120' of 14ga magnet wire for around $20. I thought it would be a relatively cheap way to try out the concept in more than one setup.

Maybe I can use it in my bedroom long term if nothing else.

Thanks,
Gary
Theoretical skin effect in copper at 20kHz starts at gauge 18.

Use drill - you'll never make even twisting by hand. Put at least one turn per inch. Twisted wire effectively reduces noise pickup for frequencies that have wavelength longer than pitch of the twist.

Damping factor doesn't matter. 4 ohm speaker's impedance is mostly resistive and is most likely around 3 ohms. This resistance is in series. Xover inductor in series with the woofer is about 0.1 ohm. Your effective DF is less than 1.3. As long as your amp and wires are 10x lower (0.3 ohm) it will change DF only by 10%. 0.128 ohm would be perfectly fine.

Thicker wire would reduce inductance (only a little) but you already do that by twisting. Twisting reduces inductance but also increases capacitance. It should not make a difference with speaker wire.

Make few versions with very tight, tight and loose twisting and listen. magnet wire is cheap. Good luck.
Thanks for the input! That's what I like about an inexpensive opportunity.

I'll try some different options-

Regards,

Gary