<s>
Speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
is	O
used	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
electrical	O
connection	O
between	O
loudspeakers	O
and	O
audio	O
amplifiers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modern	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
consists	O
of	O
two	O
or	O
more	O
electrical	O
conductors	O
individually	O
insulated	O
by	O
plastic	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
PVC	O
,	O
PE	O
or	O
Teflon	O
)	O
or	O
,	O
less	O
commonly	O
,	O
rubber	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
commonly	O
,	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
comes	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
zip	O
cord	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
effect	O
of	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
upon	O
the	O
signal	O
it	O
carries	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
much-debated	O
topic	O
in	O
the	O
audiophile	O
and	O
high	O
fidelity	O
worlds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
accuracy	O
of	O
many	O
advertising	O
claims	O
on	O
these	O
points	O
has	O
been	O
disputed	O
by	O
expert	O
engineers	O
who	O
emphasize	O
that	O
simple	O
electrical	O
resistance	O
is	O
by	O
far	O
the	O
most	O
important	O
characteristic	O
of	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
speaker	B-Device
cable	I-Device
was	O
typically	O
stranded	O
copper	O
wire	O
,	O
insulated	O
with	O
cloth	O
tape	O
,	O
waxed	O
paper	O
or	O
rubber	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two-conductor	O
¼-inch	B-Device
tip-sleeve	I-Device
phone	I-Device
jacks	I-Device
came	O
into	O
use	O
in	O
the	O
1920s	O
and	O
'	O
30s	O
as	O
convenient	O
terminations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
early	O
speaker	B-Device
cable	I-Device
designs	O
featured	O
another	O
pair	O
of	O
wires	O
for	O
rectified	O
direct	O
current	O
to	O
supply	O
electrical	O
power	O
for	O
an	O
electromagnet	O
in	O
the	O
loudspeaker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
is	O
a	O
passive	O
electrical	O
component	O
described	O
by	O
its	O
electrical	O
impedance	O
,	O
Z	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ideal	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
has	O
no	O
resistance	O
,	O
capacitance	O
,	O
or	O
inductance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
long	O
as	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
resistance	O
is	O
kept	O
to	O
less	O
than	O
5	O
percent	O
of	O
the	O
speaker	O
's	O
impedance	O
,	O
the	O
conductor	O
will	O
be	O
adequate	O
for	O
home	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speaker	B-Device
wires	I-Device
are	O
selected	O
based	O
on	O
price	O
,	O
quality	O
of	O
construction	O
,	O
aesthetic	O
purpose	O
,	O
and	O
convenience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Resistance	O
is	O
by	O
far	O
the	O
most	O
important	O
specification	O
of	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Low-resistance	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
allows	O
more	O
of	O
the	O
amplifier	O
's	O
power	O
to	O
energize	O
the	O
loudspeaker	O
's	O
voice	B-Device
coil	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
performance	O
of	O
a	O
conductor	O
such	O
as	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
is	O
therefore	O
optimised	O
by	O
limiting	O
its	O
length	O
and	O
maximising	O
its	O
cross-sectional	O
area	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
’s	O
impedance	O
takes	O
into	O
account	O
the	O
wire	O
’s	O
resistance	O
,	O
the	O
wire	O
’s	O
path	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
dielectric	O
properties	O
of	O
local	O
insulators	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
lower	O
the	O
impedance	O
of	O
the	O
speaker	O
,	O
the	O
greater	O
a	O
significance	O
the	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
's	O
resistance	O
will	O
have	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Where	O
large	O
buildings	O
have	O
long	O
runs	O
of	O
wire	O
to	O
interconnect	O
speakers	O
and	O
amplifiers	O
,	O
a	O
constant	B-Device
voltage	I-Device
speaker	I-Device
system	I-Device
may	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
reduce	O
losses	O
in	O
the	O
wiring	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
speaker	O
impedance	O
drops	O
,	O
lower	O
gauge	O
(	O
heavier	O
)	O
wire	O
is	O
needed	O
to	O
prevent	O
degradation	O
to	O
damping	O
factor	O
–	O
a	O
measure	O
of	O
the	O
amplifier	O
's	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
position	O
of	O
the	O
voice	B-Device
coil	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
rule	O
of	O
thumb	O
is	O
that	O
the	O
resistance	O
of	O
the	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
should	O
not	O
exceed	O
5	O
percent	O
of	O
the	O
rated	O
impedance	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Use	O
of	O
copper	O
or	O
copper-clad	O
aluminum	O
(	O
CCA	O
)	O
is	O
more	O
or	O
less	O
universal	O
for	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Copper	O
and	O
aluminum	O
both	O
oxidize	B-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
oxides	O
of	O
copper	O
are	O
conductive	O
,	O
while	O
those	O
of	O
aluminum	O
are	O
insulating	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commonly	O
available	O
C11000	O
Electrolytic-Tough-Pitch	O
(	O
ETP	O
)	O
copper	O
wire	O
is	O
identical	O
to	O
higher-cost	O
C10200	O
Oxygen-Free	O
(	O
OF	O
)	O
copper	O
wire	O
in	O
speaker	B-Device
cable	I-Device
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gold	O
has	O
a	O
higher	O
resistivity	O
than	O
either	O
copper	O
or	O
silver	O
,	O
but	O
pure	O
gold	O
does	O
not	O
oxidize	B-Operating_System
,	O
so	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
plating	O
wire-end	O
terminations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
voltage	O
on	O
a	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
depends	O
on	O
amplifier	O
power	O
;	O
for	O
a	O
100-watt-per-channel	O
amplifier	O
,	O
the	O
voltage	O
will	O
be	O
about	O
30	O
volts	O
RMS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
premium	O
speaker	B-Device
cables	I-Device
have	O
higher	O
capacitance	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
have	O
lower	O
inductance	O
;	O
100	O
–	O
300pF	O
is	O
typical	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
case	O
the	O
capacitive	O
loss	O
will	O
exceed	O
1	O
percent	O
for	O
runs	O
longer	O
than	O
about	O
5	O
feet	O
(	O
10	O
feet	O
of	O
conductor	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
voltage	O
on	O
a	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
depends	O
on	O
amplifier	O
power	O
;	O
for	O
a	O
100-watt-per-channel	O
amplifier	O
,	O
the	O
voltage	O
will	O
be	O
about	O
30	O
volts	O
RMS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
premium	O
speaker	B-Device
cables	I-Device
have	O
lower	O
inductance	O
at	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
higher	O
capacitance	O
;	O
0.02-0.05μH/foot	O
is	O
typical	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
case	O
a	O
run	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
about	O
25	O
feet	O
(	O
50	O
feet	O
of	O
conductor	O
)	O
will	O
have	O
less	O
than	O
1%	O
inductive	O
loss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speaker	B-Device
cables	I-Device
are	O
normally	O
made	O
with	O
stranded	O
conductors	O
but	O
bare	O
metal	O
strands	O
in	O
contact	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
do	O
not	O
mitigate	O
skin	O
effect	O
;	O
the	O
bundle	O
of	O
strands	O
acts	O
as	O
one	O
conductor	O
at	O
audio	O
frequencies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Litz	O
wire	O
–	O
individually	O
insulated	O
strands	O
held	O
in	O
a	O
particular	O
pattern	O
–	O
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
high-end	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
intended	O
to	O
reduce	O
skin	O
effect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
terminations	O
facilitate	O
the	O
connection	O
of	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
to	O
both	O
amplifiers	O
and	O
loudspeakers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
termination	O
include	O
soldered	O
or	O
crimped	O
pin	O
or	O
spade	O
lugs	O
,	O
banana	B-Protocol
plugs	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
2-pin	O
DIN	B-Architecture
connectors	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
commercial	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
connector	O
from	O
Neutrik	O
(	O
viz	O
,	O
Speakon	O
)	O
has	O
some	O
advantages	O
:	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
easily	O
pull	O
free	O
,	O
does	O
not	O
make	O
partial	O
contact	O
when	O
making	O
or	O
breaking	O
(	O
1/4	O
plugs	O
and	O
sockets	O
inherently	O
do	O
so	O
)	O
and	O
offers	O
multi	O
circuits	O
in	O
some	O
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
speakers	O
and	O
electronics	O
have	O
flexible	O
five-way	O
binding	O
posts	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
screwed	O
down	O
or	O
held	O
down	O
by	O
a	O
spring	O
to	O
accept	O
bare	O
or	O
soldered	O
wire	O
and	O
pins	O
or	O
springy	O
banana	B-Protocol
plugs	I-Protocol
(	O
through	O
a	O
hole	O
in	O
the	O
outward-facing	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
post	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
some	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
marketers	O
claim	O
audible	O
improvement	O
with	O
design	O
or	O
exotic	O
materials	O
,	O
skeptics	O
say	O
that	O
a	O
few	O
meters	O
of	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
from	O
the	O
power	O
amplifier	O
to	O
the	O
binding	O
posts	O
of	O
the	O
loudspeakers	O
cannot	O
possibly	O
have	O
much	O
influence	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
greater	O
influence	O
from	O
complex	O
crossover	B-Algorithm
circuits	O
found	O
in	O
most	O
speakers	O
and	O
particularly	O
from	O
the	O
speaker	O
driver	O
voice	B-Device
coils	I-Device
that	O
have	O
several	O
meters	O
of	O
very	O
thin	O
wire	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
justify	O
claims	O
of	O
enhanced	O
audio	O
quality	O
,	O
many	O
marketers	O
of	O
high-end	O
speaker	B-Device
cables	I-Device
cite	O
electrical	O
properties	O
such	O
as	O
skin	O
effect	O
,	O
characteristic	O
impedance	O
or	O
resonance	B-Application
;	O
properties	O
which	O
are	O
generally	O
little	O
understood	O
by	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
however	O
agreement	O
that	O
the	O
overall	O
resistance	O
of	O
the	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
should	O
not	O
be	O
too	O
high	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
well	O
,	O
the	O
observed	O
problems	O
with	O
speaker	B-Device
cable	I-Device
quality	O
are	O
largest	O
for	O
loudspeakers	O
with	O
passive	O
cross-overs	O
such	O
as	O
those	O
typical	O
of	O
home	O
stereos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
reason	O
,	O
lower	O
impedance	O
speakers	O
require	O
lower	O
resistance	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Roger	O
Russell	O
–	O
a	O
former	O
engineer	O
and	O
speaker	O
designer	O
for	O
McIntosh	O
Labs	O
–	O
details	O
how	O
expensive	O
speaker	B-Device
wire	I-Device
brand	O
marketing	O
misinforms	O
consumers	O
in	O
his	O
online	O
essay	O
called	O
Speaker	B-Device
Wire	I-Device
–	O
A	O
History	O
.	O
</s>
