What is the difference between acoustic wires and ordinary wires

Installing high-quality, almost professional acoustics with surround and detailed sound at home is not a task for those who are used to counting every penny. Literally every component of such a system costs a lot. You will have to fork out when buying a player (and definitely some kind of analog one, because the “digit” cuts the frequency when transcoding, and does not allow the sound to open at all), and when purchasing speakers directly, and even when choosing wires.

Indeed, acoustic wires cost some absolutely incredible money compared to ordinary ones. If a meter of a standard cable will cost several tens of rubles, then for special ones — for example, from REL Acoustic Ltd. will have to pay several thousand. And this is at best. For example, a 6-meter cable for connecting a REL Bassline Blue subwoofer costs 499 euros, excluding shipping.

And, accordingly, the question arises — is there any point in overpaying? Maybe the acoustic wires really help the sound to open up, and when listening, you can feel a real “audiophile orgasm”? In this article we will try to answer it. Let’s figure out how acoustic wires differ from ordinary ones.

A bit of theory: how sound works

The task of the sound reproducing device is the conversion of signals. This can be either a «conversion» of analog information to digital, or vice versa. Or the conversion of a mechanical wave into an electric current, as happens when playing from vinyl media.

The audio system in approximate form consists of four functional units:

1. 
   Playback object plus pickup. It can be a digital stream when downloading music from the Internet, a vinyl record with recorded tracks, a plastic CD with the same tracks, only with a higher resolution, an audio cassette with magnetized sections, and so on;

2. 
   Converter for converting one type of energy into another. It converts the digital signal into an electrical current supplied to the speakers; it turns the vibrations of the needle of the vinyl player into an electric current going to the speakers … The opposite situations also occur — when you need to turn the electric current into something else. For example, when recording from a microphone;

3. 
   Amplifier. The current that comes from the converter is extremely small. In fact, its strength is measured in microamps. He will not be able to «rock» the speakers at 35 watts. The amplifier is designed to increase the strength of the current;

4. 
   Speakers. They already receive a signal of increased power. It causes vibrations of a magnet attached to the eardrum. And she, in turn, vibrates and pushes the air, giving rise to sound.

Each of these functional elements of the music playback system is connected to the other by wires. And if you can basically ignore the cables between the pickup, transducer and amplifier — they are too short — then long wires to the speakers are already becoming an object of close interest.

As is known from the school physics course, the longer the length of the conductor, the higher its impedance. Because of this phenomenon, part of the signal simply “does not reach” the receiver, being lost in the thickness of the cable. For example, Ethernet wires used in laying local area networks can be up to 90 meters long without amplification. And HDMI cables begin to lose signal after 20-30 meters.

When installing a speaker system, you have to use long wires. Not only can the speaker itself be located at a considerable distance from the amplifier, but also the cables must be laid so that it does not interfere underfoot. And, as a result, the length of the conductor is constantly increasing.

Ordinary wires, in principle, have a relatively high resistance. In thin options, it even reaches several ohms per meter. As a consequence, part of the signal is lost in any case when current is transmitted. Especially if several waves of different frequencies are sent simultaneously along the cable.

To solve this problem, it is customary to use acoustic wires. They consist most often of oxygen-free copper and are complemented by gold-plated tips. All this is designed to reduce the resistance of the wire, thereby ensuring high-precision signal transmission over long distances.

However, the idealized picture of the world, in which only the cable affects the sound quality, tends to crumble somewhat against reality. After all, it is worth considering two more factors:

1. All elements of the audio system must be of high quality, classified as Hi-Fi or Hi-End. If you have a class D amplifier like Pioneer A 70 DA and acoustics like Tannoy Revolution XT 8F, then they can be connected even with wires found in grandfather’s garage. The sound will still be impressive. And even the best speaker wires will not be able to “pull out” audio from a sound card integrated into a laptop with Dexp speakers connected;

2. The older we get, the worse we hear. Researches of scientists confirm that already after 20 years a person cannot distinguish between ultra-high and ultra-low frequencies.

Thus, it is advisable to buy speaker wires when installing Hi-End equipment.

Characteristics of a conventional wire

Ordinary wires are, as a rule, solid or stranded copper conductors in an insulating sheath. Basically, that’s it. Characteristics of conventional wires depend on the copper alloy, section and length.

The higher the cross section of the cable, the lower the resistance. That is why in acoustics, options with a diameter of at least 1 mm are most often used, and 2.5 mm are most widely used. This allows for very low transmission losses.

At the same time, such wires are most often designed to transmit a low-frequency signal — about 60 Hz, as in a modern household electrical network. That is why, when used with Hi-End equipment, they show significant losses. The fact is that modern top-end amplifiers and converters are capable of “producing” a much higher frequency signal.

Characteristics of the speaker wire

As well as ordinary acoustic wires, as a rule, they are multi-core copper cables in an electrically insulating sheath made of polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene or teflon. However, the differences lie «inside». Thus, pure oxygen-free copper is often used for acoustic wires, rather than a copper alloy designed to transmit high-frequency signals with a low resistance of the conductor itself.

In addition, other solutions may be found in acoustic wires. to protect the signal from distortion:

1. Combination of metals. Copper conductor can be coated with silver, aluminum with copper. This is intended to protect against the so-called skin effect, which further increases resistance;

2. Shielding. Dielectric insulation is covered with an additional metal braid, which protects the electric current from the effects of external electromagnetic (induction) fields, thereby preventing the appearance of pickups;

3. High thickness. The standard diameter of speaker cables is 2.5-4 mm, and even more in top models. As usual, this helps to reduce the resistance of the conductor;

4. Special mechanisms for twisting conductor cores. This is aimed at preventing the appearance of its own induction field and protection against homing.

As a rule, the positive effect of these solutions is manifested when using a wire with amplifiers and speakers belonging to the Hi-End group. Except perhaps for shielding. Protection against electromagnetic fields is necessary if the cable runs near a source of significant inductance (electric motors, transformers, current converters in power supplies). Therefore, for example, wires used in car audio systems are additionally shielded.

Comparison of acoustic wire and conventional

So, it’s time to compare these two types of cables. Groups are considered, not products, so only key differences are highlighted.

Speaker cables are designed for use with Hi-End equipment. Then and only then will it be possible to hear exactly how they affect the sound.