Selecting the "Proper" wire to rewire the internals is almost like selecting the "Proper" sounding cap. The "Marine" wire is a Finely stranded tinned copper conductor, and it seems to be cheap compared to the "Exotics". Has anyone tried it? I've also thought about silicone jacketed test lead wire or the uber- stranded silicone jacket wire (Deans) used in the R/C car realm.
It's all quite silly, actually. I don't believe for a minute that different wires "sound" different there.
The gauge used in some vintage JBL seems dubious, tho.
Don't think I'd be using 3' of 22 G to hook up a 2235....
[Lessee. 1W into 8 Ohms is 354 mA, no?]
Here's a link to a place that sells bulk cable made by Cardas, DH Labs and Kimber Cable:
http://www.partsconnexion.com/catalog/wire.html
Also here's a link to the Parts Express page for Monster Cable:
http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage....ID=155#speaker
I would lean towards using a cable specifically made for speakers before using marine type wiring. The purity of the the copper seems more controlled, some are silver plated, some are stranded in a certain patterns, all of which some audiophiles feel improve the sonic qualities. On the other hand there are also some audiophiles who feel that using common lampcord is just as good as the high dollar "exotic stuff". I've used a lot of marine wiring for running 12v power and ground in my cars and RV. It's good for that application but for speaker wire, while it will work, I find it tends to be a little too stiff for my liking due to the oil resistant sheathing. The brands listed in the above links are all designed secifically for speakers. I think you can probably find one whose price you're comfortable. JBL used Monster Cable for the internal wiring on some of its speakers, not that that's necessarily an endorsement for Monster Cable but it does suggest that JBL recognized that there was some merit to using cable specifically designed for speakers. There are purists with ears better than mine that could probably tell you the sonic qualities between the different brands above. But to me it's like telling the difference between different brands of bottled water.
Cool now you need to get the $650 gadget I saw from Audio Advisor or Music Direct that is meant to be used to "break in" your new wire.
I'm sorry, but I am very skeptical about wire at the speaker level. Within preamps I am more open to the possibilities of slight variations in cable capacitance/inductance making a difference.
I don't discount the very real possibility that you have heard differences... I too have heard unexplained "differences", (these differences/improvements are never repeatable weeks later under different circumstances) but like green markers on CD edges I think it tells us more about the power of the mind than the acuity of the ear. The "As We See It" column in this month's Stereophile (May 2005) actually goes into this phenomenon... treading lightly as to avoid pissing off a good portion of their advertisers, but really calling much of the tweak fringe into question.
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Ho Ho Ho... JBL discovered there was real value, from a marketing standpoint, in using a product so successful (through masterful advertising, distribution, and selling techniques) that they could license their name for a ball park. There is no JBL Field after all...Originally Posted by porschedpm
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The most I'd pay extra for would be Belden "Brilliance" audio cables to bury in the walls.
That's not internal hookup wire, tho.
I've previously speculated that the Monster deal occurred in the hotel bar at some trade show, involving no engineering whatsoever....
So I'll ask the question for Rek50 since we've probably confused the hell out of him so far: Is there any benefit to rewiring the internal wires in a JBL speaker?
A very real phenomenon I've personally noticed is a difference in my actual hearing sometimes. I don't know if it's related to amount of sleep, food, humidity, barometric pressure, temperature, or whatever, but sometimes I hear a very real difference , especially in the high end, certain times, on songs I'm very familiar with, when absolutely nothing has changed as far as electronics, speakers, or setup/layout goes... The next day everything will be back to normal.
John
Hold on, maybe I threw a curve ball here. By "Proper" I meant one that will get the job done. The internal OEM wires seem whimpy to me and I wanted to replace them. I can grab the Marine wire for about .10 a foot. As far as speaker wires, my ears are happy with the wire I'm using now (Home Depot THHN stranded 12awg.) I did have Monster XP, but that crap turned green. The silicone jacket idea was based on how "Nice" the jacket holds up in close proximity to soldering. But, thanks just the same for the input.
Sure... could also be the internal pressures caused by your sinuses... some days I feel I have socks stuffed in my ears, and other days the sound of the ant walking on the counter 10 feet away is disturbing.
What I was talking about though is when a friend changes a wire, a capacitor, the varnish on the cabinet... whatever and says, "...now do you hear how the xxx is better?" If he believes it strongly enough it can be infectious. I have been there and I knew there was no way in hell that placing that little puck on the speaker would make a difference... but we all heard the difference!!! There is a lot about the mind that we don't fully understand.
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Now that is a different story... I typically use generic 16, 14, or 12 ga speaker wire... but I have even use Monster Cable on occasion because I needed the flexible jacket. A silicon jacket would most likely be nice and flexible.
Widget
Yup, change it. Marine wire is fine. JBL used wimpy wire. Haven't measured it, but I think it's 20 G or 22 G solid on some older ones, and like 18 G stranded on 4430's. No harm in using better wire there, but anything bigger than 16 G is probably overkill....
Rewiring your JBL,s internally can make a difference! The older speakers generally had wimpy ga wiring, and increasing the ga will help, not nite an day, but you will notice it. As for what wire, I only recommend copper wire, of a good size! Silver is the highest conductivity, and it is measurable, BUT to my ears silver wire has a bright, edgy sound in the top octaves!
If you must have a " Designer " brand name wire, use whatever you like and can afford, but I personally feel proper gauge copper " ordinary " brands, work as well as anything else, and in some case, where a designer brand of wire DOES make a difference, I find it to NOT always be better, just different!
My personal opinion is that I can and do hear differences between brands of cable, wire and types of materials used! But I have found many expensive interconnects, and speaker wire to be irritating sounding over the long haul! This is my opinion, others swear by certain brands and types of wire, I dont!
scottyj
If one were to take into account such things as lead inductance, stray capacitance, frequency range, load impedance,source impedance, wire resistance and gauge; then do the math...they could prove the obvious.
Mike
There are differences but it is mainly due the the way it loads the amp and longer runs are more critical. Try putting a mh inductor in series and then shunting a 100nf across your amp and see what happens. (don't as it may osillate but this is an extreme example)
Valve amps are notoriously sensitive to cables.
However I have heard common lamp flex and compared the 14 gauge audio grade OFC, the transients were more crisp, bass tauter and mids more focused.
Try bi wiring and see if it helps, thick cables for woofers, thinner cables for tweeters.
Ian
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