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Peter Wieck[_2_] Peter Wieck[_2_] is offline
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Default Audio Interconnect cable Performance - is Return Wire Diameter a Factor?

First of all, let's make sure that we agree on terms:

With the mention of signal wires and RCA plugs, am I correct in assuming that you mean what are commonly known as "patch cords" - those typically coaxial cables between one component and another carrying low-level audio information - that is *not* speaker wires? If that is the case, then the condition of the "return" wire being some multiple of the "signal" wire is already accomplished. Typically, the "shield" (return) wire is multi-strand surrounding the signal wire with a significantly larger cross-sectional area in the aggregate. That is the point of departure.

Wire material: Things to consider:
Silver is a better conductor than copper, and its oxides and sulphates are also typically conductive.
Copper is a better conductor than gold, and its oxides and sulphates are also typically conductive.
Gold is a relatively poor conductor of electricity as compared to the above.. Its few virtues are heat resistance and resistance to oxidation.
At audio frequencies and at typical distances between components - say 4hz -40khz and 2 meters - the brute fact of the matter is that all other things being equal - connector quality, build quality, adequate gauge - mild steel and/or aluminum would behave indistinguishably from any of the above.

What really matters: Things to consider:
It is current that matters. The typical patch-cord from an active pre-amp of modern design may carry as much as twenty (20) Volts at some small fraction of an amp, and unless something is very wrong, always AC. So, not many electrons (amps), but those few are moving REALLY fast at higher frequencies.. BUT!! Consider water in a pipe. When one adds water at the one end, it is not the same water that comes out at the other end. And if that water is changing directions 20,000 times a second, those electrons involved are not really going anywhere, but they are doing it really quickly. So, the limiting factor *must* be the size of the conductor (pipe). So why "conductor" and "return"? Here is where the weasel enters to confuse the gullible. On a patch cord, it ain't nohow a "return". It is a SHIELD. Its purpose is to avoid/protect against/shield from extraneous rF & aF signals as may be floating around that may cause distortion if induced into the signal via the patch-cord. Remember - SHIELD. This is most often stray AC voltages from unshielded components and 'hash' on AC lines from such things as dimmer switches and so forth. And by convention, the shield becomes the common/ground within the entire system. Much as the NEUTRAL becomes the common/ground (eventually). But all of this is convention that flies in the face of physics. Because, if one thinks about it, current always flows from the Negative (more electrons) to the Positive (fewer electrons). We think of the Brits as backward as (some of) their vehicles were based on a + Ground. Which for DC current, is actually the true way of it in terms of current flow. There are peripheral considerations that are both real and important. Cable capacitance will affect very-low-voltage sources such as phono cartridges, tape-head leads and so forth.

Bottom Line:
The proper function of any interconnect will be based primarily on purpose, current requirements, length and materials used. Secondarily, on build-quality. Cutting to the chase, rather crudely, standard coat-hanger wire would be more than adequate for speaker wire over a short distance and if properly terminated. Silver plated Oxygen-free copper wire rolled on the thighs of virgins on Walpurgis Night might be nice, but there will be no improvements attached thereto other than a lightening of the wallet and the spirits of the vendor.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA