audio-talk

I have retrieved from my loft a couple of old tonearms I want to bring back to life, they both need rewiring. In the past I have used a stash of wire I got of Stewart Wen, which came from Audio Innovations I think. I haven’t any left so I am looking for suggestions. I am rewiring a mission 774, I forgot I had, so need something very soft and light, unipivot wiring. I saw this https://www.wires.co.uk/acatalog/litzwire.html, as I am skeptical whether the SQ benefits of exotic wires, such as VDH or AN are real. I attempted to use Audionote stuff in the past - It was a pig to work with. I suppose Cardas isn’t too expensive at £50, but would rather not waste money.. especially at the moment. Any other options/recommendations?
The other tonearm my mechanic I can get away with a stiffer wire. I haven’t decided yet if I risk rewiring that yet, as the Zeta when I did it was a real pain to rebuild and my eyes aren’t as good these days.... may send that to Jonny, if I have a job in 6 months.

I had seen a couple of years back an article where somebody had thinned down a wire by progressively cutting out strands, so they could run a wire from cartridge to phono stage without any joints. Cannot remember how he reinsulated it. I use the zeta with a single run, about 90cm long, just the fine strand all the way, sheathed in a screen when it comes out of the bottom of the tonearm pillar.

I sent my Mission to Jonny at AO to be rewired with Ikeda silver wire. Not cheap but it was obviously better when I got it back. Might say more about the original wire than anything else though.

I use scientific wire company copper litz, has a silk insulator on it. Ive wired unipivots and gimbal arms with it, and its the same stuff that my airprodigy is wired with.
They also do a stranded silver.
Might try that at some point.
I prefer it to cardas

The scientific wire company seems to be wires.co.uk. So I assume we are talking about the same stuff I posted a link to? I was told that a few manufactures use this wire in oem arms. Let me know if it’s the same, sounds like it is, and I will get a few metres.

Will need to get on of my spare decks out of the loft to try them on when done, as too challenging to make another arm board for the hyperspace, to see if they displace the zeta. Don’t worry I don’t compete with most of you I only have 3. The Cranfield Rock, and the bathtub... Trio kd500.

Yep ive just been on their site and it links to wires.co.uk. didnt know that
Yes its the same stuff ive used

If you are a Sceptic and can't lean towards a 'exotic brand'.
A Wire that will be of value, to not impact on the Tonearms Mechanical Movements,
is Kabusa, as it is extremely soft and is possibly the least resistant impact for a wire on a Tonearms Function

I'd be careful about silver from wires.co.uk because I read something recently on Slagle's site or him via HiFi Heroin, saying that unless you got really pure silver that's intended for HiFi, it will be worse than copper. He said he used to think Silver was bright & edgy years ago, but found out eventually that purity is key.

Another vote for silk covered copper Litz wire.

I certainly preferred it to Cardas and other recommended HIFI arm wires.

Close second I found PTFE covered silver plated copper wire - I wouldn't like to wire a 774 with it though - I used in on a diy arm run along the bottom of the arm... the smallest size that I've found is 32 ga

I wasn’t thinking of silver wiring. No cartridges are wound with silver either, so I see no point. I did have some silver speaker cables once.. did nothing for me. Somebody recommended putting a 0.5 ohm carbon resistor in line with it to take the edge of the brightness. I know it’s a completely different application but I found I prefer the sound of tinplated speaker cables from supra.
I have seen the replacement wire from Kabusa.. 15 dollars postage a little steep imho. The wire cannot be unique to Kabusa, I have scoured Mouser and RS without any success. It is cheap enough though to try only risking £25.
I do wonder why the wires come out of the side of the 774 wand, most unipivots have the wires coming out the top and how it’s twisted is used for bias. I have a 12” carbon wand I have made for the mission - I may think about routing the wires out of the top as a trial, if the wand clamp isn’t restrictive.

As for the Kabusa, I know at present at Present Five Individuals who have it as a replacement Tonearm Cable, and guess what, I also have it myself.
I went a bit silly about Tonerarm Wire, looking into exotics from different suppliers.
I took on board the advice of the person doing the rewire, this wire has not left me feeling I require a different type.

Yes the litz that was highly praised when I entered this hobby when I started had really stubborn enamel . Nightmare stuff never thought the stiff clump of wires at the nodes did circuit justice. Sounds to me like silk sleeved is a godsend.

Silver tarnishes and you lose its benefits and some sounds bad.

Silver switches tarnish rapidity and a top dollar preamp silver switched and silver Phono inputs etc too. You end up with a preamp that doesn’t work at all, or you buy all new switches and Phonos periodically.

So silver sounds great once in its life then starts degrading every day. One day no sound gone as conductivity lost.

Yes, it would have to be litz ie. enamelled. Reminds me that somewhere upstairs I have some thin enamelled single core silver - never used it !

Stop putting negative vibes on silver.... I have a mechanical telephone exchange in the mother-in-laws barn full of plessey type 72 switches I plan to strip and sell on ... when times get even leaner in the aerospace industry

Silver switches tarnish rapidity

But switch contacts should be self cleaning.

Why would the surface of silver matter to its conductivity? The point of litz is the individual strands are insulated anyway.