On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 10:43:23 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
vaguely proposed a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

I am an EE (well, technically I am, but I've never practiced it) and
I've never understood this craze with speaker wire size. There are only
a couple of fundamental parameters that apply: resistance, capacitance,
and inductance.

Resistance: if you deliver 100 watts (an enormance amount) to an 8 ohm
speaker, 3.5 amps will flow. Wire resistance has 2 effects: heating and
voltage drop. In 16 ga wire, the current density will be about
1ma/circ-mill. I.e., heating will be minimal. 200 feet of 16 ga wire
(100 feet each way) has a resistance of .8 ohms. Carrying 3.5 amps the
wire will have a voltage drop of 2.8 v. Putting it another way, the
wire will consume 10 watts (10%). I'm not sure how this is relevant
since voltage/power drop is just compensated for by cranking up the
volume. So 16 ga wire should more than meet the resistance requirement.

IIRC the problem is not power loss, but damping of the speakers.
Amplifiers are designed with extremely low output impedances (in the
order of fractions of an Ohm, again IIRC. They had damping factors of
figures like 100:1 = 8/100 ohms or thereabouts.), so that they will
act as a near short circuit (dynamic brake) to the speaker when not
sending power. The damping prevents the speakers from oscillating from
their own inherent springiness, because this causes distortion.

Also IIRC, the amplifier needs to be able to be a variable current
source without being a voltage dropper as the speaker sees it in
circuit, to better control the speaker.

Adding resistance by wire will raise the output impedance, thus
lessening the damping.

If your amp had a 100:1 damping factor (a pretty good start) then your
0.8 ohms of wire will significantly affect that figure. If the damping
factor was only say 20:1, then the amp is not as good, you are not as
critical, and the wire will be fine because it's only causing a
relatively small change! G

On the other hand, I have never used monster cable. G

METALWORKING CONTENT. Think MIG Welders. They need to be constant
voltage, Add a long run of wire and you start to see "distortion" of
the welding behaviour! GG