Finally, that is out there... I had promised not to post the actual number so we have danced around that for a few years. I bought miles of the Belden old stuff when I could still find it and I also found that a few other wire manufacturers also produced it (mil-spec allows this) although I never found any bulk rolls except the Beldon brand.ckpop wrote:Ken used Belden 8529 wire in his amps, 20gauge solid core/ 1000v. The earlier pvc coat was called thermoplastic. You can recognize the thermoplastic because it is more porous and not as smooth as the later Pvc. He even used this 8529 in the B+ supply starting after the choke resistor.Solid core wire makes a difference in the power supply. Using 18 gauge stranded wire in the power and filtering supply's gives you a different type of low end.
There you go !!!!!!
You mentioned something about the old stuff vs. the new stuff, concerning the PVC shielding. The newer rolls I've purchased do seem to feel... well "newer" than the old rolls so I have an understanding of what you are saying. Since this is a Mil-spec wire, in theory and practice you cannot change the composition or fabrication process and call it the same mil-spec number... Do you think this difference might be due to an aging factor?
I believe there is a later iteration of wire (not the same part#) using the same core material but with an irradiated PVC shielding. This bumps the melting temp of the shielding up a bit but the electronic performance is theoretically indistinguishable...
, tonality of hook up wire is mostly imaginative, but given the fact of higher impedances in tube amps, stray capacitance between wire-chassis-circuit may be an explanation, if there really are audible differences beyond imagination.
the Audiophools have been at this for years, with "this wire sounds better than that", "silver conductors sounds cleaner"... the list is endless... Not that I have anything against solid core from a technical POV.. my objections are mainly based on mechanical aspects.. a guitar amp will usually be subject to a lot of shipping and handling, maybe vibrations from less-than-perfect stage floors etc etc - in sum ; vibrations.. my professional background is from geosphysical sciences, sounding rocket electronics and space comm, where one generally avoid solid core for the very same reasons i just mentioned....