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Helen
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interconnects + digital coax

I've been away from a system in my house for 30 years and I'm a bit lost on the fine tuning. I have a Primaluna 400 integrated, Audiolab transport, Ares 2, and Spatial Audio M3s. I'm trying to figure out the quality of interconnects I should look at for this level of rig. There's no since in getting something more revealing than the rig is capable of. Any thoughts?

MattJ
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Any decent quality

Any decent quality interconnect should do. I personally look for gold plated ones, as those resist corrosion better than nickel plated. As far as speaker cable, I would look for something at least 12 gauge Oxygen Free Copper (OFC). A lot of cheap speaker wire is Copper/Aluminum or Copper Clad Aluminum (CCA). Aluminum is not as good of a conductor as copper. I try to keep cable and interconnect lengths as short as possible.

geoffkait
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I hate to come down too heavy

I hate to come down too heavy but nobody makes speaker wire with aluminum. It does make sense and if it doesn’t make sense it’s not true. Even RadioShack doesn’t, never did. RadioShack standard inexpensive copper speaker wire is very good, actually.

- The Hammer

MattJ
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Say what?

The vast majority of inexpensive speaker wire I see sold online is CCA. Not sure where you are getting your info from, but a quick check on Amazon or Google will show you.

manunkind
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Amazon speaker wire might be

Amazon speaker wire might be CCA, but they are pround to announce that it comes in "Certified Frustration-Free Packaging"

geoffkait
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CCA cables are some cheap

CCA cables are some el cheapo Ethernet (data) cables. Be my ghost.

MattJ
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Dude

This is from a generic search for 12ga speaker wire. See for yourself.

https://www.skaraudio.com/products/12-gauge-car-audio-speaker-wire-skspk12ga-cca?variant=31689275736111&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-daUBhCIARIsALbkjSaATDwPVIq7ivDKjD6gQd93PT67gMaFPd6KOi_ZHXey_OdmcyHddtsaAipCEALw_wcB

https://www.amazon.com/InstallGear-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-30-feet/dp/B07LCT9GMS/ref=asc_df_B07LCT9GMS/?tag=&linkCode=df0&hvadid=343238550635&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5501470417034816105&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9006742&hvtargid=pla-733704816905&ref=&adgrpid=68750230963&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Speaker-GearIT-Meters-Theater-Speakers/dp/B00HZWYKF2?th=1

And so on.

geoffkait
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Electric conductivity (10.E6

Dude, who would buy cables that are about 1/2 the electrical conductivity of silver or copper? Be better off using metal clothes hangers.

Electric conductivity (10.E6 Siemens/m) Electric resistivity (10.E-8 Ohms.m) Thermal conductivity (W/m.K) Thermal expansion factor 10E-6(K-1) de 0 à 100°C Density (g/cm3) Melting or deterioration temperature (°C)
Silver 62,1 1,6 420 19,1 10,5 961
Copper 58,7 1,7 386 17 8,9 1083
Gold 44,2 2,3 317 14,1 19,4 1064
Aluminium 36,9 2,7 237 23,5 2,7 660

MattJ
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Who would buy

That was the entire point of my advice. There is a lot of Copper/Aluminum and CCA speaker wire out there, and it's easy to get the wrong stuff if one doesn't know what to look for.

geoffkait
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I can see no application for

I can see no application for CCA in home audio. Obviously if someone has a big spool of CCA they might think, hmmm, let’s see if audiophiles will buy it.

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