OFC or CCA speaker cable?

[DanielT]

Same price OFC (Oxygen Free Copper) 2.5 mm2 VS CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) 4 mm2.

Length about 3 meters / 9ft between speaker - amplifier. Not a subwoffer.

Does it matter which one I choose?

Good price on the cables. 10 meter / 32ft for $18.

 

[JSmith]

Does it matter which one I choose?

Yes, it might... don't buy the copper clad aluminium, stick with the copper around 12 - 16AWG.


JSmith

 

[DanielT]

Yes, it might... don't buy the copper clad aluminium, stick with the copper around 12 - 16AWG.


JSmith

That was about how I thought too. The OFC I will dress in some typ of sock.

 

[JSmith]

That was about how I thought too. The OFC I will dress in some typ of sock.

View attachment 210520

Yeah that's approx 14AWG;

JSmith

 

[Berwhale]

I tend steer clear of CCA Ethernet cables, the lower ductility of aluminium vs copper makes them more fragile and prone to failure.

There's lots of interesting information regarding copper vs aluminium here: https://www.wilsonpowersolutions.co.uk/white-paper-aluminium-vs-copper/

 

[Katji]

CCA always reminds me of stories on Fb group for bassheads, about car systems burning. Although that was for power cables.

 

[DanielT]

I do not get it. Is it some kind of genetic masculinity that kicks in? 2.5mm2 is enough but they have 4mm2 for $ 29.
Of course, this is not about big money. That in itself does not matter but neither does the sound. I am basically completely convinced of that. But bigger is ... I do not know rationally, but hm ..

Maybe I should think more practically, if 2.5mm2 is enough why work with thicker cables? Harder to get stuck in banana contacts/plugs.

Note this is now mostly psychological considerations.

 

[MCH]

4 mm2 each conductor?? Doesn't that start to be heavy? Thinking of unnecessary stress for your banana connectors. No idea, just wondering.
Maybe you will do indeed need a cable lifter

 

[Speedskater]

a] all the loudspeakers care about is the total end-to-end resistance of the cable.
b] there are no standards for CCA conductors, so 4 mm2 may not actually be 4 mm2.
c] if you get the CCA cables, you will continue to wonder whether you should have gotten the copper cables.

 

[DanielT]

4 mm2 each conductor?? Doesn't that start to be heavy? Thinking of unnecessary stress for your banana connectors. No idea, just wondering.
Maybe you will do indeed need a cable lifter

cable lifter..in the form of small masculine toy muscle cars in that case (MOPAR), ..
I'm just kidding.Nop, I do not believe in cable lifts ..other than when I have to vacuum the floor.

Incidentally, a good question: "4 mm2 each conductor ??"
At that price, hm I'm skeptical.
I'm going to that store tomorrow and physically inspecting them then.

I am fully aware of the stupidity of buying unnecessarily thick cables.

What’s a Mopar? Here’s the History of One Hugely Misunderstood Brand

We answer questions about Hemis, Mopar muscle, and what is and isn’t a Mopar.

www.motortrend.com

Edit:
It is a large company, Biltema, has many stores. So they are serious. Where the cables are sold, that is. They know that others "have their eyes on them" thus they would not lie. I think it really is OFC that they are marketing and selling.

Biltema - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Do you not have similar cheap nick nack chains that sell sensible stuff in your countries?

 

[Berwhale]

Do you not have similar cheap nick nack chains that sell sensible stuff in your countries?

That would be B&Q in the UK... https://www.diy.com/departments/tim...le-2-5mm-x-25m/5055268786581_BQ.prd?rrec=true

I don't think i'd risk buying speaker cable from them - they don't say if the cable is copper or CCA and their reputation generally isn't great.

 

[DVDdoug]

As far as I know there is no measurable difference between OFC and "regular" copper wire.

Aluminum has higher resistance (for the same gauge), and I assume you know lower resistance is better for speaker cables (to a point).

I found a chart and it shows aluminum has a little more than 1.5 times the resistance of copper, so to be equivalent you'd need proportionally more cross-sectional area.

Copper cladding will lower the resistance by a little, but I'd guess not significantly.

...For awhile they were using aluminum for house wiring but there were problems related to thermal expansion/contraction that caused poor-connections over time, and oxidation (maybe related to dissimilar metals at the connections) and there were resulting house fires! You're not going to start a fire with a bad speaker connection but over a long period of time it might be less reliable.

 

[3125b]

The conductance of copper is 58

, aluminium is 37

, making the resistance of 2,5mm² copper and 4mm² aluminium cabels of equal lengths almost the same.
The aluminium cable will weigh half as much but be thicker and probably stiffer.
I'd go with copper for the ease of installation.

...For awhile they were using aluminum for house wiring

Aluminium conductors are still sometimes used for high current cables with big cross sections because it's lighter and cheaper even though the cross section needs to be larger.
In East Germany aluminium was used quite extensively in home installation because they didn't have enough copper.

Biltema

I like Biltema, wish we had them here.

 

[DanielT]

I had cables but have started tinkering with various different speaker placements and so on. Thus, snippy snappy of the cables ... still too long so snip snip ... and ..



... I'm exaggerating, of course. It's just buying new cables.You can pay for stupidity, he he.

Edit:
And I could have soldered together various of the small snippy pieces of cable together but ... in that case..it would have looked insane.

 

[Doodski]

Go for the copper core wire and if you buy it from a department store or a discounter make sure the insulation is good and the wires do not short together. I've seen this before. We threw a entire large spool of it in the garbage because we could not sell the stuff.

 

[DanielT]

Go for the copper core wire and if you buy it from a department store or a discounter make sure the insulation is good and the wires do not short together. I've seen this before. We threw a entire large spool of it in the garbage because we could not sell the stuff.

Then you're probably quite right in what you say Doodski. But what do you mean now? Practically how should I .. "make sure the insulation is good" what is good or not? When I stand in the store with the packaging in my hand that is.

 

[Doodski]

Then you're probably quite right in what you say Doodski. But what do you mean now? Practically how should I .. "make sure the insulation is good" what is good or not? When I stand in the store with the packaging in my hand that is.

That blister packaging prevents inspection of the product. If you want to test it then you'll have to buy it, take it home, meter it at home and do a visual inspection.

 

[DanielT]

That blister packaging prevents inspection of the product. If you want to test it then you'll have to buy it, take it home, meter it at home and do a visual inspection.

Aha, you mean so. Thought you were talking about something more advanced.

 

[DanielT]

I bought 4mm2. 2.5 mm2 were sold out in the store. Good that one part of the cable was marked, see attached picture. It makes it easier to plug them in, amplifier - speakers that is.

How was it then with the stated size? Attached picture, dimensions in mm with the plastic around the cable. Then calculating the surface considering that the cable, without the plastic, is not completely round, becomes a bit tricky.

Anyway. Tips for those who buy cables. Keep in mind that cables can be differently flexible, ie rigid / bendable. So there will be no problem with the pacing of them.

Edit:
Perhaps to think between 2.5vs 4 mm2 cables, when it's also not about that much money, may seem like:
A lot of screaming/work for a little wool as the farmer who cut the pig said.

Which, of course, is true, but hey, you should do something in your spare time. After all, it's pretty fun and harmless.

 

[tomtoo]

With 4mm^2 ofc you are on a secure side. Now forgett about speakercables.