{"id":167,"date":"2020-01-29T04:04:29","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T04:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/?p=167"},"modified":"2020-01-29T04:04:29","modified_gmt":"2020-01-29T04:04:29","slug":"speaker-cable-design-brief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/speaker-cable-design-brief\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaker Cable Design Brief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Speaker cables are a very\ndifferent animal than high input impedance interconnecting cables. A speaker\ncable connects to an extremely inconsistent 2-32 ohm (or even lower and\nhigher!) reactive load created by the speaker. RCA and XLR interconnect cables\nsee a much more consistent and resistive high impedance load making their\nelectrical measurements far easier to predict. The speaker cable also suffers\nfrom the audio band\u2019s velocity of propagation non-linearities seen in the\ninterconnect, but also has to figure out a way to be LOWER in impedance to\nbetter match the speaker load, while the velocity of propagation is going DOWN,\nand this naturally increases the cable\u2019s impedance. How is all this managed as\nbest we can?&nbsp; This paper is a walk\nthrough on how ICONOCLAST\u2122 speaker cable addresses some of these issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>SOUND DESIGNS CREATE SOUND PERFORMANCE\u2122<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SPEAKER CABLE DESIGN BRIEF<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Conductors.<\/strong><ol><li><strong>Copper Size. <\/strong><\/li><\/ol><\/li><li><strong>Dielectric material(s).<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Dielectric geometry.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Shield material and design considerations.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Jacket design and material considerations.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Conductors<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>For speaker cables, the first issue that has to be\ndecided is how much CMA (Circular Wire Area) you need based on the application.\nThis isn\u2019t always an exact science as the cable length and speaker type will\nchange your calculated answer. The speaker cable becomes part of the cross-over\nnetwork in the speaker. The amplifier sees BOTH components as <em>one<\/em> load.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the cable is seen as part of the speaker, it\nis easy to understand that the \u201creactive\u201d relationship is between the speaker\nplus speaker cable and the amplifier.&nbsp;\nSpeakers vary by design so the overall speaker component back EMF\nportion of this load into amplifiers varies. Amplifiers of differing design\nreact to the back EMF and the overall performance can be hard to predict. The\ngoal is to \u201cremove\u201d the cable as best we can between the amplifier and speaker.\nCables should not be tone controls, but that\u2019s the goal of EVERY component!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The analysis below looks at the calculations that\nhave been made to settle on the total CMA area for benign reactions to the\nfrequency response of a typical set of loudspeaker loads. And yes, these are\nNOT real time resistive loads but as always, an approximation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The general rule of thumb is that you want the total\nspeaker cable resistance to be less than 5% of the speaker impedance PLUS the\ncable resistance value to avoid speaker frequency response interactions;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>VOLTAGE DIVIDER FORMULA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Vout = Vin x R2 \/ (R2 + R1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ICONOCLAST\u2122 total CMA size mitigates appreciable calculated frequency response changes, and stopped at 9600 CMA (10 AWG).&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img1.png 678w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img1-300x227.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For most practical applications of 0 to 35 feet,\n9600 CMA per polarity should work well to be resistively invisible to the\nspeaker, or amplifier. We want the load to be the speaker, not the cable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HOW we get to the approximate 9600 CMA per polarity\nis the hard question. For those that want the easy way out we have one, 1313A.\nIf we want to see if we can DESIGN a better MEASURING cable let\u2019s see what can\nbe done with Belden technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to figure out what best to do, I looked at\nthings that indicate what NOT to do. We all know by now, that multiple smaller\nwires (to a point!) are better than one fat 9600 CMA solid or stranded\nwire.&nbsp; The operative here is, to my ear,\nTIME based issues at audio. You want the signal to be most uniform through the\nwire for improved current coherence (more identical frequency arrival times).\nTo make that happen, we decrease the wire size so that the skin depth\npenetration goes deeper into the wire, evening out the differences in current\nmagnitude with respect to frequency.&nbsp;\nThis technique better aligns the signal speeds through the wire. I said\n\u201cbetter\u201d as there is no perfect way to do this. But we can certainly be better.\nThe depth is calculated based on frequency and material. The wire size does not\nchange the penetration, it DOES change the minimum current found in the center\nof the wire. The smaller the wire, the closer the center current magnitude\nmatches the surface current as signal frequencies go up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Studies were made on various geometries that would\nhint at what type of conductor to use, and how many. What various design\nlimitations be \u201cinside\u201d the ~9600 CMA resistive box we want to be within?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Probably the easiest approximation for a cable with\nmulti-sized wires is a flat design.&nbsp; Yep,\nline those wires up and stop when you reach the proper AWG size.&nbsp; The parallel wire tested issues lead (pun\nthere?) me away from this simple design. Why? I looked at our TEFLON\u00ae ribbon\ncable for that answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A really nice \u201cflat\u201d TEFLON\u00ae Ribbon Cable<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"624\" height=\"418\" data-id=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img2.png 624w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img2-300x201.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"722\" data-id=\"170\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-170\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img3.png 700w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img3-291x300.png 291w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img3-300x309.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Above is a TEFLON\u00ae ribbon cable I used to test\npolarity symmetry, and capacitive symmetry WITHIN each polarity.&nbsp; The two tables below graph the capacitance\nfrom the outer edge wire to the opposite polarity, all opposite polarity wires\ngrounded together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"601\" height=\"373\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img4.jpg 601w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img4-300x186.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"601\" height=\"361\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-172\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img5.jpg 601w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img5-300x180.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td>1 kHz<\/td><td>10 kHz<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>AVG(pF)=<\/td><td>5.333<\/td><td>5.730<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>STD DEV=<\/td><td>0.862<\/td><td>0.761<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Tolerance=<\/td><td>5.33pF<br>(+\/-2.59pF) <br>@1 kHz<\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The data says that the CONSISTENCY of FLAT cable is not perfect. The closer each wire gets to the opposite polarity, the higher the capacitance. The GROUND reference is more robust the closer we get, and the less distance between two wires, all else the same, the higher the capacitance. We have EACH and every wire, for all intents and purposes, acting like a different wire. ANY cable with more than ONE wire per polarity will have this issue to contend with. How can we do better on capacitance control in each polarity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the answer to that we need to turn to inductance. When\nyou separate the two polarities in a flat design, inductance is seemingly well\ncontrolled. Each parallel wire has current going in the exact same direction in\neach polarity half so the magnetic fields CANCEL one another. The closer to the\ninside polarity separation zone you go, the more the opposite polarity\u2019s\ndifferent current direction upsets the SYMMETRY of the inductive cancellation\nprocess. There is non-linearity through the \u201cflat\u201d polarity, too, but it is\nworse near the edges of each polarity where the \u201cdesign\u201d changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two wires with the SAME current direction next to each other\ncancel some of the fields&#8217; gauss density between them, and two wires next to\neach other with opposite polarities reinforce the magnetic field lines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are two close proximity wires. Notice that the current\ndirection \u201cadds\u201d between the wires with the magnetic field flux lines in the\nsame \u201creinforcing\u201d direction. If we FLIP the current direction of one of the\nwires, the currents cancel but now we have two of the same polarity to get the\ncancellation effect. This is the problem with ZIP cord. We can get low\ncapacitance, but it is not practical to get the lowest inductance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"587\" height=\"127\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-173\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img6.jpg 587w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img6-300x65.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 587px) 100vw, 587px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To prove a point, a single bonded pair used in ICONOCLAST\nmeasured by itself is 12.5 pF\/foot and 0.196 uH\/foot inductance, about what\n1313A reference zip cord is (chart below). This isn\u2019t the best reactive\nvariable balance of L and C for a premium current delivery cable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"590\" height=\"547\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img7.jpg 590w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img7-300x278.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the tested flat design there are inconsistent ground\nplane issues that have to be resolved, AND there are inconsistent\nelectromagnetic field cancellation properties, too, through the \u201cflat\u201d. The\nproblems are locked-in by the geometry of this cable specimen, same as the\nissues with zip-cord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is GOOD about a flat cable that and can we use those\npositive attributes and mitigate the bad aspects? The answer to that question\nlies in a BONDED pair used at RF frequencies. To get to the answer for speaker\ncable, we need to re-invent what a BONDED pair does at audio. Re-designing a\nbonded pair for audio leads to what size and count wires we can manage in\nforward processes. We STILL don\u2019t have the conductor size or quantity question\nanswered after all this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is a bonded pair? A BONDED pair is two co-joined wires.\nA super geometrically consistent zip cord design with superior adjacent wire\nBOND technology. The precision C-C of each wire controls impedance at RF to\nincredibly small variation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BONDED PAIRS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"214\" height=\"172\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-175\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A zip cord removes a lot of symmetry complexity for poor\nmagnetic field cancellation properties. Adding wires to the zip cord to make it\na FLAT cable just adds to the capacitive and inductive \u201ccable in a cable\u201d issue\nas every wire becomes its own drummer. Coherence is improved with more small\nwires that add to the same CMA, but we don\u2019t really have \u201cone\u201d like polarity\nfor each signal anymore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tests show the inconsistent capacitance in a FLAT\narrangement. Tests can also show the INDUCTANCE issues with zip- cords. A\nsingle bonded pair is 0.196 uH\/foot inductance. This value is far too high for\nthe state of the art R, L and C cable that is the intent of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How is using another bonded pair zip cord component going to\nfix this mess? The answer is in the XLR cable. We need to build STAR QUAD\narrangements of BONDED pairs! Visualize the currents using the right hand rule;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"272\" height=\"280\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img11.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-176\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Like the XLR, two BONDED pairs in a QUAD arrangement show\nideal field cancellation with LIKE polarity current all in the same within the\nsame polarity. This field cancellation property of star quads tells us\nfundamentally we need two polarities using many wires in a star quad\narrangement. There isn\u2019t an answer as to how, yet, just that a true star quad\nis a key element we need to keep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The solution was a compromise, as is usually the case in audio\ncables. The design devised a way to create star quads THROUGHOUT a process that\nvaried between near perfect, and slightly imperfect. It was done with 100%\nconsistency within each polarity so every wire measured the same inductance and\ncapacitance to the opposite polarity, and made significantly lowered inductance\nwith only a moderate rise in capacitance. The capacitance was increased on\npurpose, I might add! More on why I did that later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>BONDED PAIR STAR QUAD ARRANGEMENTS IN PRACTICE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"454\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img12.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-177\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img12.png 512w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img12-300x266.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The above illustration shows the variation in the\nSTAR QUADS between like bonded pairs in a polarity. The question is does it\nwork; capacitance measured 45 pF\/foot between polarity wires and inductance\nmeasured 0.08 uH\/foot. Capacitance variation, and the electromagnetically tied\ninductance variation, is superb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>STAR QUAD POLARITY TESTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"601\" height=\"361\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img13.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img13.jpg 601w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img13-300x180.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"601\" height=\"361\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img14.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img14.jpg 601w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img14-300x180.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The difference in reactive stability between each wire in a single polarity, and BETWEEN each polarity can measures significantly better in ICONOCLAST. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td>1 kHz<\/td><td>10 kHz<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>AVG(pF)<\/td><td>14.893<\/td><td>14.441<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>STD DEV<\/td><td>0.166<\/td><td>0.202<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Tolerance\nis +\/- 0.5 pF @ 1 KHz or more than 5 times tighter variation than the 8R28064 flat cable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\nwas done was to BRAID, on a GHz capable braider, the needed wires to arrive at\nthe 9600 CMA DCR requirement. The braider needed a symmetrical arrangement so\nan even number of bobbins was chosen, 12.&nbsp;\nThis is 24 wires per polarity. 9600 CMA \/ 24 = 400CMA per wire, or a\n0.020\u201d 24 AWG wire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nbraid DESIGN is not forthcoming, so the balance of electricals has to be\nunderstood.&nbsp; Several, several design\niterations were trialed before I froze the design around the proper braid\nrelationship to arrive at a suitably balance reactive cable measurement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>BRAIDED POLARITY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img15.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img15.jpg 640w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img15-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>People\nwill \u201cguess\u201d that ICONOCLAST is a BONDED pair ETHERNET cable, and it is not.\nThe REASONS and the DESIGN are not the same at all. All that is the same is the\ncoincidence of a 24 AWG solid copper wire common to Ethernet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each\npolarity is BRAIDED and FLATTENED into a, you guesses it, FLAT shape! We\nessentially \u201cfold\u201d the flat cable over on itself into ONE polarity. Then,\nopposite polarities are tightly bound to keep LOOP area to a minimum, critical\nto inductance as the formula is GEOMETRY controlled, not the dielectric. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>TEXTILE BRAID\nBONDING OF TWO POLARITIES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img16.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img16.jpg 640w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img16-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img16-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><br>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Measured Rs (skin effect \/\nproximity effects)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong>The nature of the magnetic fields can be indirectly MEASURED with an Rs\nmeasurement. The flatter the Rs, the better the skin depth \/ proximity effect\nare managed. Proximity effect is the currents in each polarity being \u201cpulled\u201d\nto the inside edge of each conductor, and away from the outside edge. This\nimpacts conductor efficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"428\" height=\"164\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img17.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img17.png 428w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img17-300x115.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 428px) 100vw, 428px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"414\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img18-1024x414.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img18-1024x414.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img18-300x121.jpg 300w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img18-768x310.jpg 768w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img18-850x343.jpg 850w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img18.jpg 1094w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>FINISHED\nASSEMBLY OF BONDED POLARITIES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"884\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img19.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-184\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img19.png 884w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img19-300x81.png 300w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img19-768x209.png 768w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img19-850x231.png 850w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 884px) 100vw, 884px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>An awful lot of testing was done to identify the weaknesses\nof various designs. We wanted to avoid; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Inconsistent capacitance in each wire.<\/li><li>Inconsistent inductance in each wire.<\/li><li>Inconsistent ground plane interaction between wires and\nbetween polarities.<\/li><li>Inconsistent\nwire DCR between all wires.<\/li><li>Poor\npolarity DCR values (too high or low total CMA).<\/li><li>Inconsistent\ndielectric performance between each wire.<\/li><li>Poor\nfrequency coherence in each wire.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>After\nall the testing, a 20-mil wire diameter in a 24 wire (12 bonded pairs) woven\npolarity was created to match the design to the electromagnetic\nrequirements.&nbsp; The final design that\ndrove the final wire size is 100% symmetrical in every measure on every wire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Woven\nsingle polarities achieve class leading performance in polarity-to-polarity and\nwire-to-wire consistency while also providing exceptionally low reactive\nvariables. The superposition of the magnetic fields drive inductance down from\n0.196 uH\/foot to 0.08 uH\/foot, a 59% reduction in inductance, while holding\ncapacitance to just 45 pF\/foot. L and C can be CHANGED based on the woven\nDESIGN, but was optimized for speaker cable applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Dielectric material(s).<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>TEFLON\u00ae was chosen as it is again, the best solid\ndielectric there is. I needed a thin wall to bring the wires close together for\ninductance reduction but capacitance is an issue with 24 closely spaced wires.\nA capacitor is two parallel conductive plates with an insulator between them.\nTo lower capacitance, I wanted a low dielectric constant plastic, Teflon\u00ae. To\nachieve the required low capacitance, more needs to be done to \u201cthicken\u201d the\ninsulation without increasing loop area effects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This seems impossible to do, but it isn\u2019t with the\nwoven design described above. The final insulation wall was driven by BALANCING\ncapacitive gains with inductive reduction.&nbsp;\nDielectric geometry allowed this balance to be accomplished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Dielectric geometry.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The requirement to meet capacitance ALSO drove the\ndesign to a weave pattern. Each polarity is SEPARATE from one another. There is\nNO interweaving of same polarity wires. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some will ask about wires with several AWG sizes.\nCurrent will flow along the path of least resistance. This does not mean\ncurrent won\u2019t flow in specific wires, just that the majority of the current magnitude\nis shifted to the easier path. EVERY wire will have current at ALL frequencies.\nThe magnitude will change and follow ohm\u2019s law. Many differing wires sizes and\nelectrical lengths can impact the signal arrival times across the audio band\nbased on physical conductor lengths in composite wire size designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we take two wires with the same exact skin depth\n(same frequency point being considered) but one wire has twice the surface\narea, more current will flow into the larger surface area wire. It offers less\nresistance. But, the lower resistance wire is a larger wire and isn\u2019t what we\nwould like if the current across the wire is to be more uniform. Bigger wires\nare better at lowering resistance at a given frequency because they have the\nmost surface area. We use this at RF with a \u201cskin\u201d of copper to carry the\nlowest, yet still high, frequencies efficiently. The wire\u2019s core under the\ncopper is a material that is \u201cfiller\u201d and has no current flow: steel, aluminum,\netc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At lower frequencies the current is diffusion\ncoupled evenly through the ENTIRE wire. So if you send JUST low frequencies,\nuse low a DCR wire as you can get. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those are the extremes. Audio is weird in that we\nneed to improve current coherence through the wire while it is trying to MOVE\nto the outside surface. We don\u2019t care about attenuation as much at audio since\nit is negligible. We make the conscious decision to go for forced current\ncoherence with more SMALL wires. This technically violates the practice of more\n\u201csurface\u201d area for lower attenuation at high frequencies for current coherence.\nBig wire is more surface area for attenuation while small wire is better\ncurrent coherence but higher attenuation.&nbsp;\nIf you use one wire (interconnect) the current delivery has to be\nconsidered to the load. RCA and XLR cables have near zero current flow into the\nhigh impedance load so we can go for signal current coherence and suffer little\nattenuation. Speaker cables can\u2019t use too few wires as there are 20-30 amps\ncoursing through a speaker cable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Audio is trying to TIME align the low and high\nfrequencies, so the best, and most consistent, way to do this is to use more\nsmall wires that add-up to the low frequency DCR needs, and are small enough to\nFORCE the wire to see more and more cross sectional current usage at higher\nfrequencies.&nbsp; This means several small\ninsulated wire that all need to be the same \u201csingle\u201d wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The unique woven design does a LOT to reduce\ninductance and associated capacitance. How is 59% reduced inductance over a\nsingle bonded pair achieved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>ELECTROMAGNETIC\nFIELD CANCELLATION<ul><li>Star quad wire arrangement.<ul><li>Allows ideal geometry for low field strength.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Boned pair like polarity wires.<ul><li>Allows star quads to be formed throughout the weave.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Separate polarity halve fields are NOT parallel, reduce field\nreinforcements.<ul><li>Fields between polarities have some cancellation (wires that cross at\nninety degrees cancel) since the cross at ANGLES, and not ever parallel.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Controlled Proximity effects \/ Skin effects<\/li><li>Measured Rs flat to 20 KHz.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>CAPACITIVE\nREDUCTION<ul><li>Low dielectric constant plastic.<ul><li>Thinnest possible C-C with the lowest cap.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Woven pattern averages out the wire-to-wire distances significantly.<ul><li>Woven pattern separates the wires and \u201ctricks\u201d the bulk capacitive\nvalue to be far lower. <\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The last point on the capacitive reduction is also\nwhat we like in a FLAT design, but it is inconsistent. Average distance between\nany two wires in a braided polarity and thus between polarities is far more\nconsistent.&nbsp; The weave moves all the\nwires evenly, and consistently, to a closest proximity position and a max\nproximity position throughout the weave.&nbsp;\nCapacitance and inductance DO vary, but they are exactly the \u201csame\u201d wire\nand at the same time as every other through the weave. The fattened weave holds\noverall capacitance to an unexpectedly low value of 45 pF\/foot in a cable with\nsuch high conductor count.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Low inductance leverages the same current direction\nin the bonded pair\u2019s combined with the star quad wire geometry periodicity (end\nview photo above). And finally, the TIGHT textile weave between polarity halves\nforce a low loop area and with wires never being parallel, further reducing\ninductance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The overall reactance of the cable is shown in the\ngraph below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"739\" height=\"447\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img20.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-186\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img20.jpg 739w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img20-300x180.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 739px) 100vw, 739px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The chart illustrates a significant drop (yellow\ntrace) in cable impedance compared to 1313A (blue trace).&nbsp; We know all we need to know to figure out why\nthis happened. The velocity, although variable, is nearly the same at each\nSPECIFIC swept frequency point. We need to look at frequency by frequency\ncalculations. The capacitance is linear across the entire audio band so that\u2019s\na set value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have a set value of capacitance, and a nearly set\nvalue of velocity (there will be slight variation) at a given frequency. What\nis CHANGING is fundamentally the capacitance between cable designs for\n\u201cimpedance\u201d characterization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The impedance equation is influenced by the change\nin capacitance and thus lower measured impedance as the capacitance shows up in\nthe denominator of the impedance equation.&nbsp;\nIncreasing capacitance from ~16 pF\/foot to ~45 pF\/foot decreases\nICONOCLAST cable impedance. Speaker cables require low inductance and to get\nthere without shooting capacitance through the roof. DESIGN is the overriding\nrequirement, and materials alongside unprovable theory, are second. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now we know why ICONOCLAST has the capacitance it\ndoes, as I can balance the inductance to industry leading values AND keep cap\nlow, yet not so low as to increase impedance too high relative to the input\nrequirement (impossibly low speaker impedance 8-ohms ideal). Cables go UP in\nimpedance as you drop in frequency, the opposite of what we want. Listening\ntest have to decide if the superb inductance or impedance matching with much\nhigher cable capacitance is ideal.&nbsp; Quick\ncalculations will show capacitance problems with 8 ohm cables at audio once an\namplifier is attached. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t ignore the reactive time constants of L and C.\nWe want an 8-ohm cable with NO L and C and zero resistance and you can\u2019t do\nthat. Getting cable \u201cimpedance\u201d reasonably low is more reliably safe for\namplifiers and TIME based distortions (lower L and C). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Shield material and design considerations.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I kept this topic here on purpose.&nbsp; Some may already know that low impedance\ncables signal levels negate the need for a shield. And that\u2019s a good thing\nbecause a shield over a speaker cable is darn near ALWAYS a bad thing for two\nreasons;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A\nshield will always increase capacitance of the cable. The question is how much.<\/li><li>To\nmitigate the capacitance increase, the shield must be moved significantly AWAY\nfrom the core polarities, increasing the size of the cable.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Shields are ONLY beneficial if the environment\ndemands them. Shields inhibit the performance of cable in most cases. Coaxial\ncables being an exception as the shield defines the cable\u2019s natural\nIMPEDANCE.&nbsp; The ground plane proximity\nand uniformity are vitally important with short wavelength RF cables. Coaxial\ncables do just that. Audio is not RF, and these shields are more FUD devices\nthan actual benefits, especially in speaker cables that have signals orders of\nmagnitude over the background noise. Incidentally, the woven pattern in\nICONOCLAST has a built-in immunity to RF not that that RF immunity is evident\nin the use of the cable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>View a SHIELD as a rain coat; great if you have\nwater flying around but a major hindrance if you don\u2019t. Audio seldom needs\nshielding on low impedance cables and here is why; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Magnetic fields decay rapidly with distance; ratio\nof 1\/x^3. The best defense is to MOVE the low frequency electromagnetic cables\naway from one another. The foil and even braid shields are higher frequency\nshields that are ineffective at much below 1 MHz.&nbsp; Magnetic fields lines need low permeability\nshield material (something a magnet will stick to) to route flux lines away\nfrom sensitive devices. A faraday cage is an example you can put something into\nto do this. Low permeability metallic shields are a pain to use (stiff and\nheavy). DISTANCE is the best remedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For EMI and RFI, the foil and braid shields used on\nInterconnect cable will be fine for RFI ELECTRIC field issues, but NOT\n20Hz-20KHz magnetic fields.&nbsp; Interconnect\ncables MAY have wide band input op-amps that can be needlessly hampered by RFI\non the line. Speaker cable signal levels are many, many orders of magnitude\nabove the RF and ICONOCLAST speaker cables aren\u2019t a good RF conductor due to\nthe weave pattern in the design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Jacket design and material considerations.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All ICONOCLAST cables use FEP as the jacket to\nreduce UV sensitivity, plasticizer migration and chemical resistance.&nbsp; The cables are designed to last decades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"436\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img21.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img21.png 436w, https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img21-300x270.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 436px) 100vw, 436px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SUMMARY<\/strong> \u2013 Little has been left to chance in the design of ICONOCLAST cable.&nbsp; All the products are born from strict measurements and the management of known electrical parameters. Belden\u2019s philosophy is to make as low and R, L and C cables as technically capable. The improvement to some may be unimportant. To others, and using different systems, they can be significant. The closer we manage the knowns, the better the tertiary elements will move along with those improvements.  All cables \u201creact\u201d differently. ICONOCLAST is designed to offer the most benign interaction possible between your amplifier and speaker by leveraging high speed digital design principles to the much more complex audio band. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Speaker cables are a very different animal than high input impedance interconnecting cables. A speaker cable connects to an extremely inconsistent 2-32 ohm (or even lower and higher!) reactive load created by the speaker. RCA and XLR interconnect cables see a much more consistent and resistive high impedance load making&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-iconoclast-s1-speaker","category-iconoclast-s2-speaker","category-speaker-leads"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iconoclastcable.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}