For me and some of my friends, the holy grail of audio wire is vintage Western Electric switchboard wire repurposed for use in our hi-fi systems. There is a sweet and natural sound that only makes sense coming from the simple materials: copper, tin and cotton. But sources are scarce and I am frequently (more often than not) frustrated by a bad batch. So if you don’t want to make wire collecting, auditioning and selecting your new hobby, you likely turn to another standard alternative, Belden 9497. The orange and black twisted pair has become iconic. But one can’t help but miss the purity of simple stranded copper and cotten. The PVC insulation on 9497 feels so plastic-y (probably because it’s plastic) and they are very UV unstable making them turn an ugly yellow color wherever they are exposed to sunlight.
This new wire, made in the USA by a partner that’s as meticulous as I am, is very similar to the original WE wire, only it’s readily available (for now). We’ve done the first run in orange and black as a nod to 9497.
The entire system in HiFi Listening Room Dream No.1 was wired using this new TPLC wire. If you made it to the show I hope you agree: this is beautiful wire.
В избранные