size of connecting wires for amp6

[jazman]

What size wire is best for signal input, power, and output? I have just gotten to the voltage test part in my assembly. I tried gauge 22 single strand wire for connection to a 15 VAC source. It worked for the voltage test, but it seems the pcb holes are big enough to use a larger gauge. Is the size important? The 22 gauge also seems to fit nicely in the signal input holes. Can I use it there? How about the outputs? Would braided wire be better? Any help would be appreciated.

[jazman]

Thanks pepolman. That helps quite a bit. How can I tell what a higher quality wire is?

[Reverie]

I've been looking into this also.

Apparently, a wire of AWG23 is preferable for input, with larger wires, such as AWG16, being more suited to the power and output wires.

Braiding is supposed to help have a noise cancelling effect. For this reason I'm considering Cat5e for a solution, as opposed to the standard use of normal wires. I'm considering asking the maker of the Red Wine Audio Signature 30 what he uses too (it's similar to the amp4).

Quality of wire is usually a combination of the quality of the conductor, and the type of insulation. As for the conductor, be it silver or copper, the purity is important (a higher purity being better, OCC etc). Additionally, as is its crystaline structure; something that has been hand-drawn through progressively smaller dies, and properly protected from oxidation throughout its manufacture, is likely to have a more desireable mono-crystal structure.

As for insulation, going on 'dielectric constants', cotton is seen as the 'best'(1.3-1.4), then Polypropylene/PP (1.5), then Teflon/PTFE (2), then Polyethylene/PE: (2.2-2.4) and then finally Polyvinyl Chloride/PVC (3.4).

Of course, these are all opinion-based results. Interpret as you wish .