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Aftermarket tonearm wires

H

hugz

Well-Known Member
Something's been on my mind, and I want some info.

People constantly rewire their tonearms and then repeat the typical audiophile cliches- "blacker blacks, more clarity, crisper highs, sweet mids, blah blah"

Cardas is a common after market wire maker so my question is- what does a cardas wire have that another wire doesn't? I just read someone say that they replaced their technics M5G wire with cardas Oxygen Free Copper wire. The M5G already has OFC wire. Why upgrade OFC with new OFC? Does the cardas ofc contain something that the technics ofc doesn't?

I'm (hopefully) going to do a tonearm installation soon and would like to know what specifications I should look for when buying (presumably generic) wire

:lurk:

edit: from memory the technics tonearm wires only go down the length of the tonearm and then terminate at the base.. so is there any point in rewiring that 25cm?
 
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Excellent question! Can't give you an answer but I will be very interested in hearing from AKers on this subject, since I will soon have a few tonearms to rewire.
 
I won't get into the sonic merits of tonearm wire,or any other,for that matter.

I will say that there are often valid reasons for replacing existing tonearm wiring. Generally,it's because of age related degradation of the conductors,which,in extreme cases (my own SME 3009 II was a case in point) can cause audible signal shortcomings.When you are dealing with millivolt signal levels,corroded furry green conductors are not your friend.For the most part,this level of decay usually only exists in very old equipment,or unit's that have had long exposure to high humidity levels.

For what it's worth,I used the Cardas wire in my SME rebuild.It was recommended to me by SME,and was inexpensive,readily available and a pleasure to work with.It is also the brand of wire that they use in all of their own customers rebuilds.

Was there an audible improvement? Oh yes,absolutely.Mind you,considering the wire it replaced,an old coat hanger might have yielded an improvement:)

Unless your wiring has gone rotten,or you have a truly phenomenal pair of ears and a system to match,I wouldn't worry too much about 25cm of wire.
 
I've rewired a Rega. I've also done lots of other stuff, sensible and not, and tried a bazillion components in different combinations. Generally, unless there is an actual, concrete, identifiable problem that (depending on your situation) your wife, husband, significant other, kids, and/or friends and neighbors are complaining about, changing stuff for the sake of changing stuff is just treading water. Somethings might be getting better, others might not.
Blacker blacks, whiter whites, more brilliant colors, and no static cling seem to me the sort of thing that often (not always) is simply the result of listening more carefully and more optimistically. Similarly, I have no doubt that 'breaking in' is usually the breaking in of our ears -- getting used to the new set of distortions and frequency imbalances rather than anything actually happening with equipment. Maybe cartridges and speakers are exceptions because there is an actual physical explanation for change -- suspensions and surrounds do change over time and with use.
And if you have designed or modified the equipment yourself or paid to have it done, the psychological impetus to like it more becomes overwhelming -- BLACKEST BLACKS! MOST CLARITY! AND SO ON!
 
It is easy to find out if there is a difference. Do a needle drop before the rewire, and one after.

That no-one does this has always intrigued me.
 
They're long gone, but if I have reason to rewire an arm in the future I'll make a new set.

Tricky for AB as no two playbacks are the same, different mechanical properties of wire in the arm could have an impact, and a bunch of other variables that are difficult to account for or control for. In my case the wires didn't have any meaningful differences in electrical characteristics, and I wasn't able to reliably find any differences in the sound.
 
To vague are you fishing hugz again?

If we keep seeing you start threads like this what does it show of you to us?
 
I'll give you a hug, hugz. I, too, often wonder about these things and the responses you've received align with what I think. (These guys must be smart!) Do small changes in systems make a difference? Absolutely. Ive seen a stylus change the way my whole, complex system sounds. But when talking about something like tonearm wiring, I am skeptical. Why?

We're talking about miles of wiring in the typical system. The signal travelling from your cart through tonearm wiring next travels through your tonearm cable, then across connects to the phone stage, the preamp, the amp, the speaker cables, then to the speakers themselves. Is the tonearm wire important to this signal? Yes, obviously. If it is degrading the signal, you gotta change it. But can you hear a difference if your old wiring was up to snuff? Like I said, I'm skeptical.

Keep at it, hugz. We need more people questioning the standard drivel: blacker blacks, bouncier base, Crispin highs, melodious mids, blah, blah blah.
 
arts nailed it. Unless the wiring is bad, there will be no noticeable difference. Heck, you could use the wire from a wired mouse and you will not hear a difference from top quality OFC. Waste of time unless it's needed; save your time and money for something that will improve sound quality.
 
4-2-7 said:
To vague are you fishing hugz again?

If we keep seeing you start threads like this what does it show of you to us?
Click to expand...

I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say. I feel like I'm about 3 coffees under the daily recommended intake though, so I don't understand much of anything right now.
 
67dylan said:
Heck, you could use the wire from a wired mouse and you will not hear a difference from top quality OFC.
Click to expand...

Come to think of it, the internal wiring to my DIY speakers might be CAT5.

I'm sensing a trend in this thread, which is reassuring because it will save me a lot of effort.
 
I'm fairly certain I read those gold-platted rj45s make the blacks blacker and the bass more bouncy, hugz. You might want to reconsider your financial priorities.
 
Thanks tnsilver

It's worth recognising that I never specifically doubted that there's any advantage to rewiring- all I'm asking is what qualities expensive/aftermarket wires have that oem wires don't have- so that I can hunt down those features when buying wires from the local electronics shop. eg, specific gauge, insulation, purity, whatever.

Cardas wires seem cheap enough to be in the "may as well" basket, except that it's yet another product where post to Australia could cost more than the item itself
 
4-2-7 said:
To vague are you fishing hugz again?

If we keep seeing you start threads like this what does it show of you to us?
Click to expand...
More to the point, what does this post tell us about you?

Hugz, the Cardas tonearm wire is readily available in Oz at the $20 mark if you have a look at your local ebay. You may find some of your local electronics shops will stock it.
 
grottyash said:
Hugz, the Cardas tonearm wire is readily available in Oz at the $20 mark if you have a look at your local ebay.
Click to expand...

Thank you :) I just didn't think of that. It's available from UK with minimal post, which might put it back into the "may as well" category. I hate to have something in the back of my head saying "what if..." every time I look at my turntable
 
I recently rewired my Technics 1200 M3D. I did some needledrops before and after. I did not notice a night and day difference. On some albums there is more presence - the sound seems more full and deeper. I rewired with the KAB custom wire for a 1200. Not an easy job to do I had also wrapped the arm in heat shrink tubing and placed cotton in the tonearm, so it wasn't a direct 'wires only' change that I had made.

I also have a Technics 1300 that needs to be rewired. The table had a slight buzz in one channel for a while, but I haven't been using it since I got the 1200. While attempting to repair the auto-return mechanism, I had to unsolder the tonearm wires. I thought the buzzing sound may be from a bad solde. They pretty much fell apart, the red wire nearly disintegrating after I had unsoldering it from the PCB. I plan to try to rewire it soon. Since this isn't my primary table, I was looking for a 'cheap' alternative. I don't think Ethernet cable would be flexible enough, the casing is wider, but maybe the shielding is better. Has anyone tried it? I don't mean jamming an actual ethernet cable in to the tonearm, but cutting one up and using 4 of the 8 wires as tonearm wire.
 
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