AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › Speakers › Twisting speaker and electrical wires to reduce distortion.
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Twisting speaker and electrical wires to reduce distortion.

post #1 of 8
4/22/11 at 1:54pm
Thread Starter 
I am rewiring my home theater and my father mentioned twisting the wires.

He is an aviation engineer and he said that on the airplanes they twist any wires that are sound sensitive.

He said that when you have long straight runs of any wire, it becomes an antenna and picks up distortion. He said that by twisting them about every 6 inches it drastically reduces this.

I did buy the 12 gauge shielded wire, so I do not know if it will make a difference.

Has anyone tried this or heard of this?

Is it worth the little extra wire required to do so?
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 8
4/22/11 at 1:59pm
They do use twisted pair in some cases. My question is whether you need some sort of common mode rejection mechanism. Such as the twisted pair being a balanced connection. Or I am not seeing the benefits, but I am not an engineer

Anyway, you can buy twisted pair speaker cable I think? This article mentions is (http://www.audioholics.com/buying-gu...get-guidelines)
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 8
4/22/11 at 2:21pm
I could see in some instances but if my limited amount of hi-fi knowledge serves me right, you don't have to worry with high-level signals like amplifier outputs.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 8
4/22/11 at 3:07pm
Twisting speaker and electrical wires well not reduce distortion but will likely increase it.

You need at least 12 inches of separation between the lines to reduce it. Especially for long runs.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 8
4/22/11 at 3:22pm
Yes twisted pairs do help reduce electrical interference from outside sources. And yes also keep your AC and speaker wires apart and cross at 90° when necessary.

Although, twisting shouldn't be required in a home setup.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 8
4/22/11 at 5:36pm
Thread Starter 
I am running my speaker wire completely seperate from the electrical wire.

It appears that I am getting conflicting answers here?

Huh?
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 8
4/22/11 at 5:49pm
Twisted pairs are used for two reasons:

1. Noise coupling on the twisted pair is ideally equal which allows for noise cancellation if and only if the signal on the twisted pair is received by a differential amplifier. In the audio world jargon, the term differential is often replaced with balanced.

2. Precisely twisted pairs form an impedance controlled transmission line which is required for frequencies whose wavelengths approach the physical length of the conductors it is being carried.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 8
4/22/11 at 6:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by smudge981 View Post

I could see in some instances but if my limited amount of hi-fi knowledge serves me right, you don't have to worry with high-level signals like amplifier outputs.

This is for almost true for nearly any practical scenario.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Speakers

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › Speakers › Twisting speaker and electrical wires to reduce distortion.