[R-390] Re: Oxygen Free Wire

[Ken Kaplan]

Hi David,

Thanks for your very informative reply on this topic. In my gut, I strongly suspected that 
the wire claims were bogus but I had no facts to back up my feeling. With your 
response, I now have a much better understanding of the issue. I can't wait for next 
years CES show (wink). One of the "scams" I've seen is high quality power cables. I'm 
talking about the cable that you plug into the wall to power the audio equipment 
(typically the power amp). Some of these power cables cost well over $100 and are 
supposed to provide a reduction in RF and EMI noise. They don't address the copper 
from the wall outlet back to the transformer in the street. If they start sending the Internet 
over power lines, I suspect that will drive a whole new specialized cable product line. I 
wouldn't want some hacker getting into my stereo <g>. Two of the most annoying words 
these days are scam and spam. Interesting that you just have to change one letter. I 
wonder how Hormel feels about the use of their product name?

73 Ken kb7rgg

> I have been meaning to reply to Ken Kaplan's "tongue in cheek" request on
> how to identify oxygen free wire and his comments about the scams in the
> audio industry for "better sound".
>
> I am by training a metallurgical engineer and by experience am engineer
> involved in the manufacture of electrical wire and cable.  I have 35+ years
> experience in the field and currently have my own consulting business for
> manufacturing processes in the area of superconducting wire.
>
> Oxygen free copper has a place in the business.  That place is where there
> is a need for copper to be used in a high temperature-reducing atmosphere
> such as hydrogen brazing of components.  For that read, the manufacturing of
> vacuum tubes, vacuum capacitors, light bulbs and the like.  Under those
> circumstances, oxygen in the copper will react with hydrogen and form water.
> At the elevated temperatures involved, the water formed is in the vapor
> phase and creates tremendous internal pressure that fractures the gain
> boundaries rendering the wire or copper form brittle and useless.
>
> In ordinary transmission of energy, oxygen does nothing detrimental to the
> process, unless, of course, it is present in excessive amounts.  If it were,
> you would not be able to make wire out of it.  The oxygen present in
> ordinary copper wire, where the copper is referred to as electrolytic tough
> pitch, is on the order of 250 ppm.  Believe me, the electrons traveling
> through wire carrying the sound from your amplifier to your speakers don't
> give a damn whether there is 250 ppm or 0 ppm of oxygen in the wire.  The
> end result is the same.
>
> The marketing of oxygen free copper speaker wire or other forms of wire in
> the amplifier is a ploy designed to separate you from excessive amounts of
> your money, all pseudo scientific claims not withstanding.  THERE AIN'T NO
> BASIS FOR IT.
>
> You all will have to forgive my rant, but this is one of my pet peeves.