The Secret Life of Loudspeaker Flex Wire

This valuable tutorial on speaker lead-out flex wire by Mike Klasco revisits the fundamentals, from the trailing ends of the voice coil winding to speaker terminals. How to avoid flex wire whipping, fracturing of lead-out conductors, thermal issues, and corrosion of the solder joints. What types of flex wire and wire gauges are available, what are the advantages of textile fibers and wire testing, are some of the topics addressed. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, April 2024.

The April 2021 edition of Voice Coil is now available and combines a wide range of topics for loudspeaker industry professionals. Starting with "Practical Considerations for Quality Control Testing of Loudspeakers," to an overview of innovations in wires and connectors, and a directory of cable and connector vendors. And, Vance Dickason looks at two compression drivers matched with factory-supplied horns - the ND1TP from Eighteen Sound and the CD-11Nd from Acustica Beyma. Now available in print and digital.

Not everyday we get to talk about strippers. The new Kinetic Reflex T-Stripper from Ideal Electrical, featuring an ergonomically curved handle and a stress-reducing Santoprene grip, replaces several tools with its convenient pliers and knife type blades for clean, accurate wire stripping and cutting every popular wire gauge. Ideal also has a solution for running cables in hard to access spaces.