Tinsel Wire
Bare Copper Tinsel Wire
Highest conductivity per unit of foil in the range, with no plating layer in the current path.
View specifications
Speaker Lead Wire
Speaker Lead Wire
Built for swing performance, which is the actual failure mode in a driver lead.
Overview
What Speaker Lead Wire Is For
A speaker lead carries current into a moving assembly and then moves with it, every cycle, for the life of the driver. That makes flex life rather than conductivity the number that decides whether the design works. We build speaker lead wire as tinsel wire, foil wound over a soft textile fiber core, because that construction greatly improves bending strength and tensile strength against a solid wire of comparable size while keeping specific gravity low, so the lead does not load the diaphragm. Foil material, fiber core, twist and plating are then set against the excursion, resistance and soldering conditions of your driver.
Value
Why Engineers Choose This Construction
Key benefits
- Built for swing performance, which is the actual failure mode in a driver lead.
- Low specific gravity keeps added mass off the moving assembly.
- Resistance held to your target so channels stay matched across a lot.
- Plated surface for repeatable soldering, including through rework.
Problems it solves
- Lead-out wires fatigue and open-circuit before the driver reaches end of life.
- A heavy lead changes how the diaphragm behaves.
- Resistance variation across a lot shows up as channel imbalance.
Fit
Where It Is Used
Application scenarios
- Loudspeaker driver lead-out
- In-ear monitor internal wiring
- Headphone cable flex sections
- Automotive speaker assemblies
Who it is for
- Loudspeaker and driver manufacturers
- In-ear monitor and headphone brands
- Automotive audio suppliers
- Contract manufacturers assembling transducers
Engineering
Construction And Materials
Technical features
- Tinsel wire construction: metal foil wound over a soft textile fiber core.
- Single-layer or multi-layer foil, single or stranded.
- Fiber core selected for working temperature and strength.
- Bare, tin-plated, nickel-plated or silver-plated foil surface.
- Can be mixed with copper wires where bending strength has to rise further.
Materials
- Metal foil: bare copper foil, tin-plated copper foil, nickel-plated copper foil, silver-plated copper foil, tin-copper alloy foil, iron-copper alloy foil and silver-copper alloy foil
- Fiber core: nylon, polyester, aramid, liquid crystal fiber, heat-resistant cotton yarn and glass fiber
Specifications
Speaker Lead Wire Technical Data
Values that depend on your application are set against your targets rather than fixed here.
| Construction | Metal foil wound over soft textile fiber core |
|---|---|
| Single Wire Outer Diameter | 0.04 mm - 0.40 mm |
| Surface Options | bare copper foil, tin-plated copper foil, nickel-plated copper foil, silver-plated copper foil, tin-copper alloy foil, iron-copper alloy foil and silver-copper alloy foil |
| Fiber Core Options | nylon, polyester, aramid, liquid crystal fiber, heat-resistant cotton yarn and glass fiber |
| Plating Thickness | 0.3 um - 2 um, customizable |
| Conductor Resistance | Customized to your target |
| Minimum Order For Samples | None |
Production
How It Is Made And Checked
Manufacturing process
- Select the metal foil material and the fiber core for the electrical and thermal requirement.
- Draw and roll the copper to extremely fine foil.
- Apply plating where specified, at a coating thickness between 0.3 um and 2 um.
- Wind the foil around the soft textile fiber core, single layer or multi-layer.
- Twist into tinsel wire strands, or mix with copper wires, where extra bending strength is needed.
- Test resistance, tensile strength and elongation, then pack with a loading report.
Quality control
- DC resistance measured on a resistance tester to confirm the conductor lands on the agreed value.
- Tensile testing for tensile strength, yield strength, elongation and elongation after fracture.
- Elongation rate measured during stretching to evaluate mechanical properties and mechanical strength.
- Salt spray testing where the finished cable will face a corrosive environment.
- A comprehensive loading report issued with every shipment.
Customization
What You Can Change
Customization options
- Conductor resistance set to your target value.
- Outer diameter held to your ceiling.
- Tensile strength and breaking load specified to the application.
- High swing performance tuned to the flex life the cable has to reach.
- Solderability matched to your termination process.
Certifications
No third-party certification is published for this product line. Test data from our own resistance, tensile, elongation and salt spray equipment is supplied with samples and with every shipment loading report.
Related
Other Conductors To Compare
Reference
Background Reading
technical guide
What Tinsel Wire Is, And Why It Outlasts Solid Wire Where Cables Bend
The construction, the materials and the reason a foil-over-fiber conductor beats a solid wire of the same size on flex life.
Read the guide
material guide
Choosing The Fiber Core: Aramid, Liquid Crystal Polymer And The Alternatives
What each fiber core actually gives a tinsel wire, and which service conditions should point you at which one.
Read the guide
Questions
Speaker Lead Wire: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you specify a speaker lead?
Give us the excursion the lead has to survive, the resistance target, the outer diameter ceiling and how it will be soldered. Those four drive the foil material, the fiber core, the twist and the plating.
Can you make the lead lighter without losing strength?
That is the point of the foil-over-fiber construction. It carries a low specific gravity while improving bending strength and tensile strength over a solid wire of comparable size.
Do you sample before production?
Yes. Sample testing is available for both conventional and customized products, with no minimum order quantity.
Quote Speaker Lead Wire
Tell us the resistance, outer diameter and flex life you need. Samples on conventional and customized products carry no minimum order quantity.