What's the difference between "OFC" speaker wire, and normal speaker wire?

Question

Looking @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882010105

Answer 1

OFC means oxygen-free copper.  I agree with the above answer--it's all marketing hype.  The most important quality you should look for is wire size as indicated by the guage (AWG).   Lower AWG numbers are better, and it doesn't matter what kind of wire you use.  Lamp cord is fine.  The advantage of speaker wire over lamp cord is that the speaker wire is marked so you can identify which lead is which.  This way you can make sure you connect the "+" or red terminal of the amp to the "+" or red terminal of the speaker.

A good wire size is AWG 14 unless you have very big speaker a long distance (20') from the amp, then go to AWG 12 or 10.

Answer 2

Actually - I disagree.  OFC is not that much more expensive and is considered basic by most people.

Copper oxidized/turns brown (just look at a bunch of pennies).  When they make OFC wires, they squirt a neutral gas around it so oxygen does not start destroying the surface right away.  While OFC will oxidize - it does so at a much slower rate than non OFC.

I was going through box's and found a brand new coil of some 16 ga, non-OFC wire from Radio Shack.  The entire coil was brown under the clear-plastic coating. (the spool was even still in it's original plastic.)  

I am NOT a fan of expensive wires, but OFC is something I recommend.

Answer 3

Your wallet is lighter when you buy the "OFC" stuff...

Honestly, just buy wire that uses a fairly fine braid and is large enough to handle the power level being used. Also, the longer the run, the bigger the wire you should use.

Grumpy Mac: Pretty much all small-gauge wire is made by the process you describe. They start with low-oxygen copper and draw it though inert gas. If they didn't, the wire would get brittle and snap.