NB Audio - Air Core Inductor - 20 AWG

Just like capacitors, inductors are often sold with mystical claims, secret winding techniques, and price tags that assume you’re building speakers for Elves in Valinor. In reality, an inductor’s job is brutally simple: let low frequencies through, restrict the highs, and do it as cleanly and consistently as possible.

The wire
Thicker wire reduces resistance and preserves output. For most loudspeaker crossovers, 20 AWG (0.8QA) hits the sweet spot between low DCR, compact size, and affordability.

Air Core vs Solid Core
Air Core inductors are preferred in mid and high frequency crossovers because they keep their inductance value consistent and predictable. Solid Core designs rely on a metal core, which affects how the inductor behaves and can introduce small nonlinearities that change the response. In the mid/high ranges where precision shapes clarity, those shifts matter. In low frequency circuits, these effects are far less noticeable, so Solid Core is usually acceptable, but for accurate mid/high filtering, Air Core is the more reliable choice.

Our NB Audio Air Core Inductors use high purity 20 AWG copper, tightly wound for consistent values (5% tolerance), low distortion and are rated to 200W RMS. Being Air Core, they avoid the nonlinearities of Solid/Iron Core designs, making them ideal for precision builds where predictability and transparency matter.

Values are available from 0.10mH up to 2.0mH.