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August 28, 2008 - 7:44pm
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DIY 30g cables
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Nice summary Drumguy- So how do they sound? What would be the main benefit to using this configuration over stock ICs or upgrade ICs? Thanks!
scraping or the fine sandpaper is better, the pot re-crystallizes the molecular structure. Not sure if that's a good thing.
Try braiding the individual strands (three of them) into a litz arrangement.
Hi Doug and thanks for the compliment. Let me start by saying that I have'nt heard any expensive ic's, and I'm pretty sure that anything would sound better than the stock cables supplied with a lot of components. What I can draw a comparison between is a pair of AUS $150 pair of Van den Hull IC's- Quite a bit for 2 500mm lengths of wire - but they would be considered entry level by many "audiophiles"
With the VdH's in my system, the sound to my ears was just too thick - like the speakers were covered in syrup -with the 2 strand 30g IC's the overall sound is much "cleaner" and perhaps a bit leaner. The 7 strand version seems to be an improvement on the 2 strand in that it retains the cleanliness with a richer, deeper tone. I have only clocked up about 10 hours on them so far, but because of the extremely simple design I can't see them benefiting much more from an extended burn in time.
May I suggest ,Doug ,that for a total cost of $10-15, and an hour's handiwork, they are definitely worth trying.
You may be correct KBK, but I do enjoy how the pot recrystallizes my braln cells.....
Perhaps the "magic" of these cables is that the strands do not touch ......
I tried making a couple sets of these years ago. I also tried braiding three runs, so they looked like Kimber's PBJ interconnects.
All variations lead to truly dreadful sound, absolutely awful. Lifeless, flat, harsh.
Se, Ethan - not every change is good.
If you hold the stuff of wiring too close to the heater (pot), you will get burned fingers. Possibly some staining and or callouses will form.
Try using some tweezers.
Try not inhale the fumes. bad for your lungs.
If you find you have to inhale, try short, sharp shots of inhalation..and then hold for a long time. Exhale slowly. Like the Yoga teachers, when explaining the ideals of relaxation techniques.
Actually, for me $150 isn't exactly entry level either, and you are right in that cables are very system dependant. I use the $200 Audioquest King Cobras and have been extremely happy with them. I tried out some pricier Kimbers and they did not work well at all with my setup (or maybe my preferences?).
Anyway, maybe I will try your little experiement out at some point. You can get oxygen free copper at a number of audio parts online stores for pretty cheap so I might try that.
Thanks so much for these instructions, drumguy! I think that I may have all the parts that I need to make these here already. I may have to pilfer the plugs off of a cheap cable though. Thanks again!
These are similar to ones that have been around for a while on the internet. The article include photo's and a kicked up version using silver wire.
http://www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize021998.htm
You are correct, BostonJep, which is why I thanked Greg Weaver at the end of my post- I just found the thinner tape for each channel easier to work with- and also found that without the weight tensioning, the runs of wire did not stay straight inside the tape - as an added benefit,I also tried a single 30g cable between my set top digital box and old CRT tv and noticed a sharper image with less grain...
Go down to Radio Shack and buy two pairs of screw type (unsoldered) RCA's. Nothing else, get the screw type RCA's. They will do a very good job with these cables for under $10 for the set.