Cable Building

Oh I wasn't questioning your build quality at all. I'm sure you have more than enough redundancy and safety built in. But it's hard to get over the kneejerk reaction when I see.

 

Oh i get it. I was the same about mint sauce.

 

Finally found some time and got them up on Etsy. The Silkworm is up there too.
At the moment it's just Euro/Schuko & C15 but I'll be offering UK and US mains connector variants as soon as I take delivery of new connector stock, as well as C19's which I seem to be asked for quite a lot recently (?)

The Mamba
The Silkworm

10% discount for SBAF members. Just quote 'SBAF' in a message to me via Etsy.
Discounts on multiples available too!

 

Received an order for 18 of my Mamba power cables in 3m lengths recently. Phew.


When these sort of large orders for multiples come in I always have to grit my teeth and just get on with it. It's a luxury 'problem' of course as it never gets easier to alleviate the boredom of constructing the same cable for hours on end, but it's offset by the financial reward of course.

I sometimes do the math and think how much richer I would actually be if I was charging the same prices as Audioquest. 10 times richer for this particular job I think. But it doesn't matter
I'm not out to gratuitously profiteer. Having simple tastes, no wife, gf or kids (that I know of) means that I can charge what I charge and be able to support myself adequately and still get a few pints of Guinness in on the weekend, maybe a new pair of keks, even...and really pushing the boat out here.... a new camera lens. lol
I'm currently hankering after Tamrons lovely new 24-70mm f2.8 as I reckon it would be just the ticket for some nice landscape shots.

In any case. Sitting back and looking at the lengths of chopped up cable and sheath and realising this is only 1/3 of the materials needed to complete the order and looking at the 100m rolls of cable stacked up, wondering if my poor old hands will be able to manage.

Keep lubricated and carry on.

 

It took me 5 years, but I finally started building interconnects after being inspired by Purrin, Karstar, and a video from PS Audio.


https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...e-rolling-adventures.2034/page-14#post-169395
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/cable-building.86/page-52#post-411926

I missed the part from Karstar's post about harvesting wire from pre-WW2 Power transformers. I harvested 0.3mm wire from a pair of 20's/30's field coil speaker transformers and combined them with Switch craft RCAs.

The end result looks horrific but fortunately these sound better than they look. I have no idea how people are able to solder these things. Nothing wants to stay put!

I was expecting vintage audio syrup, but it's absent. It just sounds uncompressed (Unsure of a better word) with nuances that are little easier to make out. Some songs sound better, more romantic, other's weird or strange.

It's hard to generalize because what is emphasized and what isn't consistent. Sometimes it's just guitar amp hum, a sound effect inserted that sounds unnatural next to the vocals, a romantic haze on only a single track, or suddenly more separation in wall of sound metal.

I'm not sure why 2 feet of interconnect is making this much difference when there is 6 feet of power cable, yards upon yards of ordinary hookup wire in a amp, and another 6 feet of headphone cable.

I have silk and cotton tubing stuck in customs. I'm hoping to eventually make a reliable decent looking cable

 

Hey y'all, I've built a bunch of headphone cables with these Rean mini 4-pin XLR connectors, but they don't always fit perfectly in my ZMF headphones. Does anyone have any other recommendations for high quality mini 4-pin XLR connectors?

 

I have never liked working with those Rean connectors.

I like Amphenol on the less expensive side:
https://www.parts-express.com/Amphe...LR-Female-Cable-Connector-092-3562?quantity=1. You can always go with the original Switchcraft they were based on, but I never noticed a real difference in quality.

Plussoundaudio has a decent set with a sleek black aluminum barrel for pretty reasonable. Hard to direct link on mobile, but is under their DIY section.

On the higher end, you can get Furutech or Eidolic (via Doublehelixcables or Norne Audio).

You can also get some in the ZMF DIY cable kits, but I don't know if he sells them independently. Bonus is that you can get a matching split cover.

A ton of options on Aliexpress for all metal, but I have run into the wonky fit before. Usually the threads match up so I have used Amphenol plugs with nice metal barrels from the Aliexpress ones.

Have fun!

 

I feel like we need a new thread for cable impressions. They seem pretty scattered around a bunch of threads. Some good impressions around the SC Carbokab recently. Mine will follow soon.
With that said, I will still be posting my most recent cable comparison here. I compared a couple RCA cables, an XLR comparison will follow soon.

A lot of this is based on the first cable comparison I did a while ago:
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/cable-building.86/page-38#post-296533


From left to right:
ACW115 in cotton, silver in oversized teflon, SGW105 in cotton, ACW105 in PTFE, DCA20GA

Test setup: Lyra Delos -(Supra shielded tinned copper)- Skoll XLR in - RCA comparison cables - Ragnarok
Wanted to find a replacement for the Supra cable I used for the Skoll XLR input:

ACW 105 in PTFE

• Has that harder PTFE sound that I know some would prefer over the cotton cables
• Still, it holds up incredibly well, seems really well tuned
• Also quite resolving

SGW 105 in cotton

• More resolving and more precise imaging than the ACWs
• Also quite a bit softer sounding
• Tonality is similar, though

ACW 115 in cotton

• Yes, this is one thick and stiff cable, has to be bent into shape!
• Surprisingly not any more full-bodied than the thinner cables
• Not really an advantage to using such a thick wire
• The cotton does make it softer sounding, though. Maybe more boring as a result.

Duelund DCA20GA

• I do prefer tinned copper to regular copper...
• Ugh, this is such a thick sounding cable, though
• Transparency takes a notable hit
• Eliminated almost immediately
• Duelund AC 0.4 is interesting, though. It's what I use for my HD800 to tame the upper treble
• I have some AC 0.4 left over, but I wouldn't use it for the turntable.
  (Too warm sounding and I think SGW is technically better)

Silver in oversized Teflon tubing

• Sounds somewhat unrestrained relative to the SGW in cotton
• As a result I also find it somewhat u shaped sometimes, has some treble zing and upper bass smear
• Depends on what you're used to. If you like copper this may be for you
• Technicalities are somewhat worse than the SGW
• I do enjoy the midrange tone and clarity, may sound too aggressive, though
• Overall I think the treble is a dealbreaker for me on aggressive material (Nirvana, for example)
• I think I even prefer the ACW

I already built my reference XLR ICs for the Skoll. Hybrid construction with 2x Mundorf SGF in cotton for the signal and tinned copper braid for the GND connection. Note that I am using it as a flat conductor, not as a shield.

Attached a pic of the ugly duckling that is my reference XLR. I want to keep it naked. I've had a cotton sleeve around it and didn't like how it looked, either. Cable combs could work, but I want to use wool felt for spacers.

 

Can't post about a cable without showing the results...

Here's the resulting phono cable.



I should have probably made the ground wires shorter, but in some cases longer shield wires may be needed.

Of note is that these XLR to RCA adapters have the GND and Minus connections shorted internally, so I had to unscrew this one. I took the chance to rewire it with better internal wires, but man was it hard opening it up. You can see it took some force and the connector suffered as a result.
I've also made a cable where I have an RCA connector on one end and a male XLR connector on the other end, but I wanted this one to be compatible with the RCA inputs, too.

Even so it took some experimentation to get rid of most of the hum I was getting. It seems that I finally managed to do that, though:

• As you can see I wrapped the shield cables around the connectors
• Plus I had to use an external GND connection aswell. Seems it's best to use a thicker wire here, too.

I like the flat "foil like" look. I think I will adapt it for my other future cables aswell, perhaps sandwiching normal wires insulated with cotton between two thin pieces of wool felt which are then glued together.

The thinner ACW in PTFE wires also deserve a better look, plus obviously they need some type of strain relief. I think the Duelund can be left as is (only adding strain relief) and I think I will leave the silver in oversized teflon (in the oversized cotton tubing) as is as I've had that cable for years now and it's always served as some sort of reference. I did not expect it to fare so badly here, though.
Not sure what to do about the thick ACW115 in cotton.

 

@Serious , are your observations above from testing as phono cables?

And, have you tried CAT5 yet?

 

Between the output of the Phono stage and input of my amp.

I've tried different variants of ethernet wire as speaker cables and have used one as my main speaker cable for years. However that was more due to me being cheap and the lack of a better alternative. Don't remember which kind it was. It was yellow, I think it might've been CAT 5e. I remember another one sounding very sharp. Plus I need to periodically polish the ends or it would sound too dull. Once every 2 months, maybe.

I never tried it for ICs.


I use tinned copper (shielding braid) in cotton now for my smaller speakers and the woofer section of my larger speakers. I use the silver/gold-foil for the Voxativs. I still have some leftovers and that's what I used for the spaghetti (fettuccine rather) XLR above.

 

Your tests above intrigue me as Ive been meaning to upgrade my interconnects for a while. At the moment for Phono I'm using Mogami 2497 with bullet plugs & RG179 thin coaxial as a ground (Un-shielded ground wire was picking up radio stations!)

Im switching gear around and need to build RCA to XLR plugs, I may build some silver cables and also try the ACW105. Id also like to set up a rig to measure the specs on CAT5.

Ive heard of the benefits of tinned copper for crossovers, etc. Given the thick copper, short distances and resistance to oxidization it seems like a good fit.

And though I may get banned for offering silly tweaks: For bare wire like CAT5, dip the exposed wire into Vaseline or petroleum jelly before connecting it to the the speaker or inserting installing spades / banana plugs, etc. Coating the wire tends to prevent oxidization & extends the time between needed cleanings. Ive noticed a difference.

 

The 2 pin connectors on one channel off my favorite iem cable, the Linsoul LOOPS got bent when I stupidly tested a new ortho iem with my best cable. the iem just isn't made to spec and the pins aren't the right distance apart.

Can anyone recommend someone here or elsewhere who could replace the 2 pin connectors (and maybe put a Neutrik 1/4" plug on the other end while I'm at it)? the only small business cable builders I know of are overseas.

Cheers!

 

Hart might. They do custom requests.

 

I am interested as to why you prefer tinned copper to pure copper? Is this in regards to IC or also speaker cable?

 

Too hard sounding.

I mean I haven't heard everything, but so far I always had the same feeling, no matter if it was speaker cables or ICs.
I think it's a coloration and with the wrong dielectric it can be outright harsh or forced sounding. Tinned copper is softer and to me it reminds me of silver done right in its presentation, just warmer and less resolving.

In the end it's a matter of preference. I should do a small write up of the cables I have here, but I'm still waiting on some Audiocrast IC25 silver cables.
I hear the same thing with the Carbokab, though I gotta admit it hides it pretty well, sounds pretty smooth to me.

 

I'll most likely replace my internal speaker wires with some Supra tinned speaker cables to eliminate the need to worry about oxidation. I'm a big fan of the Carbokabs. They do a lot right and very little wrong. That said, I've replaced them with Vovox cables, which seem to offer a bit better resolution.

 

Any suggestion for a bang for your buck speaker wire (about 25' long) that I will need to use speakon connectors with? (going into my studio b)

Thanks!

 

For absolutely dirt cheap you can't beat Canare 4s11, but for better sonics across the board and a few more bucks I'd try either Duelund 16ga tin plated copper (DCA16ga) or Belden 9497.

 

I assumed I'd need heavier than 16ga for 25'... that will save some money