|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
24.17.164.100
Topic:DIY AudioQuest VSD-5 Silver S/PDIF digital coaxial cable (20 AWG solid core 100% PSS Perfect Surface Silver center conductor, hard cell foamed PE dielectric, silver plated copper and bare copper blend braided shield + copper foil shield) terminated with Valab Carbon Rhodium Plated Tellurium Copper RCA Plugs (rhodium plated tellurium copper hollow center pin, rhodium plated brass body, carbon fiber sheathed low-mass brass barrel), covered with Techflex sleeving (1.5 meter).
When it comes to line-level analog applications, I’m a bonifide fan of copper interconnect cables. However, for digital/video applications, I find that silver conductor cable designs tend to deliver a more vivid presentation. Additionally, no matter what type of cable, the make/model connector selected for termination can determine the potential sonic performance level to be expected or at least hoped for.
NOTE: In my experience, this particular DIY cable build requires plenty of burn-in to satisfactorily blossom and come alive. From a dynamics POV, it took several days of burn-in time before the cable developed desirable aspects of PRAT as being a fully realized sonic signature strong point.
Bulk Cable & RCA Connectors:
---
AudioQuest VSD-5 solid core 100% PSS Perfect Surface Silver S/PDIF Digital Coaxial Cable - $7.99 per foot:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Audioquest-VSD-5-Bulk-Cable-Foot-NEW-/360085175381
The VSD-5 cable is AudioQuest’s top of the line custom installation bulk 75 Ohm cable product for video/satellite/digital applications. It differs from AudioQuest’s pre-made model VDM-5 cable which features a smaller 24 AWG pure solid core silver center conductor and a carbon energy dissipation layer not featured in the VSD-5 design. An unusual thing about the cable sourced from AudiophileAnswers is the braided shield features a blend of alternating braided bundles of silver plated copper strands and bundles of bare copper strands which is not mentioned in AudioQuest’s literature. It gives me cause to wonder if the AudiophileAnswers sourced cable might be an AudioQuest prototype. Also to note is that the cable features a copper foil shield rather than a more common aluminium foil shield. The cable is directional, so it should always be connected with the arrows printed on the cable jacket pointing from source to load. Also to note is the cable is rather slim, so large cable OD capable connectors require some sort of cable OD build-up material such as heat shrink in order for the cable strain relief set screw to have a firm grip on the cable in order to achieve proper strain relief. I use and recommend Nexcare Flexible Clear First Aid Tape (a.k.a. 3M Transpore Medical Tape) for the task available at local drug stores.
---
Valab Carbon Rhodium Plated Tellurium Copper RCA Plugs - $24.00 per set of four:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Carbon-Rhodium-Plated-Tellurium-Copper-RCA-Plugs-2-Pair-/290539714353
While Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, it can become an infringement of intellectual property rights if taken too far. However, if a given product is not a look-alike or have certain markings of fakery, it’s hard to consider such a thing to be a counterfeit item. That said, the basic design concept of the Valab Carbon rca connector seems to have been derived from Acrolink’s pricey RCA-CF9.5 and RCA-CF11.5 rca connectors which feature a hollow center pin, rhodium plating, and a carbon fiber sheathed barrel. While I don’t really consider a $24 per set of four Valab product to be a cloned knock-off of an $850 per set of four Acrolink product, the inspiration behind the particular design seems to be at least a flattering attempt to approximate the notion of a SOTA build. That said, the build quality of the Valab Carbon connector is very good, with a fit and finish worthy of being considered an audiophile quality connector. The set of connectors were promptly shipped from Taiwan and arrived via USPS registered mail without any issues of tax and duty. Also important to note is that the area of the connector body where the shield is to be soldered should first be carefully pre-tinned with solder since a cold solder joint may otherwise be a result. However, the rca connector center pin solder platform does not present such an issue.
Evaluation Observations:
This DIY pure silver digital cable build presents a well defined image focus with very nice leading-edge transients, extended frequency extremes, a firm and open sounding soundstage, good dynamics both micro and macro (after ample burn-in time), good inner detail, coherent spatial cues and ambient information retrieval. When placed in the digital front end of my main audio system, the tonal presentation of the cable is decidedly on the cool side of neutral but not in a too analytical vs. musical manner. An assertive presentation for sure, but not too aggressive nor too forward sounding. Most importantly, timbral information is acceptably natural (for digital) and obvious to the ear. It’s sonic signature is neither bright nor etherial sounding as some folks might suppose/expect from silver wire. I find it to be a good sounding silver digital cable and simply enjoyable as a high performance digital cable regardless of type.
While not quite as vivid and a bit leaner sounding (as in less tonal bloom) than my more expensive reference DIY Oyaide FTVS-510 continuous cast 5N pure solid core silver S/PDIF digital coaxial cable terminated with Xhadow Precision RCA connectors, the DIY AudioQuest VSD-5 solid core 100% PSS Perfect Surface Silver S/PDIF digital coaxial cable terminated with Valab Carbon Rhodium Plated Tellurium Copper RCA Plugs does have a similar personality, in that it definitely presents what I’ve found to be a solid core pure silver digital cable sonic signature (to my ear). As an aside, one must consider that this DIY build should not be seen as an attempt at SOTA; it’s an economic high-performance answer to obtain the gestalt/essence of a particular cable type.
Connector Option:
Another rca connector termination option to consider from a one stop shopping POV, and/or perhaps a warmer sounding gold plated connector choice, and/or a somewhat easier termination project would be the DH Labs RCA-3 Tiffany style rca connector (made by Vampire, I believe) designed/intended for coaxial cable terminations, also available from AudiophileAnswers for $19.99 per pair with free shipping. It’s likely a better rca connector than the mundane entry level AudioQuest RCA-300 rca connector (see image below) that AudiophileAnswers offers for their pre-made AudioQuest VSD-5 digital cable product, not to mention an “installer-friendly” AudioQuest rca connector version pre-made AudioQuest VSD-5 digital cable product also available from AudiophileAnswers eBay store.
An interesting thing I found is HCM Audio offers their pre-made version of the AudioQuest VSD-5 terminated with discontinued mid-line model AudioQuest rca connectors priced at $214.95 (1.5 meter length):
http://hcmaudio.com/comp.asp?len=.5&conID=12&compID=744&priceU=214.95&quant=1
Cheers, Duster
Edits: 04/03/11Follow Ups:
Image: TDK NF-C09 Digital Noise AbsorberAs many audiophiles have already found, ferrite beads most often fail to deliver improved sonics without major sonic degradation when clamped on the end of various cables. However, the issue may depend on the effective strength of certain sized beads, and/or particular applications, and/or particular cables for that matter. Most often it's just best to simply not fiddle with them.
In the case of the DIY Silver AudioQuest VSD-5/Valab Carbon RCA digital coaxial cable project, I was very surprised (and obviously quite pleased) to find that a TDK NF-C09 Digital Noise Absorber when placed on the load end of the cable while connecting a DVD player to a DAC improved the performance in a substantial manner, especially clarity and imaging without any audiophile minded caveats I that could detect.
I suggest that folks experiment with a similar sized ferrite bead (9mm max cable OD) if they may choose to build this particular DIY digital cable project. Otherwise, in most cases a ferrite bead is often a disappointing tweak that winds up being tossed into an orphaned electronic parts box....
Edits: 04/14/11
The product description says the RCA plugs are "Screw tighten WBT type RCA connector", so I was thinking these were solderless type. That is apparently not so, or did you prefer to solder them?
Here's a solder-free version of the Valab Carbon rca connector however the barrel is not carbon fiber sheathed. It features set screws for terminating both the center conductor and the return/shield. I have no experience of the particular rca connector other than the similarities of the two Valab connectors:
Hey Duster, just received a few sets of these for DIY experimentation. If you would hazard a guess, how would they compare to top-of-line Furutechs like the FP-106Rs (which I have_? Going to wait for burn-in and so on but at the moment I think the Venhaus 24awg CU wire is doing a lot for certain areas, like bass and evenness of presentation, compared to what I think was overly-thin 31awg pure (99.9%) gold (quite in line with a lot of opinion about ultra-thin vs thin IC wire). I'm not sure though if it's the quality of the new connectors or the burn-in process that is adding some unnatural twang to the lower-highs.
Is there any reason why these connectors couldn't be a Furutech equal or is there something fundamental that Furutech does in the manufacture of their products that justifies the higher price...in terms of audible outcome?
Thanks for the heads up on this Duster. I've terminated 2ft with some Onix OFC center tip RCAs I had lying around. I know 'ideal' length is longer but that's too long and awkward a length for me. So far it sounds tame, warmish even and very clean. Not very dynamic so hopefully that will kick in later as you said. Very different from the Belkin PCOCC digital cable that in there prior which was much 'livelier', brighter, etc.
"Screw tighten WBT type RCA connector" indicates the rca connector features a locking barrel. The carbon fiber sheathed barrel is very lightweight and "easy going" so it feels more like a low-mass NextGen barrel rather than a heavier WBT-0101 Topline barrel, for example.
The Valab Carbon rca connector is a solder-only design.
Dou you think the carbon fiber on rca have some effect?
Thom
Image: Oyaide R1 Beryllium, platinum + palladium, beryllium copper AC outlet, mounted on Oyaide WPC-Z wall mount unit (machined aluminum bracket with carbon fiber faceplate system).
I've observed beneficial sonic results of energy dissipation caused by carbon loaded insulation layers of cables, carbon fiber cable sleeves, and a carbon fiber faceplate of an AC outlet wall mount unit, so I can vouch for the effectiveness of carbon dissipation devices. As for the Valab Carbon rca connector, I would need to compare its carbon fiber sheathed barrel with an exact barrel without the carbon fiber sheath in order to properly judge its actual level of effectiveness. I'll say again that in this case I do think highly of the Valab Carbon rca connector from both a mechanical and sonic POV.
:)
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: