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I have 5 meter runs of audio, power, video, and trigger cables. No one makes anything to handle these multiple cables.So...
A visit to Hobby Lobby solved my cable lifting needs!
Parts list:
Woodpile dowels, package of 7, .437" x 12" (cut to length)
Woodpile rectangles, package of 8, 2.5" x 3.5" (bases)
Woodpile Large Barrell Spools, package of 20, 3/16" x 7/8"
Wood glue
Total cost: about $17, makes up to 7 or more liftersHappy listening!
Edits: 10/10/16 10/10/16 10/10/16Follow Ups:
next time I assemble a Hi-Fi system. I really don't see the attractiveness of a bunch of wires, even if they are spaced out with lifters.
For years, I've used hardware store purchased glass blocks - the ones used to construct windows. Never done an A/B comparison, but at the very least, they take the strain off cables running between components....
Have never heard a difference with or without cable lifters...
Do you have an Ikea nearby? Try these. 49¢ each. Need more height? They stack!
At that price, I think I will give them a try.
Dave
Ikea is chock full of things useful for audio tweaks.
.
Freak out...Far out...In out....
Would you speak to sonic benefit if any.
ET
"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936
My system from a long time ago. Getting the cables off the carpet made a very noticeable difference in the same areas Jerry notes.
I'm on a hardwood floor now and I can't tell any difference with or without them. Different room and components (many of lower caliber) so a lot of variables, but I think the lack of carpet is the main thing at play.
Were those Coincident's?
Good memory, Alan! Yes, those were the Coincident Total Eclipses, probably the most favorite speakers I've owned. Wish I still had them (I stupidly sold them to "upgrade"), although my current listening room wouldn't be an optimal environment. Perhaps if I knocked out a few walls....
The soundstage is noticeably deeper and more specific and the upper frequencies are more open and clearer/cleaner.
The lifters didn't transform my system, but they are a worthwhile upgrade.
"Laying speaker cables, interconnects, and AC power cords on an artificial fiber carpet will immediately dull the sound of your stereo. And that's true for all makes and models, not just Clearview cables. Unfortunately, the carpet is a huge mass of low quality insulation (dielectric). It absorbs and smears energy from the several foot wide field around every wire. The effect is pretty grim, making music sound both dulled and harsh. A simple, ear-tested solution is to raise the cables off the carpet by at least 8 inches. That's exactly what our good-looking maple Triad (designed by Marcia Bauman) does." Mapleshade. Sound is improved off other types of flooring also. Tweaker
Edits: 10/13/16
Very cleaver. I second Smith's comments about power cables and signal cables.
elegantly and give them a catchy name and you can turn those into EXPENSIVE , audiophile cable lifters!
Smartassedness aside, those are really great and pretty damn ingenious!!!
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
Thanks for your kind words. This was really a problem looking for a solution when I went to Hobby Lobby. I didn't have the materials or design in mind when entering the store. But when I saw those "thread spools", the design became obvious.
I showed a picture of these to a dealer at RMAF last weekend to see if there was any potential to turn this into an actual, marketable product. The response was not very enthusiastic. And with the production (labor) time, packaging, and marketing costs, they obviously wouldn't be selling for $17 for a set of 7!
Happy listening!
Regards,
JerryS
....running any of the AC power lines in parallel with any signal conductors. When it comes to power cables and signal wires being 'neighbors', remember what Robert Frost once (kinda sorta) penned:
"Good distance makes good neighbors" (or was that 'fences'?) ;-)
Ninety degree angles are usually suggested as best for intersecting AC lines and signal cables; if not possible, and if they must run parallel, then provide as much separation as you can. You can always put a few tacks in the wall and suspend the AC lines via some cotton strings well above your wooden cable station where the signal wires reside, if you wish.
Anyway, you may also wish to employ cotton balls under/around the cables where they rest on the supports to help reduce vibration and get the cables away from the wooden parts of the supports just a tad, as again, good distance between signal conductors and any unnecessary dielectric means (usually) better sound.
I assume you used non-magnetic screws or other fasteners (if more than just glue was employed to hold it together.) If any magnetic metals were so employed, you may also wish to consider swapping in non-magnetic materials as well. Just a thought.
BTW, I personally use the same 'cable lifter' method Tweaker456 uses, the tripod of wooden dowels, secured by a rubber band a little ways down from the top (which said design was lifted directly from Mapleshade's on-line catalog and successfully copied for under $3 @ "Lowe's"; why pay retail if you can easily DIY for peanuts?)
Otherwise, a very cool tweak for cables, and all costing a song.
A fine post, JerryS!
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers!
WS
Hi Winston,
Thanks for your suggestions. There are no screws, just wood and glue. If you look closely at the taller supports, the lowest cable support is spaced farther apart than the upper supports. This is to keep power cables farther away from signal cables. Of course, anyone making these is free to "go nuts" and make the spacing anything he or she might want.I think the weak link is the junction of the dowel and base, where there is just glue. But as long as there is little side load, just the vertical weight of the cables, it should be strong enough. Reinforcing this area, maybe with 2 small wood triangles at 45 degree angles, glued to the base and dowel, would be a simple solution.
Happy listening!
Regards,
JerryS
Edits: 10/11/16 10/11/16
Real nice. Good work. I made mine as a tripod from doweling and they are easily knocked down. This looks like a better solution. Good post. T
Not to take anything away from the OPs creation. I bought a package of rebar "chairs" from Home Depot. Cheap at $22.00 for 40 and nicely secures the speaker cables.
Edits: 10/11/16 10/11/16
Very cool! Thanks for posting this.
I was in Lowes yesterday getting a sheet of 1/8" cork ($8) to make a turntable platter mat. The 2x4 foot sheet will make several mats. It's amazing - like your suggestion - what we can find that is very useful for audio.
Happy listening!
Kind Regards,
Jerry
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