Belden 8402 ICs

" the shield is connected at each end to the ground ", posted on May 2, 2015 at 00:00:08
beppe61 Audiophile Posts: 4705 Joined: January 29, 2004	Hi this is quite unusual as the writer says also Interesting. By the way after learning that the signal travels mostly on the surface of a conductor i am sold on the litz or enamelled solid core type. I believe quite in possible inter-strand interactions ... They can be more tricky to terminate but ... Thanks a lot again for the information. Kind regards, bg

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 2, 2015 at 11:44:32

pixelphoto
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Posts: 655
Location: So. Cal.
Joined: December 15, 2009

Referenced cable can be found here: http://btpa.com/CA-0582.html

http://btpa.com/CA-0582.html

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 2, 2015 at 18:15:28
mitch2 Audiophile Posts: 1521 Location: Great Lakes Joined: August 28, 2001	Twisted pair stranded copper with braid shield. Not sure why these would sound particularly good with their rubber insulation, tinned copper and stranded conductors (I prefer solid for ICs). Maybe materials don't make that big a difference in how cables sound.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 2, 2015 at 18:58:21

rhing
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Posts: 47
Location: Bay Area, No. California
Joined: March 22, 2006

Just made a 1.5m pair this morning as described in Jeff Day's blog, and I have to say these are very good cables. They are great where a system might need a touch more warmth. Aside from the slightly added warmth, these cables are transparent with excellent detail and clarity, a deep and wide soundstage, and good extension at both ends of the frequency spectrum. I don't know if these are the ultimate cables, but I am going to make a couple more pair. I really like them. For reference, I've been using a couple DIY pair of tri-braided Mundorf Silver-Gold 0.5mm wire terminated with the same Switchcraft 3502AAU RCA connectors. These are no slouch cables by any means, but these Belden 8402 cables just sound a bit more musical and organic to my ears.

Just a note that these take some time to work with as there is a lot of cotton string, some kind of fibrous filler along with the individual conductors wrapped in more string. You really need a good pair of small and sharp scissors to trim this away prior to soldering the connectors onto the cables. I used my favorite Cardas quad eutectic solder for this.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 8, 2015 at 22:02:49

pixelphoto
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Posts: 655
Location: So. Cal.
Joined: December 15, 2009

After reading write up about the Belden 8402 cable I ordered ten feet and the Switchcraft 3502AAU RCA connector. Received both items today. Spent the afternoon building two set of ic's. Removed the Oyaide PCOCC cable with KLE RCA connectors from my system and installed the Belden 8402 cables. Powered up and HOLLY SHIT!. The Belden's are awesome. Warm, detailed, clear, smooth, etc. Everything I want to hear from my system. I'm running them 24/7 for 150-200 hrs. Thank you Yazaki-san and Jeff.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 8, 2015 at 22:13:51
pixelphoto Audiophile Posts: 655 Location: So. Cal. Joined: December 15, 2009	Does using this cable for speakers make sense?

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 9, 2015 at 08:49:23
Mortsnets Audiophile Posts: 309 Location: SF East Bay Joined: September 27, 2006	Have not heard about 8402 for speaker cable but Belden 9497 does have a following. Also Western Electric WE16GA.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 9, 2015 at 11:58:49
pixelphoto Audiophile Posts: 655 Location: So. Cal. Joined: December 15, 2009	Finally gave up search for Belden 9497 and 8471 cable by the foot, darn.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 9, 2015 at 13:37:02
Mortsnets Audiophile Posts: 309 Location: SF East Bay Joined: September 27, 2006	Isn't this the stuff: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Belden-9497-Speaker-Cable-Altec-jbl-Shindo-Western-Electric-Speaker/271818389857

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 9, 2015 at 16:44:24
pixelphoto Audiophile Posts: 655 Location: So. Cal. Joined: December 15, 2009	Hi Mortsnet, I saw that but misinterpreted the info. I read it as only 3' was avaiable. Thank you!

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 11, 2015 at 13:29:47
Crazy Dave Audiophile Posts: 14371 Location: East Coast Joined: October 4, 2001	Just to clarify,are you saying that without break-in the Belden 8402 with Switchcraft 3502AAU RCAs sound better than the Oyaide PCOCC cable with KLE RCA? Dave

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 11, 2015 at 16:28:29

pixelphoto
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Posts: 655
Location: So. Cal.
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"without break-in the Belden 8402 with Switchcraft 3502AAU RCAs sound better than the Oyaide PCOCC cable with KLE RCA?"

Hi Dave,
Yeah I said that. It is the touch of warmth from the Belden cable that did it. In about another week I'll switch back to the PCOCC cable and do more comparison between the two. The Belden really puts a smile on my face. It's a bit more relaxed, clear and detailed...

pixelphoto (Marvin)

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 12, 2015 at 12:39:05
Crazy Dave Audiophile Posts: 14371 Location: East Coast Joined: October 4, 2001	I may give it a try. Worst case scenario, it is good soldering practice. There is a school of thought that the tinned wire is best! Dave

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 12, 2015 at 13:01:22
pixelphoto Audiophile Posts: 655 Location: So. Cal. Joined: December 15, 2009	Dave, at some point I'll switch the Switchcraft rca's for the KLE rca's to compare. I'll be able to practice my desoldering and soldering skills too. The Belden's now have about 180 hrs on them and are even more pleasing to my faulty ears. pixelphoto (Marvin)

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 13, 2015 at 09:55:40
Crazy Dave Audiophile Posts: 14371 Location: East Coast Joined: October 4, 2001	The price difference is staggering. Even at the price, given the materials and craftsmanship, the KLE is IMO a good deal. Knowing me, I will have to hear it for myself, but a dissenting opinion is always welcomed! Dave

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 15, 2015 at 05:08:45
Salectric Audiophile Posts: 1358 Location: East Coast Joined: February 23, 2003	Pixel, which KLE plugs are you going to try? I have only tried the KLE Copper Harmony and the Absolute, but based on my twice replacing a Copper with an Absolute, I would say the Copper is ok but rather colored (excessively warm and hollow bass, soft and dull treble), whereas the Absolute is very, very good sounding.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 15, 2015 at 09:11:43

pixelphoto
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Posts: 655
Location: So. Cal.
Joined: December 15, 2009

Hi Salectric,
I have a set of KLE Silver Harmony on Wireworld Equinox 6 OCC copper cable that I'll be desoldering soon to try on the Belden cable. I've been very happy with them but the Beldon 8402 with the modest Switchraft RCA's are just about perfect to my ears. I'm hoping the KLE Silver Harmony RCA's will bring even more sonic pleasure.
I now have about 250 hrs on the Beldon ic's. The primary characteristic of the Belden cable for me is the touch of warmth and the increased musicality it has brought to my system.
A big plus of course is the modest expense of $61.18 for two sets of ic's

Keep looking forward,
pixelphoto (Marvin)

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 15, 2015 at 10:49:30
Salectric Audiophile Posts: 1358 Location: East Coast Joined: February 23, 2003	Thanks for the follow-up. I suspect the KLE Silver will sound pretty good. I am waiting for a set of WBT Ag plugs to arrive which I will try on the Belden in place of my KLE plugs. The Belden wire does sound surprisingly good.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 22, 2015 at 20:04:55
pixelphoto Audiophile Posts: 655 Location: So. Cal. Joined: December 15, 2009	Hi Mortsnets, I would like to say thanks for posting about Jeff's Place. Had you not I would not be writing this. Discovering the Belden 8402 cable and WE16GA wire have transformed my modest system to one with a absolutely musical heart. Happy listening, pixelphoto (Marvin)

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 22, 2015 at 20:49:15

Mortsnets
Audiophile

Posts: 309
Location: SF East Bay
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Marvin,
You are welcome. Jeff sure has an interesting blog.

Over the years he has recommended some great affordable gear like speaker cable from Woods extension cord, Sony Playstation as a cd player, Sonic Impact T-amp amd MHDT Paradisea DAC.

His review archive (http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/?page_id=4023) lists all his reviews at PFO, 6Moons and Jeff's Place.

Another audio blog I really enjoy is CheapTubeAudio.

Thanks,
Mortsnets (Craig)

http://cheaptubeaudio.blogspot.com/

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on May 28, 2015 at 18:14:43

pixelphoto
Audiophile

Posts: 655
Location: So. Cal.
Joined: December 15, 2009

Three days ago I replaced the Switchcraft 3502AAU RCA's on the Belden 8402 wire to Wireworld Silver Tube and KLE Silver Harmony RCA's. After three days of listening to music with these RCA's I must say a good bit of the warmth as been lost but the music is still pretty musical. BUT, I'm going back to the Switchcraft 3502AAU RCA's for the warmth AND musicality. I wonder if the gold plated center tube of the Switchcraft 3502AAU RCA's are the reason for the warmth?

pixelphoto (Marvin)

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on June 13, 2015 at 23:22:47

pixelphoto
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Posts: 655
Location: So. Cal.
Joined: December 15, 2009

Several weeks ago I built a 14" IC using the Belden 8402 cable and Switchcraft 3502AAU (gold center pin) RCA's to run between my Gustard USB/SPDIF convertor to my Musical Fidelity DAC. I did this mainly to see how it would compare with my Oyaide DR-501 silver SPDIF cable. Well it sounded far better than the Oyaide. Warm, musical, detailed, embracing, etc.; just like the two pair of IC's I built earlier in this thread. I also compared it to two Cat 6 cables I had built last month from a recipe I found at
http://www.image99.net/blog/files/category-cable-construction.html. The shorter of the two Cat 6 cables sounded best and was second to the Belden cable. No fancy test equipment was used except for my ears which in reality are pretty sophisticated.

Just thought I'd share my experience.

http://www.image99.net/blog/files/category-cable-constructio

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on June 14, 2015 at 16:14:50
davem1 Audiophile Posts: 275 Location: Washington, DC Metro Joined: July 16, 2012	Hello. I am a little late in asking. For the 8402 did you connect the shield at both ends? Thanks.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on June 14, 2015 at 16:50:47

pixelphoto
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Posts: 655
Location: So. Cal.
Joined: December 15, 2009

Yes. I followed the recipe/info as Yazaki-San posted at
http://www.image99.net/blog/files/category-cable-construction.html. You can trim away at least half of the shield and twist it with whichever wire you choose to use as ground.

http://www.image99.net/blog/files/category-cable-constructio

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on June 14, 2015 at 17:44:01

Mortsnets
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Posts: 309
Location: SF East Bay
Joined: September 27, 2006

pixelphoto,

Did you mean the recipe Yazaki-San posted at:
http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/?p=7325

So in Yazaki-san's method, one conductor goes to the RCA pins (hot), the other conductor goes to the plug housings (ground), and the shield is connected at each end to the ground. This is a little different connection method than is traditional here in the USA, where the norm is to connect one conductor to hot (pins), one conductor to ground (plug housings), and connect the shield only on one end (normally the preamplifier end) to the ground.

http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/?p=7325

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on June 14, 2015 at 17:49:59
Mortsnets Audiophile Posts: 309 Location: SF East Bay Joined: September 27, 2006	I've been listening for several days to my new Belden 8402 based ICs and they sound pretty awesome even without burn-in. The definitely surpass the Tara Labs Prism 22 ICs I have been using for years.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on June 14, 2015 at 18:09:58
pixelphoto Audiophile Posts: 655 Location: So. Cal. Joined: December 15, 2009	That's it Mortsnets. Same recipe. I'm really happy you first posted about Jeff's Place and the Belden cable. The ic's I made from the Belden and the Western Electric wire for speakers are just awesome.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on June 15, 2015 at 06:37:40
davem1 Audiophile Posts: 275 Location: Washington, DC Metro Joined: July 16, 2012	Thank you.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on October 6, 2015 at 20:05:52
cabelok Audiophile Posts: 150 Location: Phoenix Joined: September 9, 2015	What method of construction did you use?

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on October 6, 2015 at 20:07:10
cabelok Audiophile Posts: 150 Location: Phoenix Joined: September 9, 2015	The Yazaki-san or traditional American?

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on October 6, 2015 at 21:31:45
SgreenP@MSN.com Audiophile Posts: 3537 Joined: April 23, 2007	Belden is only ok...serviceable, made well, but not nearly to be called high end.

RE: Belden 8402 ICs, posted on October 9, 2015 at 20:53:21
cabelok Audiophile Posts: 150 Location: Phoenix Joined: September 9, 2015	They're very good. Depends what you like.

Cable Asylum

Belden 8402 ICs

146.23.3.251