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125.238.9.14
In Reply to: RE: Al Sekela would disagree...... posted by Ubiquitous Biscuit on March 28, 2014 at 14:06:55
Hey UB-
Actually, very simple.
The Carol dual conductor 14 gauge AC wire allows for two unbelievably easy approaches to cable making. Both involve simply cutting a set of two identical lengths of Carol Cable wire and fashioning them as follows. (The first approach is for digital and especially noisy gear; the second for everything else.)
The first approach employs separated runs with each length of Carol Cable having one of the conductors for ground and the other for either line or neutral. Just attach the male and female terminations, using black for ground and white for line/neutral, and you're DONE! (Yes, it really is that simple.) Once constructed and employed, merely separate the wires as far as possible from one another, observing good cable management relative to all your other cables and gear, of course.
This is a design that Alan Maher felt (at least back in around 2001) was the best for digital and other RF noisy gear (perhaps D class amps?) Very simple, very easy, very nice!
For anything else, I employ the second method, based on the concept of "twisted pairs of twisted pairs". Here's how that works.
The Carol Cable is manufactured employing a left-hand twist to the conductors inside (i.e., spiraling counter-clockwise.) So you simply take the two lengths of raw Carol Cable and install them into the male AC plug with each cable's black conductor for neutral and the white conductors for line. Then plug that into a heavy (and unused!) isolation transformer, or anything that will hold the plug very, very securely. Then twist the two lengths of Carol Cable together as tightly as you possibly can (and I mean TIGHT!) utilizing Uncle Stu's "Rule of the Right Hand" approach, spiraling them clock-wise. Secure the tight twists with clear polypropylene tape (or whatever you like) every foot or so. Then add the ground wire (should you need one) into the male plug, add wrap the ground wire counter-spiraled (i.e., counter-clockwise) along the length of the twisted pairs of Carol Cable, and then attach the IEC female at the end. Voila! Done.
Easy as hell and sounds great, especially for the time, efforts and money involved.
With both of these two approaches, you leave the Carol Cable entirely intact.
The materials used in Carol AC wire are all very good, natural stuff: cotton, paper and rubber. In fact, I suspect the sound of the dielectrics was what I found so attractive at the time. My system back then was incredibly fast and open and airy and detailed, but lacked impact and warmth. These Carol-based designs add a great deal of warmth and weight while still allowing exceptional HF extension, which is just what I was looking for at that time. I believe many systems could benefit from these cable designs. I know mine did.
But other folks maintain that there is simply no dielectric like NO DIELECTRIC! That is what Bob at MSA feels sounds best, and I have to admit, it sure sounded that way in the MSA reference system, at least to my ears. So, I will now very likely be replacing all my Carol-based AC cables. But I got 13 great years out of them, and they were cheap as hell and VERY easy to make!
Of course, I don't know how MSA's AC cables will sound in my current system. But I know how they performed versus my Carol designs in the MSA reference system. That was spelled out clearly in my preview. But you never know until you put them into YOUR system and listen.
(Which is why I basically NEVER buy things that do not allow for a minimum of 30 days trial period.)
And thus why my post is merely a 'preview'. Once MSA finishes auditioning and tweaking its AC cord, I will order a set to try out, and then I will report back with a review. If I hear exactly the same things that I heard at the MSA reference system, my review will be nothing more than a re-hashing of what the preview said. We'll see.
Of course, I am hoping my Carol Cables will win out (because my wife really likes it when I do NOT spend money on audio gear!)
And you know the old saying: "Happy wife, happy life". ;-)
Cheers,
WS
Follow Ups:
Thanks, I think I'll try it. I'll probably use 16-3 Carol, which is what I have now. The ground is already in the cable. It will be used for a 17W tube amp. Black is used here for hot and white is neutral. If I can find the cable sans ground, I will try that too.
Edits: 03/29/14
Parts Connexion is where I got my Carol Cable. I bought a 250' roll eons ago. Still have a crap load of the stuff, truth be told.
PC has oodles of the two conductor variety relatively cheap.
I cannot vouch for how the three conductor Carol Cable will work for you, but it will definitely sound a bit different having that third wire (i.e., earth safety ground) in the mix, for sure.
Of course, you could always carefully razor open the outer rubber cable jacket and strip out the the three conductors and use the white and black only. Just be VERY careful not to nick those conductors, to avoid any possible shorting.
Let me know what you do, and what you think when you're done.
And best of luck, UB!
Cheers,
WS
Major brain fart action this morning on my previous post.
Toot-toot!
Yeah, it was Parts Express.
Parts Connexion doesn't carry Carol Cable, as far as I know.
Sorry about that
The ground wire in the Carol is sheathed, like the others; it would be difficult to fish it out. It's part of the left-hand twist arrangement. I'll see if I can find some two wire type at Lowe's or Home Depot, or at an electrical supply shop.
The power cord is soldered inside the amp - no IEC connection; and the other end hard-wired in a pony panel, making comparisons almost impossible. Anyhow, I'll check it out. Thanks
Perhaps you could do a follow-up? It might be fun to share what you hear when you build it. cheers, lloyd (bluenose)..
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