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Fist DIY cables finished.

98.117.181.4
Posted on November 5, 2009 at 14:17:36
jupiterboy
Audiophile

Posts: 315
Location: Western New York
Joined: June 7, 2009
Contributor
  Since: August 25, 2009






Yes, I know. Everyone has already done this, but this was my turn. Very glad I did. I will be putting my Slate cables up for sale in short order.

Nothing too fancy, but I did get a reasonable deal on some teflon coated UP-OCC copper wire. I discovered, while researching Litz braiding, an unusual weave with some research to support superior performance. The down-side is that it is not a braid and requires the construction of a sort of loom and a weaving process. After a couple of days of that I used some heat shrink on the entire length to minimize mechanical issues.

I then finished them out and terminated with a reasonable copper/silver banana using a relatively high silver content solder.

My first impression is very good. I auditioned what I could before I started to get some impression of a range of sounds in my own system.

I find these have as good detail retrieval as the entry level JPS, a nice expansive soundsage, and an unusual characteristic of eliminating harshness, which could be described a sibilance in vocals.

After repeated listening to Dusty in Memphis Rhino remaster on CD and my Atlantic LP I very distinctly notice any hotness to the vocal is non-existent.

All this is to say, If you have the mind to do something like this I can confirm that you can get a very good result without paying a huge price. Although these were not cheap, and took a good 20 hrs to make, I am very glad to have taken the chance.

Thanks to everyone that answered questions and published their own opinions and discoveries.
RE: Fist DIY cables finished., posted on November 6, 2009 at 20:02:08
hum4god
Audiophile

Posts: 30
Location: wisconsin
Joined: October 22, 2004
 what kind of cable did you use and what gauge / how many ?
Here's where I left common wisdom., posted on November 7, 2009 at 04:54:45
jupiterboy
Audiophile

Posts: 315
Location: Western New York
Joined: June 7, 2009
Contributor
  Since: August 25, 2009
 Because it was a short run, and because I wanted to stay away from stranded because of opinions based on past experience, I went with two pairs of solid 18AWG.

RE: Fist DIY cables finished., posted on November 6, 2009 at 07:17:20
madisonears
Audiophile

Posts: 487
Location: midwest
Joined: September 6, 2006
 Great job. It seems that you are describing the sound as musical, which is good as opposed to detailed, which is usually bad. So what's the "special weave" you discovered? Or is it top secret?

Peace,
Tom E

Here’s the thing,, posted on November 6, 2009 at 07:31:53
jupiterboy
Audiophile

Posts: 315
Location: Western New York
Joined: June 7, 2009
Contributor
  Since: August 25, 2009
 and good questions BTW. I would describe it as a double-helix. If you take two pos/neg pairs and twist the pos from pair with the neg from the other, and then weave the two outside legs back through in an over-under-under, under-over-over fashion you end up with the two pos and two negative in a twist but with overlapping strands.

I actually should not talk about where I got the idea, but I will say that I am comfortable using it for my own work but could never take it into commercial production.

Musical yes.

Detailed—very yes.

There is much more detail than with any other cable I have used save the JPS. However, the sound is, as you say musical, with a velvety ease of presentation. There is a taughtness to the bass and an airy extension in the mids and highs that allows more extended decay than I have ever heard. There are layers and layers of notes in slow decay that just hand out there. The very small details that are revealed are not forward, but audible and in what sounds to be the proper priority.

I will do some more listening. Finish up the termination, and get the final changes made to my phono stage and attempt a proper evaluation.

If you do some searching for Litz braid and Litz weave you may be able to uncover the iformation, including research, that I borrowed for this little home-brew experiment.

RE: Here’s the thing. Huh?, posted on November 6, 2009 at 15:01:04
madisonears
Audiophile

Posts: 487
Location: midwest
Joined: September 6, 2006
 Clear as mud, but thanks for trying to explain it. If you "borrowed" the geometry from a manufacturer, I can understand your reluctance to divulge that and direct others accordingly. If not, then I don't understand your coyness. Oh, well...your choice. Even a simple braid is very effective if good materials are employed, and I encourage others to try it.

I also have braided my own speaker cables from individual OCC solid copper/teflon wire. I think they're better in the mids and highs than all the commercial stuff I've tried, including some upper-middle priced stuff such as AZ, AQ, and Cardas, at one-quarter the cost. I use braided stranded silver for the bass, and it is superb. Most people do it the other way around, which makes no sense to me.

I've never tried the crazy expensive wires, but I have heard some VERY expensive Siltech's in a friend's system. Can't remember the model because I knew it would never be important to me ($3000 for speaker wire is beyond rational, to me). They do sound very nice, but I'm not sure they're better than what I made. He has lots of money to spend; I don't.

Peace,
Tom E

RE: Here’s the thing. Huh?, posted on November 10, 2009 at 13:34:12
Crazy Dave
Audiophile

Posts: 5944
Location: East Coast
Joined: October 4, 2001
 Where did you get the wire?

Dave

Braiding?, posted on November 7, 2009 at 08:09:14
mitch2
Audiophile

Posts: 610
Joined: August 28, 2001
 Nice work on the cables Jupiterboy.
Do you know of any information discussing the pros/cons between braiding and a more simple twisted pair, or a star quad twist where the two opposite wires are connected together to reduce inductance? I have seen the insides of several well-known cables, and advertisments for others, and quite a few seem to be twisted pairs, maybe with multiple insulated strands bundled together for each polarity. The only true braided speaker cables I have used are a double run pair of HGA SC-16 braided silver I am trying now, although I know Kimber is into it with their 4,8 & 12TC. I suspect the braiding would lower inductance by keeping + and - in close proximity, and I understand it is also supposed to reduce potential for RFI and EMI. Are there downsides to braiding compared to more conventional design configurations?

RE: Braiding?, posted on November 7, 2009 at 08:32:46
jupiterboy
Audiophile

Posts: 315
Location: Western New York
Joined: June 7, 2009
Contributor
  Since: August 25, 2009
 I have read a bit, and some of it seems to contradict, so weighing primary vs secondary and tertiary factors becomes a guessing game.

Read up on Litz braiding and you will learn much, specifically away from the audio field. I have a messy spider in the back of my system so RFI/EMI was high on my list of priorities. I also took heed of warnings of mechanical issues and used a full length run of super tight heat shrink to hold it all very tightly together.

This technique is time intensive, and without a dedicated machine to weave the wire it would not be commercially viable. It is also tailored to lighter gauge wire. To pull it off with a heavier gauge just takes a long jig and careful, slow work.

The research stated related to the weave I used stated somewhere around an 80% reduction in EMI/RFI vs. twisted pair. Whether I am achieving this in my implementation is open to debate.

Congrats on your first DIY speaker cables..., posted on November 5, 2009 at 20:15:05
sherod
Audiophile

Posts: 2605
Location: Texas
Joined: August 3, 2003
 ...keep us posted on their sound after a few days/weeks further break-in.

RE: Fist DIY cables finished., posted on November 5, 2009 at 15:46:52
wirewizard
Manufacturer

Posts: 181
Location: N.E. ,Ohio
Joined: July 3, 2009
Contributor
  Since: September 18, 2009
 Great job...looks good. I love when people get the chance to build their own cables because they gain an appreciation for how much effort really goes into creating a finished cable.Enjoy your new cables, and keep up the good work!




All for the love of music :-)

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