Cable Building

would love to borrow a cable 2.5mm to xlr (i think)

 

Yeah maybe, though with shipping and import fees going pre built becomes more attractive. I wanted to make a cable with that Neotech stuff. Btw i was looking at this connector: https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/head...connector-cuofp-gold-plated-pair-p-14136.html
And the outer shell is some kind of polymer that can probably be sanded down to make it fit.

 

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...pickup-in-san-diego-area.410309/#post-7627448

For someone in the San Diego area.. dB

 

About to get real interesting over the next several weeks (months?) in the FraggleLab...

Now that I finally have a dedicated hobby space, time to start back up on multiple years' worth of backlogged projects. First up is an interconnect showdown. Been using DHC Complement (UP-OCC litz conductors with 3 types of shielding) with Furutech and Abbatron connectors for a while, but have no real idea how anything else sounds (nor if I will even be able to hear a difference). Most of the various Mogami stuff was used in various spots connecting pretty budget components, so I never really tried to figure out if they sounded different.

I want to "finalize" stuff for the hobby and stop hoarding materials, so decided to do one last audiophool push and see if any of this will make a difference for me. Hoping no, so I can just use the prettiest, most ergonomic stuff, but already committed the money to finding out, so whatever sounds best stays, everything else gets sold.

Stuff on the table:
JPS Labs Superconductor, Sommercable Carbokab, Elecaudio SC-221OCC, Doublehelixcables Complement, Oyaide HPC-24W V1 (PCOCC), HPC-24W V2 (102SSC), Pu-pu platter of Mogami.

Furutech FP-126 RCA, Amphenol ACPR-BLK RCA, Abbatron XLR (TeCu), Elecaudio XLR (TeCu), Neutrik XLR (incoming), assortment of RCAs from asian manufacturers of various quality.

I can't promise useful impressions when I am done, but given the subforum, I will definitely comment on the build process.

 

Has anybody seen this recent article about interconnects?
https://www.alpha-audio.net/review/interlinks-dont-do-anything-or-do-they-32-rca-cables-analyzed/

It has lots of measurements and (blind-ish) impressions, and their attempt was to find some correlations between the two. So many cables tested and so many measurements, and I'm frankly out of my league trying to understand them. I hope some of you will find something interesting to chew.

It was especially interesting seeing that their thoughts on Sommer Carbokab 225 reminded me of what @Serious said on the previous page.

Alpha-Audio wrote about Chris Cable's The Carbon One:

https://www.alpha-audio.net/review/interlinks-dont-do-anything-or-do-they-32-rca-cables-analyzed/10/

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/cable-building.86/page-54#post-421671

 

I noticed this as well. I agree to a extent. It is detailed, but not bright. The 'neutral dark" seems to be a accurate.

EDIT. Did a swop between these and the Sommer Albedo cables. The Carbokab is definatly more subdued on the top and and therefore bit more distant sounding. Also bass impact seems softer than with Albedo. The Albedo is arguably more neutral than the Carbokab.

 

I have some space for DIY again (time is still in short supply), so catching up on a lot of things this summer and spamming the forum. Built some interconnect cables for the first time in forever to test on my MJ3. I kind of regret it, since I am too lazy/time constrained to do proper listening (and the whole crap ears thing), but here we are. Audiophonics.fr got a lot of my money earlier this year.

Carbokab from Sommer Cable. Saw it mentioned in a few places here so thought I'd try. Pretty easy to work with. Has carbon coating on the copper inside the regular looking dialectric and some sort of spacing material that pretty much hand tore. Fabric and braided shielding. Pretty thick, but more flexible than I was expecting given its appearance. I used some Abbatron XLRs since they advertise tellurim and beryllium copper which I suppose is better than plain brass. I don't know. They were only a couple dollars more expensive than Neutrik, so why not.



Elecaudio SC-221OCC. Standard balanced mic cable design with teflon, cotton, and OCC copper. Surprisingly stiff, but manageable. Has almost a sparkly effect to the outer jacket that is pretty. Used some Elecaudio XLRs that are also tellurium copper and beryllium copper. Again not much more than Neutrik or Abbatron, but definitely prettier. Not much in the way of strain relief, but if these win out, they won't be moved often.



The test pile with my current cables - Doublehelixcables Complement with Abbatron XLRs. Since I built these many years ago, I don't have pictures, but the cable was originally designed to be used as either headphone cables or interconnects. Wonderfully flexible. UPOCC litz conductors, carbon coating outside the dialectric, cotton, mylar foil and braided shield. Ostensibly high end so very curious to see if either the Elec or Carokab sound better or worse than what I have been using for years. All cables have a minimum burn in of 100 hours at this point, but I haven't really compared the new ones. I can't promise a good sound comparison, but happy to dive into the connectors or cables from a build perspective.

 

Any impressions yet?

 

Blue Jeans Cable announced their "LC-2" low capacitance audio cable this month (September 2024). Though its not listed on their 'raw' audio cable page yet I presume it can be purchased by the foot. And terminated cables are 15% off right now

LC-2 is the new version of the LC-1, the specs of which can be found here. Capacitance is now 11 pF/ft (v. 12.7 in LC-1), core is 25AWG copper.

I like the LC-1 cables I've used but find the 25AWG core a little difficult for DIY. Lots of solder and machinations required on my part to firmly attach to RCA plugs, Im not that handy I guess. I just ordered several pre-terminated cables to try out.

 

I got a pair of the LC-2 cables in from Blue Jeans today. (FYI they are on sale for a short time and they now offer 2 Day FedEx shipping for $5). I use a pair of LC-1 as my main cables and love them for their balanced and natural sound. Not too bright and not too dark (in my system). Not super revealing but not warmpoo. Goldilocks cables for me. They sound correct and are musical AF.

Upon 30 minutes or so of listening today I found the LC-2 to sound very similar. They seem to offer more extension up top, and more refinement in the high frequencies. Only difference I could place. This lends a more revealing nature compared to LC-1. Both cables I compared are the same length, at 3 feet.

If LC-1 don't impress in your system then LC-2 might offer that extra sparkle and detail you may enjoy.

Not sure which I will stick with but I'm going to give these a few weeks and then switch back. It's nice to have another Blue Jeans offering to tweak your system with.

 

My BJC LC-1 cables are my longest-lasting audio purchase, in use for over 15 years at this point. Just placed an order for some new lengths in LC-2, which should see me through to my death bed.

 

Looking for advice for internal speaker wire.
suggested gauges for the woofer, mid and tweeter?
ONO cast copper wire folks have tried and there results?
Cooper wire untinned that anyone has used and there results?
best,
Josh

 

For good cast copper I'd look at VH Audio hookup wire. It's kind of pricey, but not outrageous, if you're looking for good high quality copper and smart dielectric choices. I find the VH copper wire to be quite neutral.

 

any thoughts on gauge differences for the tweeter and woofer? was thinking 16g or 18g for tweeter and 14g for woofer

 

Those are probably plenty large enough gauges given the short runs from x-over to drivers.

 

Thinking(again lol) of making some iem cables for my IE600, found some connectors that look promising: https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005004052888962.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.50d3EIu5EIu5ud&mp=1&pdp_npi=5@dis!EUR!EUR 9.19!EUR 5.79!!EUR 4.79!!!@2103956b17462218833775640e8328!12000027873090261!ct!NL!4621650898!!1!0&gatewayAdapt=glo2nld
But could use some tips for some flexible litz wire. I want to practice braiding the cable myself but it's hard finding the right stuff. Also not 100% sure what i need... Insulation wise PTFE seems the way to go but then most of it seems to be spc which i'm not really fond off.
Also getting this stuff from ali express seems to be risky, i mean its cheap but rather get the good stuff right away though perhaps someone has some tips...
Forza seems to use polyethylene insulated wire, something like this: https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/unba...Lv0ilO_jebUlR-NM3l9Fb4NGXlSFpNXdD8sJ5UOxh2iXw

But that’s discontinued, i will resume the search tomorrow.

 

Braiding a cable is good vacation project. Just DIY.

 

I thinking to build an XLR cable for my Slagle Autoformer volume control, and I'm thinking that sometimes a cable should not be generic but built for a particular application. So what are the parameters of a cable (I could be missing something):

1. Resistance
2. Capacitance
3. Inductance
4. Noise resistance
5. Some surface effects, that I'm not sure how to call properly
6. Proper dielectric around

So what I'm thinking - my cable will be connected to a 150 H transformer with 100 m of a transformer wire in it. It already has a significant resistance and inductance. So maybe there is nothing wrong with just using another transformer wire, so according to @k4rstar post https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/cable-building.86/page-52#post-411926
I salvaged an old transformer, and will just use a transformer wire.

What I'm thinking is super dangerous is capacitance, because having a 150 H inductance and then some tiny capacitance connected together may create phase shift.
For capacitance, I want to follow @gixxerwimp post: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/cable-building.86/page-49#post-379623
and wrap the transformer wires around the teflon tube. This is the simplest design among those that create extremely low capacitance.
Maybe one day I'll upgrade the wire into naked copper and naked silver twisted together into hybrid wire. Again, following the @k4rstar advice that multi-strain wires are not ok, but two naked wires should be counted as one.
Connectors are simple Neutrics.

 

Sounds like fun!!

 

This is a consideration in all high impedance circuits.
On top of that, the capacitance comes from some dielectric - every dielectric other than air/vacum has secondary interraction mechanisms.
In high impedance circuit these effects are noticeable - in speaker cable perhaps not.