Cable heretic, but need help.:)

[abhijitnath]

Reposting this in the cable section from the DIY section, in case it gets more traffic here.

Hi,

The intent of this thread is not to ruffle feathers at all. YMMV, etc.
I've done some ABX testing and found that I can't tell actually cables apart with any degree of accuracy, so that leaves more money for the rest of my rig. As a result, I have Monoprice interconnects and speaker cable.
These are a little ugly however. Is there anyway I can prettify my cables, like the attachment? If I buy some Techflex, heatshrink it and wrap it around the cable, is that enough? The pictures have the whole cable cylindrical, but my cables are essentially two thinner cylinders joined togethere, if you catch my drift. What else do I need to add for a nice fat looking snake? I can make that little wooden end thing pretty easily, I think.
Any help would be most appreciated.

 

[arj]

consider yourself lucky and dont upgrade..just listen to music
when component resolutions increases, cables differences become more apparent.

 

[abhijitnath]

No no, I'm not planning to upgrade. Just want to figure out a DIY way to make them look a little nicer!

 

[gobble]

Those cables in the pic already have a lovely wooden tip at the end of the shield. They look pretty already. Generally I ask my GF to strip further if she asks for an opinion and wants to look lovelier. :licklips:

Do you want to consider stripping the existing shielding off further?

Cheers

 

[abhijitnath]

OK.I think I've written the original post really poorly .

I currently have really boring looking cable- transparent plastic over copper wire. I want it to end up looking like the Techflex covered Kimber cable in the pic. What do I need to do? Just Techflex? How do I get the entire cable to look completely cylindrical (inside, the two cables are obviously cylinders in themselves, so if you sheath them together, you'll get a flat looking cable)?
I can turn wood and make it into that wooden end fairly easily.

The point about the stripping is pretty good though!

 

[arj]

usually cables have fancy insulation as well as dielectric cores like teflon etc.. Techflex is your best fit..use any filler like cotton cloth wrapped around the cables to make it cylindrical and put techflex.

 

[pguy]

abhijit, you might be looking for this

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=776636

 

[shershah]

abhijit, you might be looking for this

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=776636

wow! pguy-
a million thanks - my finolex is going to look like a million bucks

 

[gobble]

abhijit, you might be looking for this

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=776636

Great link. But how useful is the braiding of only the last 6 inches of cable?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

my understanding: the braiding covers the entire length of cable except for the ends. As his cable has two red plus two white conductors, he heat-sealed the reds and whites together.

After all this work, it's mostly hidden behind the speakers and components, anyway!

 

[pguy]

wow! pguy-
a million thanks - my finolex is going to look like a million bucks

I ended up buying most of the stuff from parts express and shipped them to get em on my cables. Haven't gotten around to creating the cables, but its on the cards hyeah:

 

[phoenixfirebird]

I ended up buying most of the stuff from parts express and shipped them to get em on my cables. Haven't gotten around to creating the cables, but its on the cards hyeah:

hi pguy,
you will probably dress your cables the day preceding an audiophile friends visit to your place
regds
suri

 

[ajay124]

"Cable Believer"

The intent of this post is not to ruffle feathers.But to share my opinion based on the changes in SQ I have heard with my system

It has been my experience in the past six months that the slightest change in the interconnects or speaker cables that one is using,completely alters the sound quality.When I downgrade from the Transparent IC's and cables to Chord/Sommers/Dac the SQ progressively worsens and is gradually reduced to unlistenable levels.
My personal opinion is (for Branded and DIY)
1.Room acoustics and power supply are all important factors that need to be tamed at the time of installation!The entire length of cables suppling power from the pole/distribution board to the audio rack HAS to be cleaned up and preferably isolated from the rest of the supply to the house.Constant 230V IS essential.Proper placement of speakers (firing down the long wall,adequate distance between speakers,adequate distance from side and back wall,using sturdy,effective spikes/stands) HAS to be done.Other tweaks would be room specific.
2.Interconnects and speaker cables are AS important as the source,amp and speakers.They are the "messengers" without whom,communication will get garbled and lost.Power cables,interconnects and speaker cables can add a huge amount of 'noise' to the final output from the speakers,making the sound harsh,slurred,slowed down,thick,lean,strident,fatiguing....depending on the characteristics of a particular cable.If one cannot listen to music for l-o-n-g periods(because of listening fatigue,boredom,urge to get up and tweak the system)then there is something wrong with the set up.
3.Source,Amp,Speakers,Cables need to be evenly matched.Buying several cables would be an expensive proposition.Because of their small volume and weight cables are the easiest part of a hifi system to borrow and audition at home.

 

[arj]

"Cable Believer"
.....
3.Source,Amp,Speakers,Cables need to be evenly matched.Buying several cables would be an expensive proposition.Because of their small volume and weight cables are the easiest part of a hifi system to borrow and audition at home.

Ajay, your post is a nonproverbial pegion among cats
I agree with all of your points and have an additonal point to make on 3. today i am so scared of component upgrades primarily for that reason. the whole issue of balancing ICs/Speaker cables and power cables is so complicated for us in india dues to our options !

so any potential upgrade has to be a far more well thought/planned/tested option !

 

[ajay124]

Ajay, your post is a nonproverbial pegion among cats
I agree with all of your points and have an additonal point to make on 3. today i am so scared of component upgrades primarily for that reason. the whole issue of balancing ICs/Speaker cables and power cables is so complicated for us in india dues to our options !

so any potential upgrade has to be a far more well thought/planned/tested option !

Balancing IC's,speaker and power cables is indeed a potentially anxiety and frustration laden and back breaking task.More so because the prices seem way too high for what is ultimately just a cable.
I recently auditioned the Volex power cable generously gifted to me by Prem (Thank You!) with the Arcam cdp.While it cleaned up the sound a bit and added a little more detail,the overall sound was not pleasing to my ear.The Arcam lost it's warm musicality and started sounding colder and brighter.I found that I was being hit by listener fatigue 15-20 minutes into a cd.Therefore for the moment I am back to my Walwarts.I am moving very slowly on the connectors and power cables because it would mean spending at least 15K.I want to get it right when I do spend the money.For connectors I would be happy with the Furutech Gold series.For the cable (half meter for each unit) I intend to do some more 'virtual' research.
It was a stroke of luck that I got two Transparent IC's+Speaker cables (used and affordable) that worked so well in my system,that I don't have the slightest urge to experiment further.The Transparent 'Musiclink' Super IC is far superior to the 'Link' 200 and I use the better one for connecting the cdp to pre.Even switching the two IC's using the Link from cdp to pre and the Musiclink from pre to power downgrades the sound...bass looses its 'muscles',the midrange becomes leaner,the overall sound looses its 'authentic' feel.I would love to trade in my 'Link' IC and speaker cables for the Musiclink Super if they become available at a reasonable price.
I hope abhijitnath and other 'heretics' will allow a few believers to co-mingle for a while.Perhaps we can all learn something from each other

 

[abhijitnath]

Many, many thanks, pguy. Much appreciated!

ajay124, no grudge at all. There's limited money to spend..I'd love to buy the best speakers/sources/amp that I could possibly want (Magnepan 3.7, Scheu Analog Premier, Primaluna pre, Emotiva XPA-1) and then worry about playing with the cables to connect them with!
Those I find are more critical to my enjoyment. But to each his own
Would you like a controlled DBT done, though? It could be educational for both of us!

 

[ajay124]

@abhijitnath
A controlled DBT sounds ominous!What does it mean in English

 

[abhijitnath]

It means that you sit and listen to the music without knowing which component is being used. Let's say one is your favourite cable, and the second is Rs. 20/m electrical cord. You play the music and guess which of the two it is 20 times or so. That's it!
The best way to do this is normally with a box called a DBX box that you plug in both sets of speaker cable into and you can then switch instantly- unfortunately, I don't have one. So it might be a little slower to switch off the amp, change cables and then plug them back together-say a minute each time?- but it could still be interesting.

 

[arj]

Transparent has a well engineerd product line and it does improve as you go up its line(lots of $$$) . I still have a Music wave+ speaker cable and music link+ IC ..they are pretty good. what I like about this is thet they do not play around too much with the Treble/midband/bass thing.

 

[arj]

It means that you sit and listen to the music without knowing which component is being used. Let's say one is your favourite cable, and the second is Rs. 20/m electrical cord. You play the music and guess which of the two it is 20 times or so. That's it!
The best way to do this is normally with a box called a DBX box that you plug in both sets of speaker cable into and you can then switch instantly- unfortunately, I don't have one. So it might be a little slower to switch off the amp, change cables and then plug them back together-say a minute each time?- but it could still be interesting.

this is where discussions get dangerous ..especially in cables hyeah: