Srinivasa Rao
Active Member
I used Havells wire on which it is clearly mentioned as 2.5 Sq.mm which I looked up on Google which showed up as 14 awg.
The effect of cables - A sane debate
- Thread starter Hari Iyer
- Start date
Fantastic
Well-Known Member
Typically mains cabling carrying larger currents appear to be specified by the area ( sqmm). Some speaker wires too. But the most widely used method of specifying wire is by the guage . SWG for metric units and AWG is the older ( in inches and still used) American system. If you don't know the physical dimensions ( diameter or sqmm section ) of any guage , you will have to look up the charts available on the Net. If you use certain sizes often , the physical dimensions will be easy to remember.
Needless to say , the key factor here is the cross sectional area which determines the current carrying capacity and resistance per meter/foot /km what ever is specified. This is followed by lots of other parameters some of which might be important depending on the application. Like voltage ratings ( due to insulation ) , capacitance , insulation types , conductor material etc.
Often you can only decide what is good for you after you try it out yourself in your system. Cables that you can't access or are too expensive should be ignored. They are not going to help you. Often simple solutions work out very well. Do some experiments !
One example I've mentioned earlier is the use of enamelled wire of suitable size used in multistrand mode designed to do what you want.
In our case we used it in a "bi-WIRED" system and it brought up the snap of kettle drums/percussion apart from other things! Speaker cables must be kept as short as possible. The ideal system should have the power amp right next to the speaker with short cables and inputs should preferably be balanced XLR connectors. This would give you very wide bandwidth , good RF and hum rejection and minimal effects from the speaker cables.
I saw someone suggesting loading the signal level cables with 100 ohm resistors to achieve a higher roll off frequency. This is fraught with dangers. Most consumer preamps do not work very well with very low loads like 100 ohms. Distortion goes up as the load decreases and signals might clip much earlier than the unit was designed for. You could design preamps to work well at 100 ohms or even lower but that's not what most circuits are designed for. Don't be afraid to experiment ! Your cheapest skimpiest solution might sound as good or better than expensive solutions in your system. You never know till you try it out.
Remember the speaker cable tests from long ago where they used several expensive cables and also a straightened aluminum wire from a ( clothes) hanger ! It was a blind test with the listeners not knowing what cable was being used or even what the cables were ! The aluminum wire topped the list with the 'best' on the listening test ! It doesn't prove or disprove anything. It just shows you that you need to test your choice in "your system and be evaluated by your own ears " ! You don't have to be an audiophile with 'golden' ears ! You just want to get good sound as "your" ears tell you !
There is never any single answer for the question , "which wire is best for my system". I just did a simple Google search and lots of interesting links came up. I don't have time to go through them all, neither would I do it. There just isn't enough time. You could however look at some if you have the time. I must say I spend more time nowadays searching for good music that's recorded well. But here is the Google link I searched for.... https://www.google.com/search?clien...num+wire+from+a+hanger+in+speaker+cable+tests
Needless to say , the key factor here is the cross sectional area which determines the current carrying capacity and resistance per meter/foot /km what ever is specified. This is followed by lots of other parameters some of which might be important depending on the application. Like voltage ratings ( due to insulation ) , capacitance , insulation types , conductor material etc.
Often you can only decide what is good for you after you try it out yourself in your system. Cables that you can't access or are too expensive should be ignored. They are not going to help you. Often simple solutions work out very well. Do some experiments !
One example I've mentioned earlier is the use of enamelled wire of suitable size used in multistrand mode designed to do what you want.
In our case we used it in a "bi-WIRED" system and it brought up the snap of kettle drums/percussion apart from other things! Speaker cables must be kept as short as possible. The ideal system should have the power amp right next to the speaker with short cables and inputs should preferably be balanced XLR connectors. This would give you very wide bandwidth , good RF and hum rejection and minimal effects from the speaker cables.
I saw someone suggesting loading the signal level cables with 100 ohm resistors to achieve a higher roll off frequency. This is fraught with dangers. Most consumer preamps do not work very well with very low loads like 100 ohms. Distortion goes up as the load decreases and signals might clip much earlier than the unit was designed for. You could design preamps to work well at 100 ohms or even lower but that's not what most circuits are designed for. Don't be afraid to experiment ! Your cheapest skimpiest solution might sound as good or better than expensive solutions in your system. You never know till you try it out.
Remember the speaker cable tests from long ago where they used several expensive cables and also a straightened aluminum wire from a ( clothes) hanger ! It was a blind test with the listeners not knowing what cable was being used or even what the cables were ! The aluminum wire topped the list with the 'best' on the listening test ! It doesn't prove or disprove anything. It just shows you that you need to test your choice in "your system and be evaluated by your own ears " ! You don't have to be an audiophile with 'golden' ears ! You just want to get good sound as "your" ears tell you !
There is never any single answer for the question , "which wire is best for my system". I just did a simple Google search and lots of interesting links came up. I don't have time to go through them all, neither would I do it. There just isn't enough time. You could however look at some if you have the time. I must say I spend more time nowadays searching for good music that's recorded well. But here is the Google link I searched for.... https://www.google.com/search?clien...num+wire+from+a+hanger+in+speaker+cable+tests
We had discussed the Belden Iconoclast cables in the past with some interest.
Here's a very detailed review.
Belden is manufacturing the raw cables and Blue Jeans is terminating them and selling them as per the formula of the inventor Galen Gareis.
spirovious
Well-Known Member
How are Havells cable as speaker wire compared to other? l found polycab 1.5 sqmm as dynamic.Polycab 2.5sqmm was very warm and cold compared to 1.5sqmm.
These are Reliance Jio FTTH cables. Used to bring optical fiber to your home.
Can't be used for anything else
Cheers,
Raghu
IME, Polycab as speaker cable sounds very harsh and can't distinguish tone making everything sound the same.
Fantastic
Well-Known Member
Very interesting. Must listen to these sometime. Does any FM have these cables ?
Has anyone seen Allan Wright's , Cable book ?
Has anyone seen Allan Wright's , Cable book ?
e cables ?
Guys just wanted to share i bought dh labs q10 signature for my stereo, this are silver plated occ. Unlike other silver cable like vdh i have used before this one is not bright at all, infact it is much more smoother than other copper and tin cables i have used also when i used vdh mid bass was little lost but this time its powerful and present.
After intial hookup i though i lost some details but soon after hardly 10 hours or so resolution and details started to show up. I think it will improve further.
I am loving it atleast in my system.
After intial hookup i though i lost some details but soon after hardly 10 hours or so resolution and details started to show up. I think it will improve further.
I am loving it atleast in my system.
One Quick Question..
Are there any benefits of having the Same Type ( same model and make) of XLR or RCA interconnect between Source to Preamplifier and preamp to power amp??
Or it is always better to have different interconnects depending upon trial and error?
PS : I'm finding that having the Same Type of interconnects is having a slight edge overall
Are there any benefits of having the Same Type ( same model and make) of XLR or RCA interconnect between Source to Preamplifier and preamp to power amp??
Or it is always better to have different interconnects depending upon trial and error?
PS : I'm finding that having the Same Type of interconnects is having a slight edge overall
spirovious
Well-Known Member
I can say that different cable do change signature in the chain.Recently had tried that experiment and so can tell.Sometimes ,different cable can be a plus point if one of the chains is poorly matched.That is if pre is bright,then little warm sounding cable would help.
I think if all your equipment is of same manufacturer it makes sense to keep cables same otherwise trial and error work best.
Danny Ritchie of GR Research put up this interesting video a while ago. Let the show begin:
Did try it with Audioquest and Chord clearway XLR cables. Always preferred Different cable combination than the same cables.
Anyone using Belden 8402 or Mogami 2803 XLR interconnects? How is the experience?
Those who followed my post may know that I used to use a silver plated copper wire as my interconnect cable with my Dared 300B tube amplifier. After I build my DIY tube monoblocks, these silver plated copper wires were not matching with them. I tried solid copper and stranded cooper too. After swapping various IC and listening for 2 weeks, I finally settled with stranded copper wire as my final IC cables for the new amplifier.
The point I wanted to convey was the ICs that you use needs to match with your gear and just because some others find a particular cable good for them doesn't mean it would suit your setup too. It's a pity that in India there are no testing cables available and if you happen to buy something not matching it can't be returned. Hope I can fill the gap here if I ever start my cable manufacturing setup
The point I wanted to convey was the ICs that you use needs to match with your gear and just because some others find a particular cable good for them doesn't mean it would suit your setup too. It's a pity that in India there are no testing cables available and if you happen to buy something not matching it can't be returned. Hope I can fill the gap here if I ever start my cable manufacturing setup
spirovious
Well-Known Member
Yes, I am. Just to recollect ,I read very 1st post of this thread and was surprised again to read that there wasn't any sound quality difference in 2 cables
jayakrishnan k
Member
i just tried 2sqm polycab , the sound signature felt more like holographic, very bad
I've read through a lot of your posts on the Dared VP-300b, I have a set of stock ones. I want to know if you could tell me how to properly set and test the bias on these amps? Thanks in advance!Those who followed my post may know that I used to use a silver plated copper wire as my interconnect cable with my Dared 300B tube amplifier. After I build my DIY tube monoblocks, these silver plated copper wires were not matching with them. I tried solid copper and stranded cooper too. After swapping various IC and listening for 2 weeks, I finally settled with stranded copper wire as my final IC cables for the new amplifier.
The point I wanted to convey was the ICs that you use needs to match with your gear and just because some others find a particular cable good for them doesn't mean it would suit your setup too. It's a pity that in India there are no testing cables available and if you happen to buy something not matching it can't be returned. Hope I can fill the gap here if I ever start my cable manufacturing setup
I have send you a PM.
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