diy interconnects

[graeme uk]

I was intreagued, and needed another interconnect, so i made a couple.
First i made this one
http://www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize021998.htm
Then i made this one
http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/shoestrings_e.html

The only other interconnect i have to compare to is a cable talk one ive had for about 8 years. I cant tell you what it is as i bought it ex demo from a hi fi shop and any writting on the leads has long since worn away.
Cost me £40, reduced from nearer £70 if i remember right.
Anyway, the DIY ones.

The first one, with the magnet wire and tape, is rubish, dont bother.
It did at least prove to me that interconnects are more than 4 bits of wire (ive never been totally sure how much difference they made)
It sounds totally flat and lifeless not to mention quieter.
Really is poor.

The second one is better, still not quite as clear and open as my cable talk, but not too bad. How it compares with anything else i dont know, how good my cable talk one is, i dont know, i can only compare the two.

So, i still need another interconnect, any ideas or links to DIY ones that aint rubish?
Or at least insight into what makes them good or bad?
Maybe the shoestring one sounds better simply because the wire is much thicker, i dont know.

I realise this is a big can or worms, but ive typed it now!

[karma]

so signal tape sounds bad?

[graeme uk]

did to me, used between my marantz cd67se and my quad 44 pre, feeding my modded 405-2 power amp into mission 733 speakers.
Compared to my cable talk i normaly use it was awfull!!

[jleaman]

Maybe a bad piece of tape ?

[graeme uk]

that made me laugh, i assume thats sarcasm there?

[jleaman]

Originally posted by graeme uk
that made me laugh, i assume thats sarcasm there?

if you are telling me that the tape made it sound bad then you need to re-think what you'r doing.

[jleaman]

Originally posted by graeme uk
did to me, used between my marantz cd67se and my quad 44 pre, feeding my modded 405-2 power amp into mission 733 speakers.
Compared to my cable talk i normaly use it was awfull!!

Bad interconnects or bad soldered wire will do this. Post a pic of your connectors ? What kinda wire did you use ?

I use REALLy thin thin solid core silver wire with teflon insulation.

[graeme uk]

No, i dont think the tape has anything at all to do with it, exept to keep the wires tidy and stop any possibility of them shorting.
I took your comment as sarcasm as i figured you didnt believe bad tape could be making it sound bad.
Cant do pics im afraid, but used maplins gold plated phono plugs.
Not amazing, but they do the job.
the same ones i used on the other interconnect.
I used 32 swg magnet wire, i was told that thats the same as 30 awg.
The solder joins seemed to go ok, looked good enough.
Maybe the wire wasnt clean enough after i burned the enamel/laquer/whatever off, i did sand the wire ends with 400 grade wet and dry to make sure they were ok.
Do you think it could just be bad solder joints?

Ive been reading on here, alot of people dont think cables make any difference.

[jleaman]

Originally posted by graeme uk
No, i dont think the tape has anything at all to do with it, exept to keep the wires tidy and stop any possibility of them shorting.
I took your comment as sarcasm as i figured you didnt believe bad tape could be making it sound bad.
Cant do pics im afraid, but used maplins gold plated phono plugs.
Not amazing, but they do the job.
the same ones i used on the other interconnect.
I used 32 swg magnet wire, i was told that thats the same as 30 awg.
The solder joins seemed to go ok, looked good enough.
Maybe the wire wasnt clean enough after i burned the enamel/laquer/whatever off, i did sand the wire ends with 400 grade wet and dry to make sure they were ok.
Do you think it could just be bad solder joints?

Ive been reading on here, alot of people dont think cables make any difference.

cables make a huge difference. It cuold be a bad solder joint. I dont use that type of wire you use because it has enamel on it EWW. If you like ill send you a few feet of the silver stuff i have and you will see a even better improvement.

Connectors also make a huge impact. It all comes down to what you can afford. There are cables out there that cost 50,000 For what i have no idea, but peope buy them. I have sen these types and they are nothing special.

Jase

[VEC7OR]

Well this is a bit insane in the first place...

Signal interconnects MUST be shielded, or the amp/pre will pick up any noise floating around the room.

IMO get some raw cable from Klotz or Proel (get the 'instrument' variety, unbalanced one, most of them have teflon insulation with copper conductor + a conductive plastic shield around the core and the shield) and GOOD RCA interconnects with teflon insulation and cable strain releifs (gold or nickel plated is also good - these dont rust or oxidize).

Solder everything together - voila, you have the best cables ever, and forget about those fancy designs (I also must stress - CAT5 is UNSIUTABLE for signal interconnects)