Love the filter, will be awhile before I can get one, showed and explained to my wife, she understands such things with no electric or electronic expertise but knows she can trust me ( was just a tech, not an engineer but worked on highly complex gear) and appreciates your way of doing things as much as the rest of us.
What is next, I would love to see some really good properly priced cables or at least ones you recommend, just get the job done and again, no BS.
Rick
What is next, I would love to see some really good properly priced cables or at least ones you recommend, just get the job done and again, no BS.
Rick
Here are two recommendations in speaker cables. This is what I use. Well priced and works well. This 12ga stuff has silicone jacket and very fine strands so it is soft. Very low impedance.
CESS-037-3f Banana Plug Male to Male Speaker Cable 12 Gauge 680 Strand Count Silicone Soft Wire, 2 Cables (3 FEET) https://a.co/d/70ZxR2W
The Mediabridge is also very supple but my only complaint is that the plug bodies are metal and can short out if you don’t cover them with tape or shri k tube.
Mediabridge 12AWG Ultra Series Speaker Cable - Gold Plated Banana Tips (12 FT) - CL2 99.9% Oxygen Free - Black (SWT-12B-12B) https://a.co/d/9CanLBt
I have them in 16ga for bookshelf and 12ga for my larger floor standers.
CESS-037-3f Banana Plug Male to Male Speaker Cable 12 Gauge 680 Strand Count Silicone Soft Wire, 2 Cables (3 FEET) https://a.co/d/70ZxR2W
The Mediabridge is also very supple but my only complaint is that the plug bodies are metal and can short out if you don’t cover them with tape or shri k tube.
Mediabridge 12AWG Ultra Series Speaker Cable - Gold Plated Banana Tips (12 FT) - CL2 99.9% Oxygen Free - Black (SWT-12B-12B) https://a.co/d/9CanLBt
I have them in 16ga for bookshelf and 12ga for my larger floor standers.
Nice cables, but I'm far too cheap for that:
I put these plugs: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B09YLSP3L3
On this wire: https://www.amazon.ca/InstallGear-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-100-feet/dp/B07LCS8CKG
Yup... Copper clad aluminum works perfectly fine for me - and I think it was about 30$ a spool last time.
I put these plugs: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B09YLSP3L3
On this wire: https://www.amazon.ca/InstallGear-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-100-feet/dp/B07LCS8CKG
Yup... Copper clad aluminum works perfectly fine for me - and I think it was about 30$ a spool last time.
I have tried copper clad Al and don’t like it because it doesn’t solder at all. I have a 500’ spool I can’t use.
$26 is cheap for me if it comes with four bananas already preinstalled.
I have measured the impact cables have on damping factor of an amp to the speaker. 12ga stranded silicone keeps the DF near its best as of connected right to amp board. The 16ga copper lamp cord drops a DF of 400 down to about 150 over 8 feet. That impacts bass authority.
$26 is cheap for me if it comes with four bananas already preinstalled.
I have measured the impact cables have on damping factor of an amp to the speaker. 12ga stranded silicone keeps the DF near its best as of connected right to amp board. The 16ga copper lamp cord drops a DF of 400 down to about 150 over 8 feet. That impacts bass authority.
The bench is pretty messy because I am busy testing my filters. Just put a wall plug outlet on the Line Noise Black Hole (LNBH) so that I can plug my amp into it and listen and make sure it works (plays music).
LNBH has been reduced to 2 stages as I think -60dB noise reduction is fine. -120dB is unnecessary and overkill.
Yes, exposed mains I know. Only for short test and take it down as I have a cat that goes everywhere.
LNBH has been reduced to 2 stages as I think -60dB noise reduction is fine. -120dB is unnecessary and overkill.
Yes, exposed mains I know. Only for short test and take it down as I have a cat that goes everywhere.
It’s in development still. So just testing the prototype. I have some pictures I posted earlier in this thread where I show it absorbs 100kHz and 400kHz noise perfectly. It was 4 stages back then. I have it down to two now. These are premium CoilCraft 1.5mH (10A capable) common mode chokes massaged on LTSpice sims with Y2 rated caps to have a steep cutoff above 100kHz to get rid of SMPS noise contamination in our mains. But this filter is a “flow through” type with an IN and OUT. As opposed to the the SnubWay which is a parallel connection plug in dongle. Much more convenient but won’t absolutely kill noise like a Black Hole.
I take a 100 foot spool, cut it into 25 foot lengths, the plugs I use DON'T fit if you tin the ends, they use two set screws instead so no soldering required...
The most power amplifier I build is a parallel push pull 6P34S tube amp. It makes 113W RMS @ 30Hz, and #12 is fine.
The others range from 8W (single ended depletion MOSFET loaded with 300W light builbs driven by triodes) to 38W RMS (normal trioded push pull amp) so they get #14.
My Yorkville pushed 950W RMS into my 15" sub though, that one uses #10 🙂
https://www.amazon.ca/Wires-Zone-TWZ-SWC10-Speaker-Transparent/dp/B071H88VT9
Thanks, looks like great speaker cables for a darn good price. I turned down a $5k full sponsorship from Monster in wiring, dist blocks, etc as just did not agree with their marketing, product designs, etc...I made my own interconnects with Canare, Wire King speaker cables in 8-12 gauge as needed, and Stinger dist blocks and spent less than $500 on it and it was more than good enough in a $20k car audio competition system. I still use the Canare, still have a bunch of it.
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Anything to gain in DIY braided power cable?
I would gladly make some up, for cheap, it they do anything worthwhile.
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Canare, (I forget the version I use but can look at it when go to storage again) dual twisted pair RCA cables, blue to center pin, white to return, input side shield to return, output side clipped back and not connected, never had a bit of noise in my systems. I have used it for balanced lines as well just fine.
Some use a bigger version for a moderate cost speaker cable as well but I never tried it.
Thanks again, keep up the no BS product development , much appreciated!
Rick
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Anything to gain in DIY braided power cable?
I would gladly make some up, for cheap, it they do anything worthwhile.
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Canare, (I forget the version I use but can look at it when go to storage again) dual twisted pair RCA cables, blue to center pin, white to return, input side shield to return, output side clipped back and not connected, never had a bit of noise in my systems. I have used it for balanced lines as well just fine.
Some use a bigger version for a moderate cost speaker cable as well but I never tried it.
Thanks again, keep up the no BS product development , much appreciated!
Rick
Mains cables just need to be safe and reliable. UL/RU certified etc. Go with a good brand but nothing crazy.
This one from Triplite should be fine.
The one I am using above was from my old HP workstation (14 ga shielded with ferrite bead and thick insulation).
This one from Triplite should be fine.
The one I am using above was from my old HP workstation (14 ga shielded with ferrite bead and thick insulation).
Thanks again!
Link not working🙁
I have a lot of good power cables on hand, just no "audiophile" ones though not sure any are shielded and not sure any have the ferrite bead but I will look to see what I do have.
Link not working🙁
I have a lot of good power cables on hand, just no "audiophile" ones though not sure any are shielded and not sure any have the ferrite bead but I will look to see what I do have.
I see the diyAudio store is now selling Blue Jeans cables. I've only read good things about them.
https://diyaudiostore.com/blogs/news/now-stocking-blue-jeans-cables
Not cheap.
Sorry, don’t know what happened. Try this.
Tripp Lite Heavy Duty Computer Power Cord, 15A, 14AWG (NEMA 5-15P to IEC-320-C13), 10-ft. (P007-010) , Black https://a.co/d/9PPFbhF
For cheap(ish) really well reviewed 'audiophile' bulk power cords, try yarbo sp-1100pw or Ramm Amadeus
I agree those are fair prices for such nice cables. I am not sure of the point of insulating individual large strands in the same conductor. Sort of like Litz wire but in a macro scale?
Reading the description, I never like how audiophiles describe use cases, such as suggesting that one could use asymmetry for more positive conductors and fewer negative conductors. The current into a speaker equals current out of the speaker so the two wires should be balanced, else the limiting lower conductor wires are the bottle neck and the extra wire in the positive side is wasted. However, I suppose that creates asymmetric impedances and might make the speaker have a more enhanced second harmonic distortion profile and sound “sweeter”.
Reading the description, I never like how audiophiles describe use cases, such as suggesting that one could use asymmetry for more positive conductors and fewer negative conductors. The current into a speaker equals current out of the speaker so the two wires should be balanced, else the limiting lower conductor wires are the bottle neck and the extra wire in the positive side is wasted. However, I suppose that creates asymmetric impedances and might make the speaker have a more enhanced second harmonic distortion profile and sound “sweeter”.
I’m equally not sure about the benefits with regards to mains cables of this cable geometry, but the individually insulated wires work fantastically well for the interconnects I have (I use elite 8). By what I garner shielding power cables for low power source components like this is likely to work well, but for higher power components, do a twisted pair and only shield the earth. That a theory anyway, I haven’t tried it yet!
I was cleaning out my basement and found a 100 ft spool of Alphawire 4 pairs of 20ga shielded wire 300v 105C rated good stuff. I bought this 25yrs ago for another non audio project and did not use it because it was too thick. But I think it might be perfect for audio applications where shielded low noise is important. This stuff was expensive as I recall. Alphawire #5620B2004. It’s obsolete but I see it on eBay for $270 for 90ft.
The shield is foil wrap plus uninsulated shield wire mixed with the foil for 12 total conductors.
I think perfect for running quadrophonic balanced XLR from front to back of the house applications.
The shield is foil wrap plus uninsulated shield wire mixed with the foil for 12 total conductors.
I think perfect for running quadrophonic balanced XLR from front to back of the house applications.
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On the bench today is a nifty little regulated +/-15v PSU I made for preamps etc a while ago and forgot all about it. Uses a small 12v to +/-24vdc DCDC converter. Followed by LC filter (with R across L to prevent oscillations) then a 7815/7915 TO220 voltage regulator followed by 22uH toroidal choke to clean up any remaining hash. It’s very quiet - about 4mVrms spikes remain at 1.3MHz switch frequency otherwise flat smooth.
With heatsinks good for about 500mA. No heatsinks about 100mA. Pretty handy with 12v wallwart and JST 3 pin connector can be used for a lot of things when one needs fairly clean +/-15v.
With heatsinks good for about 500mA. No heatsinks about 100mA. Pretty handy with 12v wallwart and JST 3 pin connector can be used for a lot of things when one needs fairly clean +/-15v.