Yes, you're right. I don't remember where I got indium from- I blame the drugs.
A real man uses NaK.
A real man uses NaK.
Right, galinstan or a slight modification is what KBK is using.
It's the perfect senario, bulk resistivity is not good so you need mass quantities of precious metals. $$$$ Check out some time how bad the indium situation is due to the fact that it still has no substitute in LCD panels.
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What is your choice now, tube or transistor amplifiers.
Agree that sometimes the sound of transistor wasn't that good - in the days of Germanium types. But for designers of FM tuners the transistor was a revelation. And another thing is true, transistor amps - regardless of single ended or push-pull - have the better bass reproduction.
No gal-in-stan, gallium, indium, tin. I think the amounts can vary slightly so KBK could have a secret "magic" proportion.
Galinstan is a family of eutectic alloys of gallium, indium, and tin which are liquid at room temperature, typically freezing at -19 °C (-2.2 °F). Due to the low toxicity and low reactivity of its component metals, it finds use as a replacement for many applications that previously employed toxic liquid mercury or reactive NaK (sodium-potassium alloy). Composition: 68.5% Ga, 21.5% In, 10% Sn. Its name is a portmanteau of gallium, indium, and stannum (Latin for "tin").
Sold by the bottle: each bottle is about 50 grams >>>$199<<< !
It can coat objects to make them conductive. It can coat glass to make mirrors. It can make low friction electrical connections
* Boiling point: >1300 °C
* Melting point: -19 °C
* Vapour pressure: <10−8 Torr (at 500 °C)
* Density: 6.44 g/cm3 (at 20 °C)[2]
* Solubility: Insoluble in water or organic solvents
* Viscosity: 0.0024 Pa·s (at 20 °C)
* Thermal conductivity: 16.5 W·m–1·K–1
* Electrical conductivity: 3.46x106 S/m (at 20 °C)[2]
* Surface tension: s = 0.718 N/m (at 20 °C)[2]
Good question is "How does it know if it's been cryo'd?" 🙂
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KBK makes a special speaker cable based on liquid metal, rather than normal wires. It is expensive to make, and he continually strives to improve it. I know 2 serious audiophiles who have used them and they think they are just wonderful. I trust these audiophiles, and I have heard them myself, but not in my own system.
We have all sorts of these sort of designs in hi end audio. They are attempts to make the 'best' of a certain product. They are invariably very expensive to produce, take years to develop, and form a lasting impression on listeners.
I also build products to this standard, and they too, are very, very expensive. Only for millionaires, because they are the only ones who can afford them. Constellation, one company that Demain and I work for as consultants, makes some of the most expensive and exotic amps, preamps, turntables, digital playback, and soon, phono preamps in the world today. It is one area that we have chosen to work in, sort of like the manufacturers of Bentley, or similar vehicles. It is a 'labor of love' as much as an engineering challenge.
I also personally make less expensive products (for the rest of us) that often take from the original research of my 'best' efforts, like the Parasound JC-2 preamp or the JC-3 phono stage (with IC's, no less) as the more cost-effective versions of my more exotic designs like the Vendetta or the Blowtorch, both well known and proven designs. Take a look at the reviews of these less expensive products, sometime. They are good, but they can be bettered, just like a Honda might be bettered by a BMW or a Mercedes. What can one expect?
We have all sorts of these sort of designs in hi end audio. They are attempts to make the 'best' of a certain product. They are invariably very expensive to produce, take years to develop, and form a lasting impression on listeners.
I also build products to this standard, and they too, are very, very expensive. Only for millionaires, because they are the only ones who can afford them. Constellation, one company that Demain and I work for as consultants, makes some of the most expensive and exotic amps, preamps, turntables, digital playback, and soon, phono preamps in the world today. It is one area that we have chosen to work in, sort of like the manufacturers of Bentley, or similar vehicles. It is a 'labor of love' as much as an engineering challenge.
I also personally make less expensive products (for the rest of us) that often take from the original research of my 'best' efforts, like the Parasound JC-2 preamp or the JC-3 phono stage (with IC's, no less) as the more cost-effective versions of my more exotic designs like the Vendetta or the Blowtorch, both well known and proven designs. Take a look at the reviews of these less expensive products, sometime. They are good, but they can be bettered, just like a Honda might be bettered by a BMW or a Mercedes. What can one expect?
Maybe since it freezes at -19C it can be cyro'd just by leaving it outside all winter in Canada?
Fun with Gallium
I was first introduced to Gallium by a friend who made paper clips with the stuff. Unlike M&M's they did melt in your hand.
I was first introduced to Gallium by a friend who made paper clips with the stuff. Unlike M&M's they did melt in your hand.
I believe these alloys were Uri Geller's friend, no?
I'm familiar with with low melting point alloys; the way KBK was describing it I thought he meant a fluid used to load the cable. Using anything other than copper or silver as a conductor is more of a novelty than anything else.
John
I'm familiar with with low melting point alloys; the way KBK was describing it I thought he meant a fluid used to load the cable. Using anything other than copper or silver as a conductor is more of a novelty than anything else.
John
Geller wasn't even THAT clever. He simply bent the spoons and keys when he distracted people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guLiepreJxw
It may be a novelty, but it has a satisfactorily high price tag.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guLiepreJxw
It may be a novelty, but it has a satisfactorily high price tag.
Regarding the thermal conductivity of Galinstan, what is a Watt Angstrom milli-Angstrom Euro inch?
John
John
Twenty times less conductive than silver. I can imagine those cables could sound different. For about 5 cents, one can duplicate the effect with more conventional materials.
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