Since there has been some controversy about which speaker cables go well with a gainclone I would like to report my experience with a very cheap and worthwhile solution.
I substituted some thin copper foil cables which is RS conductive copper shielding foil no. 264-9275 for my MIT Shogun 750 bi-wires(1500 euro worth) and while I can't say they were better they were easily on the same playing field which was a bit of a shock to me seeing that they only cost about 22 Euro (20m roll).
I am still evaluating them but this could be the perfect mate for the GCs out there.
I substituted some thin copper foil cables which is RS conductive copper shielding foil no. 264-9275 for my MIT Shogun 750 bi-wires(1500 euro worth) and while I can't say they were better they were easily on the same playing field which was a bit of a shock to me seeing that they only cost about 22 Euro (20m roll).
I am still evaluating them but this could be the perfect mate for the GCs out there.
shock
I have Kimber 4TC for many years.
But when I tested cheap Supra 2.5 cable with my GC I had a shock too.
Actually I prefer the sound of the Supra 2.5 with my GC, and it's 10x cheaper.😱
The GC likes simple cables, low capacitance construction.
It seams that normal "figure-of-eight" cables (like the Supra 2.5 and others) give very good results.
I wouldn't bother with expensive cables with a GC.
Isn't it wonderful?😎
I have Kimber 4TC for many years.
But when I tested cheap Supra 2.5 cable with my GC I had a shock too.
Actually I prefer the sound of the Supra 2.5 with my GC, and it's 10x cheaper.😱
The GC likes simple cables, low capacitance construction.
It seams that normal "figure-of-eight" cables (like the Supra 2.5 and others) give very good results.
I wouldn't bother with expensive cables with a GC.
Isn't it wonderful?😎
Well I don't know whether to rejoice at finding such a good alternative or to cry for having spent that much on cables.However the truth is that I have on occasion tried cheaper cables such as QED silver genesis , Nordost and even a 1mm pure silver DIY and I always preferred my MIT's .I think the simple copper flat foil construction is probably the reason why it sounds so good.
I'm using those cables with my GC and they sound better than whatever I used before:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17631&highlight=copper+foil
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17631&highlight=copper+foil
hmmm....I`m using 14ga Signet MusicLine cable for all my cable....probably because I use to buy it in 100 metre rolls at a good price for installations........what sold me on it was that it has a very flexible sheath and is suited for indoor/outdoor applications with a very neutral sound....Great for most speakers I find
DIRT®
DIRT®
PeterPeter Daniel said:
I hadn;t noticed your thread but the foil is comparable or same in thickness and width except that it is already adhesive lined on one side and probably more widely available than Alpha core.
In fact you can forego the cost and the "complexity" of adding spades or lugs just folding it the end and cutting a semi circle so that it slips into the sp. terminal screws.One less connection.
That's what I did on my second set of cables. I didn't even attached insulation, one end of cables is soldered directly to the speakers and the other goes directly into binding posts, no spades, no termination.
I made the first set in this way to be more universal and easy to experiment in different setups.
I made the first set in this way to be more universal and easy to experiment in different setups.
Attachments
All i use is rat shack 24 gage solid core copper.Had a friend come over with some $1500 cables and we did an A/B and couldnt hear the difference.The only difference between his cables and mine (as i see it) is i have $1495 more to spend on toys.<---(just my opinion)
ron
ron
God ...
Why to buy 1500 $ cables ?
Go buy a role of 100 m , cheap ..
And from 1500 $ buy yourself some speakers .. amplifiers.. tubes ... etc etc .. not CABLES !
I use a god damn telephone cable for my speakers ... i'am very happy with it .. and i don't want anythink alse because the volume is rocking at 200 W , 103 dB/W/M with very good sensibility
Why to buy 1500 $ cables ?
Go buy a role of 100 m , cheap ..
And from 1500 $ buy yourself some speakers .. amplifiers.. tubes ... etc etc .. not CABLES !
I use a god damn telephone cable for my speakers ... i'am very happy with it .. and i don't want anythink alse because the volume is rocking at 200 W , 103 dB/W/M with very good sensibility
Yea PPl buy those cables not knowing anything but what the salesman tells them (then when the customer leaves you see the salesman doing cartwheels with a big grin on his face).
ron
ron
CAT5 Here...
I use a cat 5 cable, and it works sweetly. All the striped conductors are -, and the solids are +. It supposedly acts like a balanced cable, since the stripes and solids are twisted into pairs, but that doesn't hold much water for me, because my system isn't a balanced system; using balanced cables don't make it a balanced system.
Anyway, I think it is the low capacitance that makes a cat5 a good cable for a GC.
Another project I did was to take 3 cat5 cables and braid them (not too tightly) like a girl's ponytail. Then seperate the stripes and solids again, to become + and -. Works pretty good, and they look cool too.
I use a cat 5 cable, and it works sweetly. All the striped conductors are -, and the solids are +. It supposedly acts like a balanced cable, since the stripes and solids are twisted into pairs, but that doesn't hold much water for me, because my system isn't a balanced system; using balanced cables don't make it a balanced system.
Anyway, I think it is the low capacitance that makes a cat5 a good cable for a GC.
Another project I did was to take 3 cat5 cables and braid them (not too tightly) like a girl's ponytail. Then seperate the stripes and solids again, to become + and -. Works pretty good, and they look cool too.
Re: CAT5 Here...
🙁 And I always looked at my Solar Winds as being my nicer cables.
This is me all the way. I have a box of Cat5E (1000Ft) sitting in my closet. Anytime I need some speaker wire or wire period, I just grab the appropriate footage and get the wire strippers out. It's not the best wire, but when your just experimenten or something they work superb...plus its like $70 for a 1000Ft!! You wont run out for a loonnggg time.
protos said:
🙁 And I always looked at my Solar Winds as being my nicer cables.
MantramAudio said:
This is me all the way. I have a box of Cat5E (1000Ft) sitting in my closet. Anytime I need some speaker wire or wire period, I just grab the appropriate footage and get the wire strippers out. It's not the best wire, but when your just experimenten or something they work superb...plus its like $70 for a 1000Ft!! You wont run out for a loonnggg time.
More or less same over here.
I did experiment with high purity silver, teflon insulated braided cable but could not hear the difference between that and ordinary 2,5 mm^2 OFC for low and triple cat5 for the high frequencies(external pasive filter, close to the amp)
So the 2,5 mm^2 OFC and the cat 5 are hooked up to the system and not the silver one.
Of course I forgot to inject the silver with some intrajuvenated gold molecules, that might have made all the difference.
I guess that there is gear that is sensible to the cable that is used but my gear isn't.
I must say that the silver cable drawed more attention from visitors so for that sake one might be willing to pay the surplus for the good looks.
I did experiment with high purity silver, teflon insulated braided cable but could not hear the difference between that and ordinary 2,5 mm^2 OFC for low and triple cat5 for the high frequencies(external pasive filter, close to the amp)
So the 2,5 mm^2 OFC and the cat 5 are hooked up to the system and not the silver one.
Of course I forgot to inject the silver with some intrajuvenated gold molecules, that might have made all the difference.
I guess that there is gear that is sensible to the cable that is used but my gear isn't.
I must say that the silver cable drawed more attention from visitors so for that sake one might be willing to pay the surplus for the good looks.
speaker cables
🙂 after reading all the replies about what cables to use in a GC, I believe there is no real consensus which one is the best, since ones ear is never the same with another, as long as you are satisfied with what you hear, its considered good no matter the price you pay for the cable.
Am also planning to build this thing, and am just curious if anybody has tried the Van den Hull cables. Am presently using it on my 12" Van der Stein speakers. The cable is what they call "the wind". Will it be compatible with the GC. If none has tried it then I will just have to dream about the sound until i have done the GC and attach it to my speakers. nay reply would be higly aprreciated. thanx.🙂
🙂 after reading all the replies about what cables to use in a GC, I believe there is no real consensus which one is the best, since ones ear is never the same with another, as long as you are satisfied with what you hear, its considered good no matter the price you pay for the cable.
Am also planning to build this thing, and am just curious if anybody has tried the Van den Hull cables. Am presently using it on my 12" Van der Stein speakers. The cable is what they call "the wind". Will it be compatible with the GC. If none has tried it then I will just have to dream about the sound until i have done the GC and attach it to my speakers. nay reply would be higly aprreciated. thanx.🙂
IIRC, the wind (when reviewed by HiFi Choice back in about 1993) had "bonecrunching bass dynamics" and "muted treble"
It's a fairly big *** stranded cable (by cat 5 or copper foil standards) I truly can't make a guess at it's compatability.
I have yet to hear anyone slammng the gainclone as having light bass (especially when the 18v AC voltages are used with the LM3875T) so "The Wind" may well be too much of a good thing.
At the end of the day, if you have a couple of lengths of Wind, give things a shot. 4m of CAT 5 is pretty cheap at your local electronic store. Of course, if it's a case of going out and buying "Wind", I'd suggest Cat 5, DNM Reson or Magnet wire instead.
JMHO
Drew
It's a fairly big *** stranded cable (by cat 5 or copper foil standards) I truly can't make a guess at it's compatability.
I have yet to hear anyone slammng the gainclone as having light bass (especially when the 18v AC voltages are used with the LM3875T) so "The Wind" may well be too much of a good thing.
At the end of the day, if you have a couple of lengths of Wind, give things a shot. 4m of CAT 5 is pretty cheap at your local electronic store. Of course, if it's a case of going out and buying "Wind", I'd suggest Cat 5, DNM Reson or Magnet wire instead.
JMHO
Drew
Could you hear the dramatic 🙄 difference once both you stopped laughing and he stopped crying?ron clarke said:
And another thing... people continually wax poetic about how wonderful some particualr speaker cables are, but seeing gainclones can be built so small, would not the best setup be to have the amp chip right at the speaker box terminals, or maybe even inside the box right at the driver terminals? Now, just who is going to be the first to claim that such-and-such cables are even better than that?
I agree about having the amp as close to the drive unit as possible but putting inside the box (or even attached to it) with all that vibration is surely asking for problems!
I'd be inclined to agree, but I have an infatuation with a couple of fine examples that have their (bi)amps hanging on the back. The Meyer HD-1 and Genelec 1031A are both quite amazing speakers. I’ve spent a long time listening to each.
I know the Genelec employs some vibration isolation but I don’t remember what goes on with the HD-1.
It would be interesting with either cabinet to try a mod with some good quality 1/2 meter speaker cables to see what the difference would be. I think these manufactures chase the internal amplifiers for three marketing base reasons, total control by the manufacture of the crossover to amp to speaker chain, portability, and lastly short cable lengths to the speakers. The first point has been, I think, a major element in their pervasiveness. Engineers can move from studio to studio, and have a fairly good idea what is going on with the near field monitors.
What’s my point? Well, uhm, I guess I agree with you with the caveat that I have (for my own tastes) tow examples where it has worked well, although I’m not sure that either couldn’t be improved with a little tweaking.
-Dave
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