Greeting,
I am runnings a 800II on a pair of DQ-10 tops from 80hz up. So far the amp has performed flawlessly for years and the sound is very good. Nevertheless, like a game of Russian roulette with strippers. I must put the gun to my head and progress to the next step on the ladder. Which in this case is to install my round Cobra cable as speaker cables. These cables have a known history of driving lots of SS amps bonkers. In this case they are only 12ft long which is a plus. So the question is will my beloved 800II retain its current composure? Or will it burst forth into time and space? Keeping all of that in mind. Lol.. Should I now consider adding a network across the wire to make sure the gods of audio don't arrive and beam my beloved 800II instantly into audio hell? Or should I consider a different amp all together? Decisions, decisions.. Sheesh, somebody pass the whiskey and the soldering iron.
DD
I am runnings a 800II on a pair of DQ-10 tops from 80hz up. So far the amp has performed flawlessly for years and the sound is very good. Nevertheless, like a game of Russian roulette with strippers. I must put the gun to my head and progress to the next step on the ladder. Which in this case is to install my round Cobra cable as speaker cables. These cables have a known history of driving lots of SS amps bonkers. In this case they are only 12ft long which is a plus. So the question is will my beloved 800II retain its current composure? Or will it burst forth into time and space? Keeping all of that in mind. Lol.. Should I now consider adding a network across the wire to make sure the gods of audio don't arrive and beam my beloved 800II instantly into audio hell? Or should I consider a different amp all together? Decisions, decisions.. Sheesh, somebody pass the whiskey and the soldering iron.
DD
Hi Charlie,
Thanks for the reply. I've been involved in both audio and repairs now for many years. The best amps I have ever laid ears on to date are mostly decades old. And after mucho trial and error. I now trend towards not recaping anything untill signs of instability appear. And then the greatest caution must be used and parts selection is of upmost importance. Almost always you would be 100% better off recaping with exact oem replacements. Which unfortunately is generally impossible due to modern manufacturing trends. This particular amp is unmolested stock and hopefully will remain so for another 10 or more years. She is still solidly in the game and far from pushing up daisies. As for the Cobra. Once you've ears have been bitten your freakin done. At least that is the case with this speaker. Amps on the other hand it seems have wildly varying opinions. But like everything in the relm of audio. Whatever it may be. Will end up only being a synergistic mate with limited other equipment. Which leads us to the real trickbag. Figuring out what is in luv with what. And then which interconnects, cables, etc are required unleash it into full bloom. In this particular case they are pretty much the time proven choice since the late 70's. The question is not what is wrong, but what is not right.
Thanks for the reply. I've been involved in both audio and repairs now for many years. The best amps I have ever laid ears on to date are mostly decades old. And after mucho trial and error. I now trend towards not recaping anything untill signs of instability appear. And then the greatest caution must be used and parts selection is of upmost importance. Almost always you would be 100% better off recaping with exact oem replacements. Which unfortunately is generally impossible due to modern manufacturing trends. This particular amp is unmolested stock and hopefully will remain so for another 10 or more years. She is still solidly in the game and far from pushing up daisies. As for the Cobra. Once you've ears have been bitten your freakin done. At least that is the case with this speaker. Amps on the other hand it seems have wildly varying opinions. But like everything in the relm of audio. Whatever it may be. Will end up only being a synergistic mate with limited other equipment. Which leads us to the real trickbag. Figuring out what is in luv with what. And then which interconnects, cables, etc are required unleash it into full bloom. In this particular case they are pretty much the time proven choice since the late 70's. The question is not what is wrong, but what is not right.
Are those the infamous polk cables? I have heard too many stories about these to know what is correct. I do remember though that the shorter length is a plus but I have never seen the cables let alone heard them in a system so who knows.
If you do try it get your phone out and record the potential show!!
If you do try it get your phone out and record the potential show!!
Hi AV,
If you still have them collecting dust I'm interested. Supposedly parallel runs are said to be even better. Which I have never tried and would like to. They are a high capacitance low inductance design using a lot of woven varnished small mill wire. Manufactured in Japan. Whatever machine they developed to wind them must of been quite a sight. They are difficult to terminate correctly to say the least. That alone has resulted in lots of experimentation which in my case is still on going.
If you still have them collecting dust I'm interested. Supposedly parallel runs are said to be even better. Which I have never tried and would like to. They are a high capacitance low inductance design using a lot of woven varnished small mill wire. Manufactured in Japan. Whatever machine they developed to wind them must of been quite a sight. They are difficult to terminate correctly to say the least. That alone has resulted in lots of experimentation which in my case is still on going.
Yes it was a tight weave ( green/gold colors ?) and since it was so long ago I might have taken my own advice.. Corroison between wires at this late date ? and never mind rediculius RCL parameters otherwise
There is some doubt and will have to double check my pack rat storage bin
Regards
David
There is some doubt and will have to double check my pack rat storage bin
Regards
David
cobra speaker cables
Sorry only just saw this forum on the parasound and polk cobra cables if these are the woven green and gold/owned a set for years and continually having problems with amplifier repairs until it dawned on me that the speaker cables were the culprit,but by then had 3 amps repaired.Whatever you do dont use these cables.The only amp i owned that could run them was a citation 12.They cause amps to overheat.They sold because people like me thought they looked good and fell for the companies hype.i suggest you throw them in the bin.
Sorry only just saw this forum on the parasound and polk cobra cables if these are the woven green and gold/owned a set for years and continually having problems with amplifier repairs until it dawned on me that the speaker cables were the culprit,but by then had 3 amps repaired.Whatever you do dont use these cables.The only amp i owned that could run them was a citation 12.They cause amps to overheat.They sold because people like me thought they looked good and fell for the companies hype.i suggest you throw them in the bin.
My advice would be to utilize some of the suggested modifications for the excellent Parasound amplifiers for benefits, and leave the dodgy cables out of the equation.
Kind of like putting track only tires on a typical car expecting it to go faster when the engine should be the area of focus, then wondering what happened after an accident in the rain.
The parts used originally were not anything special, the design is great however. The main filter capacitors in an hca-1000 that I cleaned up were starting to fail when other parts from much older equipment had been fine. It is much easier to replace capacitors than it will be to diagnose a dead amp after things have degraded to a point of failure.
There are multiple threads out there that go through specific parts, as preferable by the creators of these, if you are concerned with straying from the intended, as-built results. I had done this, and was quite pleased with the outcome, using lamp cord for speaker cable. Try searching for mods for other models, like the hca-1000, hca-2200, hca-3500.
Kind of like putting track only tires on a typical car expecting it to go faster when the engine should be the area of focus, then wondering what happened after an accident in the rain.
The parts used originally were not anything special, the design is great however. The main filter capacitors in an hca-1000 that I cleaned up were starting to fail when other parts from much older equipment had been fine. It is much easier to replace capacitors than it will be to diagnose a dead amp after things have degraded to a point of failure.
There are multiple threads out there that go through specific parts, as preferable by the creators of these, if you are concerned with straying from the intended, as-built results. I had done this, and was quite pleased with the outcome, using lamp cord for speaker cable. Try searching for mods for other models, like the hca-1000, hca-2200, hca-3500.
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