My DIY spiffy looking speaker cable guide..

Hey! I need to know what size pants you guys are using with the Canare wire so I can make my order from PE.

Thanks.
 
Starting pricing good quality cables again.....yikes. I get it, it does make a big difference. I always found DYI stuff when I was into livesound gear was a great bang for the buck, I'd build my own cabs etc for a fraction of the price and still get a great result. That being said, for a DYI price point of a say 250-400 dollars of DYI cables, how would that compare to the big dollar cables on the market? A/Bing your $50-100 DYI cable to one of the high end products, overall how do they compare?
 
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Starting pricing good quality cables again.....yikes. I get it, it does make a big difference. I always found DYI stuff when I was into livesound gear was a great bang for the buck, I'd build my own cabs etc for a fraction of the price and still get a great result. That being said, for a DYI price point of a say 250-400 dollars of DYI cables, how would that compare to the big dollar cables on the market? A/Bing your $50-100 DYI cable to one of the high end products, overall how do they compare?

I built a GREAT pair of cables from HomeDepot 14 gauge indoor-outdoor extension cord. If you google HomeDepot speaker cables, you should find a tutorial.

Anyway, these beat anything up to about $1K. The first cable to beat them was my Analysis Plus Solo Crystal Oval cables, but those were $2700. The HomeDepot cables had a great frequency range and seemed to pass a lot of information. The AP cables did that to a much higher degree (as they should!).

I think that if you're comparing copper to copper, than the HomeDepot cable with quality terminals will match any cable. What gives AP their edge is the shape of the cable- there is definitely something to their hollow oval design.

[disclaimer: I am a musician and have an endorsement deal with Analysis-Plus, but I chased that down AFTER I fell in love with their cables ;-)
 
I built a GREAT pair of cables from HomeDepot 14 gauge indoor-outdoor extension cord. If you google HomeDepot speaker cables, you should find a tutorial.

Anyway, these beat anything up to about $1K. The first cable to beat them was my Analysis Plus Solo Crystal Oval cables, but those were $2700. The HomeDepot cables had a great frequency range and seemed to pass a lot of information. The AP cables did that to a much higher degree (as they should!).

I think that if you're comparing copper to copper, than the HomeDepot cable with quality terminals will match any cable. What gives AP their edge is the shape of the cable- there is definitely something to their hollow oval design.

[disclaimer: I am a musician and have an endorsement deal with Analysis-Plus, but I chased that down AFTER I fell in love with their cables ;-)

Thanks Phil for the info!

Keep holding down that lowend! I dabble myself on the bass, endorsed by Craigslist..that's where I get most of my gear...LOL Cheers!
 
Awesome post! Here's the cables I made yesterday, I substituted the angled locking banana plugs from PE on one end since the posts on my ARs are horizontal...

6qrYS.jpg
 
So I tried it . . .

So I decided to try my hand at making my own cables (speaker).

I order the Banana Plugs From an eBay seller in China for 10.oo$ shipped for the set of 8. They say Nakamichi (but that is questionable) the build is nice with double set screws.

TOTAL cost less than 40$

Here in Orlando we have a local Hobbyist / Surplus store call SkyCraft, I got all the other parts there:

21' (4) Conn Star type Wire
White Wire Sheath 30'
White Heat Shrink 1/2"
Red Heat Shrink 3/8"
Black Heat Shrink 3/8"

I am real happy with the turn out, but you tell me what you think:

Speaker_Wires_1.jpg


Speaker_Wires_2.jpg


Speaker_Wires_3.jpg


Speaker_Wires_4.jpg


Picture are not that great as I had to use the ole' iPhone 4s, forgot my camera at work - Doh!
 
Tomorrow I am Going to try my Hand at Power Cable

So I see these 'High-End' Power Cables at Cr4zY prices, So I ordered some nice looking end for my Power Cords, so I can make custom length, heavier gauge and of course wrap in Tech Flex.

Rodium_Plug_1.JPG


Lets be honest, the only thing the power cord is doing is getting the electricity to the device, as long as it is of decide gauge to handle the draw we are good, as I have a line conditioner and over voltage unit on my equipment.

I am going to try and stop by the electronic parts house tomorrow and see what I can find, and will post pictures of the what I get and how it turns out.

CØop3r
 
DIY Heavy Guage Power Wire

OK after a false start (got Tech Flex that was too Small) I finally got the power cable(s) project back on track:

Click on images for Bigger Shot














Power Cord is a 12/3 and is 3/4" OD Jacket, I am starting to think this might be TOO Much. Cost for 3 Cables Total about 70.oo$

cØop3r
 
Here is a pic of my first try at a pair of cables, 10 ft pair, no plugs on them yet, used HD extension cord, my ode to Cheap Trick with the color scheme, sound wise they are fantastic, FAR better then I had imagined they would, learned alot on this practice pair.
IMG_0559_zpsb70e2338.jpg
 
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Came across this thread after a recent DIY cable project and thought I'd share my results as well. I have some nice braided sleeve laying around, might add it to these. The cable is Canare 4S8 (smaller version of 4S11).

dvJcJsBfzV4aLhA1gKgjKMESHjjTz14-NpmlA0a1D8E
 
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Making an RCA-RCA patch cable

I was very happy to find this thread, and your techniques look incredibly professional.

The question I have is, I am making a similar cable setup, only with RCA terminators, and I was wondering about cable shielding. It does not look from the photos as if the cables are shielded at all, and I was wondering if this was the case, and would it make any difference to use a shielded cable.

My run is going to be approx. 20ft., with a right and a left channel RCA terminator at each end. Any help is appreciated, and again, your cables look awesome!
 
I am anticipating the arrival of my components to build a pair of these cables, can't wait to build them and take a listen.

Thanks for the great tutorial, very detailed and to the point.
 
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Here is my finished project, took a couple of hours but I think they turned out pretty good:

IMG_2366.jpg


Have not had a chance to test these yet, waiting on new binding posts to come in.

Thanks.
 
Canare speaker wires

I'm working on my set of wires tonight, but forgot I don't have the 3/4" shrink tubing. To be continued tomorrow. But that is one of the best tutorials, thank you.
 
Im curious to know what gauge is recomended for speaker cables, i have a mac 4100 receiver that delivers 80 watts per channel aprox the distance its only about 2 mts each cable
... i have used regular speaker cable from Home depot but im curious about trying outdoor speakers with insulation and connectors similar of the photos shown (im not able to invest on expensive cables for now)

I understand that a thick cable will dismiss and disipate signal, and a thin cable its also not proper,

what you guys can recomend me about this?
 
I'd like to thank Gotchaforce - the OP on this thread - for the outstanding post and tutorial. Did my own with Canare wire from BlueJeans Cable and dark purple Techflex - I'll post a picture if I get a chance. Most of all I'd like to say, while most of the posts are centered around what the new cables LOOK like - the cables completed sound terrific. Yea yea I know, lamp cord sounds the same... baloney. What I assembled sound considerably better than what I was using - some monster cable - the increased bass defination was noticeable immediately. And I was thinking I'd just have some cool looking cables that I put together - thanks again!
 
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