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$3.00 worth of cable elevators

Brett a

Brett a

~◦●○o0o○●◦~
So, I bought these cable elevators last weekend. They are very similar to the ones the Music Direct sells for $150 per set of 8 (about $20 ea). (See photos of white-bodied units)

What I bought are cable insulators from old power lines. I got them from a collector for $0.75 ea. I bought 4 for $3.00. (See photos of brown ones-taken in my living room)


It’s not my intention to debate the validity of using cable elevators; to tell you the truth, I’m not sure they make any difference in my system, but for $3.00, there’s no harm done (Well, at most, maybe $3.00 worth of harm to my wallet and a few snickers from some of you that think I’m a fool for even having them, but I can sustain those damages).
 

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Please keep TOL rules in mind. Keep your comments ONLY to things you have personal experience with. Editorializing is NOT allowed.
 
It seems as if you've answered your own question within your post. But there is one obvious difference - the Music Direct version comes in a fancy two-tone black and white glaze finish rather than a brown monochrome one. The brown does match your floor nicely though.

I don't think that's editorializing but I don't have personal experience with this or similar products. I have reviewed the rules and it does seem we aren't limited to commenting *only* if we have personal experience right? Please PM me if this is a problem or if I have misread the forum rules.
 
Bwahaha! I used a Mini-Maglight holder for a cable elevator as a joke.

I get a bite every so often from visitors.
 
Haha, a bite. I do things like that too but only 'people in the know' notice.

Those are nice cable elevators ya got there... If theres any truth to that argument, I think you done REAL good! Maybe I'll give it a whirl....:scratch2:
 
This is a great idea! Better safe than sorry, and you saved a considerable amount of $ - but I wonder how easy it would be for the rest of us to find something like this.

Are those reddish-colored ones made of wood?
 
Cable elevators are supposed to reduce interferences from electro-magnetic fields from the ground surface, so I´d think anything that lifts the cables from the floor should do a proper job.

I route my speaker cables 30 cms up from the floor,along the back wall, inside some proprietary casing. ( Don´t know its proper name in english )

To be honest, it all sounds the same to me, but it sure looks a lot tidier.:thmbsp:
 
These threads are so fragile I don't know how to respond anymore....But I will add that in the add picture the cables are on carpet which can generate some static electricity, where this is not a problem on wood floors.
 
The difference is more noticable if you are lifting your cables off of carpeted floors IMO.
I would buy a lot more of those than I needed and sell them on the auction site as cable elevators (instead of insulators) for $10 each!
 
They're fixing to tear down a bunch of old lines around here that run along the railroad tracks. Hmmm....perhaps my ship will come in sooner than my plan to win the Powerball. ;)

Since they'd be used for many years, I should be able to sell them as already broken in....
 
Those are really fine looking cable elevators that you have there. I have never tried cable elevators, however, if I did try them, I would want ones that look as good as the ones you have.
 
Mr. Lin said:
This is a great idea! Better safe than sorry, and you saved a considerable amount of $ - but I wonder how easy it would be for the rest of us to find something like this .
Click to expand...
The guy I bought mine from was a collector. Try a search for 'collecting porcelain insulators' or this link. A lot of them are dome-topped. You'll need to get the ones with the divot to hold the cable (I think they're called "saddle top".) Right now, there are many on eBay for pretty cheap.
Mr. Lin said:
Are those reddish-colored ones made of wood?
Click to expand...
Nope, porcelain.

:thmbsp:
 
One look at this page makes the whole idea of looking for a "collector" of these things rather moot....


http://www.insulators.info/forsale/lists/sell011.htm

I doubt seriously that anyone can find any insulators like you found at even 10X the price you paid.

Based on a few moments of research, the full boat retail of the exotic audiophile devices seem as a bargin.

Show us where we can get all we want at 0.75 and perhaps this thread will become meaningful.
 
My guess is that the ones he got aren't particularly desirable as collector ones so we're less likely to find them on a specialized collector's list. In any case all they really are is glazed ceramics, maybe of a certain kind I don't know, but that means there should be plenty of cheap substitutes available.
 
BillR mastering said:
One look at this page makes the whole idea of looking for a "collector" of these things rather moot....


http://www.insulators.info/forsale/lists/sell011.htm
Click to expand...
I don't know why you didn't see the several pages from the same website offering insulators for 2.00 ea. Have another look:
http://www.insulators.info/forsale/lists/sell017.htm

I bought mine from a collector, so that is where I'd look again and advise others to look. The guy had a table full of them. Some of them quite expensive.

BillR mastering said:
I doubt seriously that anyone can find any insulators like you found at even 10X the price you paid.

Based on a few moments of research, the full boat retail of the exotic audiophile devices seem as a bargin.

Show us where we can get all we want at 0.75 and perhaps this thread will become meaningful.
Click to expand...


Even if you paid $10 ea for them -which it seems you can always do on eBay-delivered, you're still doing pretty good compared to the $20 ea. that Music Direct charges. So how do you figure that full boat retail is a bargain?
Do you happen to work for one of these retailers of full-boat high-end exotic audiophile devices"?
 
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One can argue all day for and against cable elevators... the fact is, they will make a big difference in some situations, little difference in other situations, and none at all in some other circumstances. A lot depends on the kind of cables and the kind of floor (both the surface and what is under it).

EVEN IF in a particular instance they do nothing, they look cool and add a sense of tidiness and visual interest.

At the price you paid for those, why the heck not? I'd use 'em in a flash. In fact, I've been keeping an eye on the scrap-recycling place for just such insulators. I saw some there a few years back, just before reading a post where someone did something similar, but haven't seen any more of them since. As soon as any do show up again, though, I'll be buying them, too. They may or may not help, but why not!

I have experimented with other things, and found that while getting the speaker wires up off the floor didn't seem to make an audible difference, getting the interconnects better spaced away from each other and from the back wall, DID improve the sound. Nevertheless, I still use little tripod stands sometimes to keep the speaker wires up. Just looks appropriate, somehow. :D

YOURS look GREAT, IMO. You know they insulate well enough, and the size, color and shape look right, too. I think you did extremely well, especially for the price. The money you saved over the "audiophile" ones will be better spent elsewhere.
 
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