First thread in here

[mhardy6647]

Not that anyone asked... but these are my personal favorite interconnects and speaker wires. The I/Cs are twisted pairs of varnish-insulated 36-ga magnet wire; the speaker wire, CAT5.

 

[skippy_ps]

Note how how CAT5 looks a lot like cats. I don't know what WCIAB sounds like but I guess it's not supposed to be good? BTW, some idiot in some kind of noisy 4 banger car just drove by the casa and interrupted my thought process.

Great report so far, Jay. :thmbsp: Keep in mind that any kind of difference that you hear between different hookups cannot be measured.

Murray

 

[gonner]

3 pages, 44 posts, YOU ALL DONT KNOW HOW MUCH I WANT TO EXPRESS MY OPINION ON THIS, so I refer you to this little gem instead,
"discretion is the better part of valor."

have a nice day

 

[Andyman]

Not that anyone asked... but these are my personal favorite interconnects and speaker wires. The I/Cs are twisted pairs of varnish-insulated 36-ga magnet wire; the speaker wire, CAT5.

2 Questions on your cableage sir.....

1) No grounds or shielding on the ICs??? All I see is the single signal lead??

2) On the CAT5 cables, I've got yards of it here. You know, $5/box at garage sales, I'm hopeless...

At any rate, yours don't look like the time killing mega braids I've seen in other threads, but just a single run. Am I correct in assuming you've simply combined all the whites into one lead than the coloreds into a second?? That's what it appears to be.

 

[mhardy6647]

it is a twisted pair. Adding a teflon sheath makes them a little easier to handle.

I've got yards and yards of CAT5; meters and meters even. CAT5 speaker cables make wonderful hifi get together party favors, hostess gifts, etc. Yup these are constructed as you posit. A twisted pair of CAT5 cable runs (one cable "+", the other "-") is another nice, easy recipe. One can also braid three runs of CAT5 (one pair as just described, the third length wired as earlier described) and use for biwiring or a biamp situation. Sleeve in Techflex, add some "cable pants" (or heatshrink) and you've got good quality cables that look nice and don't cost much at all.

 

[jaymanaa]

3 pages, 44 posts, YOU ALL DONT KNOW HOW MUCH I WANT TO EXPRESS MY OPINION ON THIS, so I refer you to this little gem instead,
"discretion is the better part of valor."

have a nice day

Please post your honest thoughts Gwar. This thread is here for me, and others to learn from. I can say this about the improvements I experienced; The first night with the 3 dollar ICs, I listened to just a bare minimum of music to feel I had an idea of what the system would do. Last night, with the better ICs, I couldn't stop listening (and smiling). Even the wife sat down while I went through a bunch of music DVDs. I played the live AC/DC, acoustic Nirvana, acoustic Seether, Norah Jones, and Down from the mountain (a bluegrass DVD featuring the artists from Oh Brother at the Reyman). I'm going to hook up the TT today; a Dual CS5000 running a MC Audio Technica, through matching AT SET, through a modified Hagerman Bugle, into the 5814 preamp. Should be fun.

I hate to even ask this question, but I can't stop myself. Do you all think that NOTICEABLE improvement could still be made by using even more expensive ICs? If so, can anyone recommend some that Radio Shak might carry that will fit the tightly spaced females on the HK? I say Radio Shack because there is one in the next big town from me. I'd like to do this without ordering so that I can complete the test while things are fresh in my mind. Thanks to all, Jay

 

[jaymanaa]

Just thinking here. RS sells magnet wire, and I bet they would have small RCA plugs too. I think I'll cash in the change jar and see if the truck will start (it's mighty cold here and I drive a diesel) and make a little road trip.:yes:

 

[Art K.]

Please post your honest thoughts Gwar. This thread is here for me, and others to learn from. I can say this about the improvements I experienced; The first night with the 3 dollar ICs, I listened to just a bare minimum of music to feel I had an idea of what the system would do. Last night, with the better ICs, I couldn't stop listening (and smiling). Even the wife sat down while I went through a bunch of music DVDs. I played the live AC/DC, acoustic Nirvana, acoustic Seether, Norah Jones, and Down from the mountain (a bluegrass DVD featuring the artists from Oh Brother at the Reyman). I'm going to hook up the TT today; a Dual CS5000 running a MC Audio Technica, through matching AT SET, through a modified Hagerman Bugle, into the 5814 preamp. Should be fun.

I hate to even ask this question, but I can't stop myself. Do you all think that NOTICEABLE improvement could still be made by using even more expensive ICs? If so, can anyone recommend some that Radio Shak might carry that will fit the tightly spaced females on the HK? I say Radio Shack because there is one in the next big town from me. I'd like to do this without ordering so that I can complete the test while things are fresh in my mind. Thanks to all, Jay

At some point, especially when comparing similarly priced low end cables you get into a preference situation. That's where neither cable is better but they are just different sounding. There a lot of very high quality well constructed high end cables and there are just as many poorly constructed high end snake oil cables. How does know one from another, ask. Van den Hul is my favorite cable brand because of the construction and support. They are also a brand with so many models that it's near impossible to choose unless you get direct recommendations from users. They have models that sound pretty dull and others that are quite lively...you have to know which is which to get the best result.

If you are getting a good result with the cable that you have, I don't believe that you will get a siginificantly better one with Radio Shack cables. Blue Jeans on the other hand offers affordable cables where you may be able to have them put ends on that will work with your gear...worth a call.

 

[jaymanaa]

I think you are probably right Art. All the ones at Radio Shack had huge bulbous ends anyhow. No way they would fit into my tightly spaced females without forcing. They did have some decent looking plugs though, that will fit easily. The only varnished wire they had was 22, 26, and 30 gage. Mark, are you sure about that 36 size? The 30 gage stuff is like a hair. I'm going to make up a quick test set and see if I can gain any sonic improvements with the magnet wire.:yes: It's kind of hard to turn it off though, with the fancy Phillips ICs sounding so darn good.

 

[jaymanaa]

If you are getting a good result with the cable that you have, .

See Art, that's the rub. How do I know if the result is really good? I don't think my ears are the best in the world, even though they test very good. I thought the 3 dollar cable was sounding OK untill I tried the other, then I was blown away. I guess I have to just keep trying better and better stuff untill I stop hearing improvements. There is one other thing of course to consider, and that is budget. I've heard of folks spending upwards of 100 dollars (or even more) for ICs, but I don't see that in the near future here. Of course I've learned to never say never when it comes to Two Channel Stereo gear.:thmbsp:

 

[jaymanaa]

Not that anyone asked... but these are my personal favorite interconnects and speaker wires. The I/Cs are twisted pairs of varnish-insulated 36-ga magnet wire; the speaker wire, CAT5.

DooD! Is that really 36 gage? How did you strip it? Will 30 gage work, or does it really need to be 36?:scratch2:

 

[mhardy6647]

It is varnish coated. One can burn the varnish off with a soldering iron, or take it off with sandpaper. Easy-peasy.

Does it have to be 36-ga. Fug, yeah, the cross sectional area is a precise integral multiple of the cross-sectional area of an electron. The PRaT will suffer horrifically with any change in diameter.



36 was suggested in a recipe I found somewhere on teh webs a long time ago. R/S sells (or used to sell) a three-pack of magnet wire in three gauges; the scientific thing to do, of course, would be to try all three.

These 'cables' are what I use from my CDP to the upstream switchbox, and from the switchbox to the amp, in the living room.

 

[jaymanaa]

I got the RS 3 pack, so yep, I'll do some experimenting. What about length, since it's such a small gage? Should I stay under a certain leangth? I'd like to go about 4 ft.

 

[jaymanaa]

Ha, the magnet wire IC measures very good on meters. Less R and C than the Phillips, and the varnish ins. tested infinity @ 500v. Now to make the second one, and test on a Hi-Fi.:thmbsp:


BTW, These will be an intial cash outlay of about 10 dollars for the pair, but I will have about 180 feet of wire left over.

 

[jaymanaa]

Well Jeesh, looks like the 15buck Wally World Phillips is still the champ (in this system anyhow). The magnet wire did make some noticeable improvements on the "crispness" of the highs, but also added some sibilance to male and female voice. There was also a noticeable loss of low frequency "punch". I could see these as good for between CDP an Pre maybe, or in a tone arm (Like Mark suggests). It just seems like they run out of gas trying to carry the preamp to the amp.

So, now what?

 

[jaymanaa]

OK, I had to go with the Missus and pick out carpet for the listening room. Actually I think I was there more to pay than to give opinions on color and style. While at Lowes, I noticed they had ICs, so I grabbed a set. They are RCA Digital, and look a lot like the Phillips. I have them playing now, but I think the Phillips is going to remain the champ. So, there you have it, if you want a good IC and don't mind spending a little more, head to WalMart and grab a pair of Phillips TOTL jobbers. I think I may do some tube rolling while I'm in A/B mode.:scratch2:

 

[Art K.]

Good job, Jay. You remained open minded and came away with a new understanding relative to cables. You also debunked the myth that you have to spend a fortune to find cables that improve over the stock ones. That's not to say that you can't spend more and come away with more, it is instead to say that satisfaction and good performance may be as close as a short drive to Wally World. Enjoy!

 

[ecandle]

so whats the outcome of all this...

 

[jaymanaa]

Well, to me, the Phillips brand from WalMart seems to be the clear winner. At 15 dollars a pair, I can buy them and feel like I got my money's worth.

 

[Mr. Lin]

That's great you've found something so inexpensive that yielded such good results. Surprise! Cables are extremely important, and the little differences good cables make can make all the difference in the world, IME.