Author Topic: A different approach to audio cables.  (Read 2214 times)

Offline Tam Lin

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A different approach to audio cables.
« on: August 23, 2019, 03:36:06 PM »
My exploration of audio cables started in 2004 after I re-terminated damaged Cardas Golden Reference interconnects with Eichmann Bullet plugs. The repaired cable had greater resolution and less grain and glare. I attributed the improvement to the lower mass of the plug. All the metal in high-end RCA connectors is not needed to conduct the signal and, in fact, may be detrimental.

That experience led me to experiment with different low-mass cable designs.

My ICs use Cardas 33-awg tonearm wire woven into a 3/8” dia. polypropylene hollow-braid rope. The fused end of the rope forms a collar that secures the RCA plug.

My speaker cables use many of strands of 24-awg litz wire bunched together in a random fashion. Each litz strand is composed of 105 44-awg magnet wires. Each speaker driver has its own polypropylene-wrapped cable from the amp. The effective cable gauges are 9 (Low), 12 (Mid), 15 (High), and 18 (Sub).

My power cables are Belden 83704 wired as a star quad. A 12-awg ground wire is spiraled around the outside.

My digital cable is a twisted-pair stripped from a cat-5 network cable.
 
Jon Bokelman

Offline Folsom

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Re: A different approach to audio cables.
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2019, 04:41:02 PM »
Looks kinda tricky to weave like that. Why not just some cotton tubing?

I think the rhodium plating isn't good on stuff personally. Silver/gold OK, but rhodium doesn't sound right to me.

It would be nice if there were more low mass options!

Offline Tam Lin

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Re: A different approach to audio cables.
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2019, 04:59:48 PM »
What rhodium plating?
Jon Bokelman

Offline Folsom

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Re: A different approach to audio cables.
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2019, 05:08:42 PM »
Cardas, Furutech, lots of them use it.

Offline BobM

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Re: A different approach to audio cables.
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2019, 08:38:55 AM »
Rhodium takes a lot of break in and has a sound kind of like a loudness button - extended top and tight extended bottom which produces a slightly recessed middle.Great if your system is overly warm and needs a little brightening up and more slam.
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