Cable Tweaks

GET YOUR CABLES OFF THE FLOOR......use cardboard, use upside down paper cups, buy the expensive ceramic cable raisers.....but get the cables off the floor. Sounds way better.

 

GET RID OF BINDING POSTS AND GET RID OF SPADE LUGS.....Use bare wire to bare wire clamps or solder them directly....way better sound.

Wires, yes must have them! Yes, we must make them! Almost every audiophile tries to make an interconnect, speaker wire, digital cable or AC cord. It is the natural thing to do. Sounds so simple. I've made tons of wires and straight wire bypassed tons as well. So here is what I see are the latest thangs:

 

1. Very pure conductors: The more pure the wire material the better the signal transfer. Most high end wires are made from very pure copper or silver wires or ribbons. The term single crystal and 6 or 7 nines of purity are common place. Many people find silver to be best while others find that it is to ethereal sounding and yes sometimes bright. Some people are mixing silver for the highs and extension and copper for the lows and juicy mids. The purer the conductors the better.

 

2. Very little/no insulation: Lets all sing together "There's no insulation, like no insulation, like no insulation, at all". All insulation materials suck. I've taken insulation off wires for years and they almost always sound better naked. Peter Moncrief was one of the first to say that our revered Teflon sucks. Have you noticed the "air dialectric" buzzword lately. More and more people are hanging wires in the air or putting them in large teflon tubes or in highly expanded braids made from Mylar, Polyethylene, Silk, Cotton or Teflon. Some people are using enameled high purity magnet wire with no other insulation. *SEE CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER BELOW!!!!

 

3. Very simple designs: Most good cables these days seem to have just a few solid core conductors either in a twist or braid or just separated by distance.

 

4. No strand interaction: Most people prefer the litz or single wire approach. With no conductive strands touching there is less interaction and diodic effects. The way to do this is to individually insulate each strand or use single uninsulated strands.

 

5. Pick your gauges: It is becoming common knowledge that different gauges of wire sound different. The smaller the gauge the more it passes highs but sounds thin. A large wire sounds juicy but lacks speed and highs. The purity of the conductors has a bearing on this as well. To get any highs from regular pitch copper you need to go to much smaller gauges.

 

Combining the above: Here is one instant creation (untried-don't know how it sounds): Get some solid core 22 gauge bare high purity silver wire and some 26 gauge high purity copper magnet wire. Use the silver for the hot and 4 copper magnet wires twisted as the ground. Lightly twist the copper bundle around the silver. Terminate with OFC jacks. Probably will sound better than most $1000 cables. Make sure the uninsulated hot wires do not touch any other hots, grounds or chassis and try not to touch the wires because you will put your oils on the cable. You can clean the wire by dipping it in copper/silver cleaner. Give it a try. Wire, braiding, solder and jacks available from Percyaudio.com and other sources. Let me know your favorite jobby and I will print it here for all the world to see.

 

*NOTE: Don't be foolish. Live uninsulated wires might be fine for digital cables and interconnects but your amp puts out lots of current, not to mention the AC from the wall!!!!! Speaker wires and AC wires must have some kind of insulation/protection or else you can cause physical damage including death!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

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