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Silver speaker cable question

We recently bought a pair of Klipschorn speakers. The speaker wire connection won't allow us to continue using our 4' Quicksilver pure silver speaker cables, which we really like.

So I made a pair of 6' pure silver speaker cables--2 strands of 20ga for each pos/neg connection in teflon sheathing--and they sound woefully thin. I've heard another system with these cables, and the music sounds quite full. Problem is, it's been so long since we got the Quicksilver that I can't remember if this is normal for new silver cables. Tonight, I hooked up one side with the Quicksilver (only one side is long enough, and just barely), and there is a big difference in the tonal roundness and fullness of the music coming from that speaker. When I swap the cables, the other speaker becomes the better one.

I'm dreading finding replacement cables for the Quicksilver, and I really can't spend $500 right now for a 6' pair from them. With them in the chain, the music is more lively and transparent than with any other cable I've tried. So the question is, do we save our pennies, or do we give my DIY's adequate time to burn-in?

*Also, I hate to have to say it, but if your position concerning cables/burn-in/etc. will not allow you to resolve this dilemma, please don't respond. I'd rather not be the author of yet another mucky cable thread on the fastrack for censorship. In other words, please just answer the question. Thank you.
Howard
128x128boa2
s23chang
620 posts
 
Howard,
In most cases from my DYI pure silver DYI speaker cables, it takes min 50 to 100 hours for it to settle in. 200+ hours to be fully burn in. This is no different from DYI interconnects as well.

The problem you have is not because the burn in. Rather, it is because of the damping factor for the speaker load.

You can calculate the right damping factor to match the sensitivity of your speaker.

www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/wirecalculator.xls

As long as your DF is greater than 200 then it became diminish return.

Just remember, the thicker you make, the longer break-in time required

Hope this helps
s23chang
620 posts
 
Oops I mean DIY....

In your case,
20 AWG X 2 = 17 total AWG
17 AWG would give you damping factor of 79 for 6 ft ( assuming your nominal R for your speakers is 6 Ohm )

To do it right, your'll need to make 13 total AWG cable to get 200 DF.

For 8 Ohm speakers, I ususally assume 4 Ohm nominal load.
If this is the case, you'll need to make 11 AWG speaker cables.

I've achieved excellent result based on the calculation.
I can't say about your setup, but in my and all my friend's setup, my version of cable sounded as good as some XYZ brand speaker cables that costs over $3000 a pair.

Keep in mind,

Size of strands, number of strands, and geometry of cable do make big difference.

Since then, we have yet to find something better then my version of cable.

It is time comsuming but it is well worth it at the end.

Good luck
boa2's avatar
boa2 OP
1,551 posts
 
Thank you all very much for the feedback. Marco, I was afraid I might not have enough. Oddly, I heard a very high end system sound fantastic with just the two, but unless this fills out considerably, it's clearly not the right recipe for our system. We'll have to measure the cost factor and see where to go from here. Unfortunately, it's been an incredibly expensive week, so we might have to listen with crap cables for the time being.
Thank you again. This is a big help.
Howard
boa2's avatar
boa2 OP
1,551 posts
 
To do it right, your'll need to make 13 total AWG cable to get 200 DF.

For 8 Ohm speakers, I ususally assume 4 Ohm nominal load.
If this is the case, you'll need to make 11 AWG speaker cables.

S23chang, what does this mean in terms of number of additional strands? I presume that we're talking the 6 or 8 total that Marco mentioned above, yes?

Howard
s23chang
620 posts
 
Hi Howard,
That's correct. Plugin number of conductors ( or strands ) in the spreadsheet from tnt-audio.com website.
It could be 6 or 8 or whatever number of conductors you use. Take that total AWG number, length, speaker nominal resistance and amp output resistance and plugin them in to calculate the DF.
As long as the total AWG meets your requirement which gives you DF of 200 or greater.

Hope this helps
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