Looking for really fine cables at really low price

Charles, that's the beauty of this Western electric cable. I am guessing that the insulation that it was produced with is contributing to the sound that we have all fallen in love with. So I am not covering it with any dielectric. My instinct is to leave it uncovered and as natural as possible. As long as I am not getting hum or any radio frequency interference I see no reason to insulate it.

I struggled with wether to shield or not. Decided to build them like the great sounding Belden we all liked. Felt the internal WE wire would simply sound better and result in a cable with the Belden sound only better!

The other reason is my 845 amp had a buzz that went away the moment I hooked up the shielded Belden cable. I did not expect that and was was pleased with the dead quite drivers! That was enough for me to know shielding can make a difference and quiet down system noise.

If the cable stays in the dull sounding stage I will then remove the shield. I will give them more burn in time first.

Some folks have written that shielding or any material other than natural fibers like cotton or silk will ruin the sound. A gentleman on the Day blog shared this same feeling stating the WE wire sounds so good because of the natural fibers used to make the wire....nothing artificial.

The problem is the WE wire does have a layer of rubber like material over the wire and just under the cloth. This layer is not made of natural fibers.

The Belden cable is not covered in natural fibers and sounds fantastic. I think the notion that copper braiding and unnatural wire coverings negatively impact the sound is speculation at best. Seems to me, like all things audio, it just depends on the build and many other factors. No universals here.

With you Grannyring. We are all experimenting I know nothing about the science of building IC's and most IC's do have shielding so it is natural to do that. Without shield I may be introducing all sorts of crap into my system that I cant hear.

My current cables are unshielded and are the best sounding I've ever had up to this point. Of course how much can I attribute to that one factor? It reasonable to believe other variables are involved. I agree with the idea that there are few If any universal answers when it comes to audio and sound quality. Even with modern science and engineering at its current high level, they "still" can't reliably predict the final sound quality. We are reliant on having to actually listen to any given product. Thus the experimentation occurring with these DIY cables and the various impressions (which are overwhelmingly positive).
Charles,