Anybody here terminate DH Labs BL-1 cable?

Since itsikhefez and Erik_Squires both appear to be quite comfortable with DIY projects, I thought I’d share the links to the interconnect and power cables that I now use throughout my system.

http://image99.net/blog/files/4127b5fe2694586e383104364360373b-74.html

http://image99.net/blog/files/be8de0c383c5434907610d6b55049e69-75.html

They outperform some high priced commercial products (exceeding $2k) from some very big names that I have also tried in my system.

With the IC’s, I have experimented with many permutations of conductor type and RCA plugs over the past few years, from inexpensive CAT6 conductors for all conductors, to the more pricey conductors used in the articles, which I found outperformed all other combinations. The one constant in later iterations of their design were the KLE Innovations RCA plugs. I would recommend starting with the Silver Harmony as a minimum starting point. The price for the hardware recommended in the article is around $300 for a one meter pair. They can also work extremely well as Digital interconnects and with the added benefit that the Copper harmony can be used without any loss in SQ. I also use the Absolute harmony on my turntable leads because they convey exquisitely fine details no other RCA that I have tried can compete with.

The power cables take a little more effort, but a 5ft cable is priced somewhere between $100 (using DH Labs Power Plus bulk cable) and $200 (using Furutech 10 gauge Cable) for the live conductor and the IEC/Mains connectors specified

One thing all these cables require is sufficient burn in...
- Power Cables - at least 60 hours before they start to sound their best
- Interconnects - They start off sounding very good, but then SQ degrades a little from 35-55 hours, but then start to really shine around the 80 hour mark and just keep getting better after that.

The one drawback with these Interconnects - they resolve to extremely fine levels of detail and although you will notice a difference from installing just one set of cables between two components like a DAC and an integrated amp, but if your system has a pre-amp + power amp you would have to install a set between these two components also in order to hear them at their very best.

Net Result...
- a much deeper and more controlled bass performance
- unsurpassed clarity across the entire frequency range
- extremely fast dynamics across the entire frequency range
- a holographic image that dissolves the walls of your listening room
- a color-free presentation with exquisitely natural timbres
- extremely fine details that recreates the realism of the recording venue

As for speaker cables - I use the KLE Innovations gZero6 model.- I have not yet tried building a helix version because I require a 10 ft pair and that gets a little tricky to build.

I found these cables elevated the performance of my modest $14k (CDN) system, surpassing systems exceeding $50k, so as you might guess - I’m a pretty happy listener :-)

One very surprising observation - my components run significantly cooler using these cables - strange, but true.

Start with one pair and see where it takes you :-)

Are there better cables out there? probably, but at what cost?

Enjoy

FYI - the prices/costs mentioned above are what the parts will cost you to DIY

I do not build cables for other people - it’s strictly DIY

Apologies for any confusion

@williewonka Thanks for the detailed post and links. Those designs do look interesting although seem a bit more complicated than what I can get into currently but will reference them surely in the future.

I’m starting my first DIY IC’s now with Mogami 2534 and BL-1 as stated in this post and will be doing some comparisons between the two.
For the Mogami I used Neutrik Profi and the BL-1 will be terminated with Furutech FP-126.

I am a bit regretting not getting the KLE. I’m not convinced there should be any noticable difference (hence comparing myself) but they do seem to be recommended all over.

I am also planning on assembling a power cord with DH Labs Power Plus and standard Marinco connectors.

itsikhefez - Really? - using the BL-1 with the Furutech FP126 was one of my earlier cables also (LOL)

The first RCA I used that was not of the "normal design" was the original Eichmann Silver bullet, which I added to a pair of Stager Silver Solids IC’s

The Silver bullet was a significant step up performance wise from the RCA’s that came with the Stagers and I also found they were better than the Furutech FP-126 RCA’s.

The Silver Bullet’s only drawback - the small pins were difficult to solder without melting the housing

ONE TIP: when soldering wires to the pins of any plastic bodied RCA’s like the Harmony line...
- if you have an old component with RCA’s or an RCA socket - plug the RCA into the socket to conduct excess heat away quickly, preventing the housing from melting

So, I wrote a review on my blog about how good I found the Silver Bullet to be on the Stagers and was subsequently contacted by Keith Louie Eichmann, asking to review his new Copper Harmony compared to the Silver Bullets when mounted on the Stager’s. I found the Copper Harmony was noticeably better than the Silver Bullet. The rest is history :-)

As you step up through the Harmony Product Line, you get improvements across the board each step of the way, but the cable has to be able to resolve to the same level. I found using solid silver signal conductors to provide the best result - but the neutral only needs to be made from a high quality copper conductor. For best results I found using 28 gauge solid silver for the signal and 20 gauge copper for the neutral conductors not only provided the best sound quality, but it made the cables more affordable

I have toyed with the idea of using 32 gauge solid silver signal and 18 gauge copper neutral also, but figured it was time to focus on the music and let another DIY-er try that one ;-)

The Harmony line proved to be much better than the Silver Bullet and the new design incorporated much larger pins to solder too.

I tried using the BL/1 after a long period using the Van den Hul D102 III Hybrid cable. There was really not much difference and the BL/1 was more affordable.

The BL/1 is pretty good, but the Stagers really improved SQ performance.

I haven’t tried Mogami, because the BL/1 perfprmed so well. My move to the Stagers was promted more by their twisted pair geometry as opposed to the more standard "two conductors side by side", as in the BL-a and many other cables for that matter.

Cable geometry (or architecure) plays a huge part in improving performance of any cable, as opposed to just using better quality copper or moving up to silver. As proof of that I made up a pair of IC’s in the helix geometry using CAT 6 throughout and they performed better than the Van den Hul D102 III and the BL/1 IC’s, both of whish use silver plated conductors

It’s a slippery slope once you get bitten by the bug - but totally worth it

Cheers

I haven't used the Furutech 126 yet, so I could replace for KLE Copper Harmony (within my budget).

Based on your experience, do you think that would be worthwhile with the BL-1?