DIY "HiFi" cables - and why I don't trust BJC and the likes

I can say with a fair amount of confidence that YOUR speaker cables would NOT make my systems sound better. It takes a great speaker design, to sound great to begin with


Excellent post.
Exactly,, My Thors will sound exactly the same with DIY 12,14 or even 20 gague,,well 20 ga might bea  bit thin/cutting it close to getting the juice to drive the Thors,, But certainly commercial $$$$ speaker cables are not going to make the Thors sing any superior than my Home Depot 12 gague (50 feet /$15,,lol) 
A high fidelity speaker does not request a  expensive cable. Juice is juice, thats all she asks. 
Now your 50 cent black power cord,,,,well actually a tech guy  might come over and prove to me the huge Defy trans, perform just as well on the 50 cent black thin power cord as it does on my hefty beefy 12 gague DIY with solid copper terminals. But as i say,,i feel more confident with the hefty beefy power cord, that the trans are getting all the juice they could  wish for with the 12 ga, vs your 50 cent PC which is,,cut one open,,you'll see, its like 20 ga, has about 10 hair thin copper strands,<<< trash it, make your own.>>> .

  I am not 100% on the side of DIY or commercial cables I am currently using both, I have Kimber on my front speakers, BJC on the surrounds, and home made on the Atmos.

I've read a lot about commercial cables, some of the science behind cables, how a $3,000 dollar commercial cable makes absolutely no difference when compared to a DIY $20.00 cable and you wouldn't be able to hear any difference. I've heard the debates.
I do not know to what extent it is all true, I have not done any side by side testing. Maybe you can get better sound quality with a commercial cable due to quality of components, manufacturing techniques, maybe it is not black and white and there are some good commercial cables and junk ones, maybe DIY are just as good I don't know and I am not debating that.

What I know is that I bought my Kimber because; I love the braided look, they are base models, I bought them used, and they sound fine to me. 

Now BJC, do you know how they are terminated? They are ultrasonically-welded.
This is what drew my attention when I came across them and why I decided to give them a try. Ultrasonically-welded at low temperatures, pretty cool.
If your not familiar with the technology check it out;
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/ultrasonic-welding.htm

BTW something I like about BJC. American Cable, American Technology, American Assembly

Something else I take into consideration with making my own cables is human error. I have been in IT for years and years and have terminated a ton of networking cable. When cost came down on manufactured already terminated networking cable I begin using it for a lot of applications. Buy the length I need, run it, plug it in, verify it is transferring at the right bandwidth, no fuss no muss. Sure I can terminate a cable, test it to make sure it is good but now that the cost is so low and I can't manipulate and terminate cable like I used to with my hands, due to issues.

Speaker cable, what if I miss a strand or two when putting a end on and create a grounding issue? For the cost, peace of mind, and not having to kill my hands, I'm fine with commercial.

I disagree with DIY cables not sounding good.

I have made many, the latest power cord version I made is with pure 10 gauge .9999 solid silver covered with a very high quality Teflon. I braided the 3 conductors lightly and terminated them with Furutech NCF fittings. On the wires themselves I coated them first with Furutech Nano liquid before connecting them into the connectors.

Took a little bit of time to break in, but compared to SR, Purist, Hurricane etc. These are much superior sounding.
So, I say the conductors and connectors are the main ingredient.

ozzy

I have made many, the latest power cord version I made is with pure 10 gauge .9999 solid silver covered with a very high quality Teflon. I braided the 3 conductors lightly and terminated them with Furutech NCF fittings


Now THAT is a  expensive power cord.
Buy why pure  silver?? and Furutech NCF adds more to the cost.
But why?
Copper carries 110 volts just as effectively/cleanly as copper.
Here is my version of a  copper power cord
Home Depot 12 gague THHN strand + pure copper termianls from china @ $20 for a pair.
I 've made 2 cords, one for the Defy , the other for the cayin 17 mark1 220 volt, plugs into stepup trans. 
Both really nice, ugly, but highly functional.
When the 3rd terms arrive from china,,going on 2 months ship,,,I will uploada  Vid on the DIY of the cord.
You have to break off the clear plastic face plate to get it to work out.
Silver is not going to carry more juice, nor cleaner juice, vs copper 12 ga.