Belden 8402, 8412, and 8428

For any still interested in the tinned copper ICs, I finished all of the 8428 cables, cooked them for almost two days, and started listening yesterday.   I decided to go with a full set of whichever type of cable I was trying, so I replaced the three Belden 8402 cables with three (2@2M and 1@0.5M) Belden 8428 cables. 

First impressions are that the 8428s provide a similar presentation but perhaps a more melodic tone and more fleshed-out bass.  IOW, similar but probably better sounding (and certainly not worse) than the 8402.  One interesting construction feature about the 8428 that I did not notice with the 8402 is the presence of a cotton string wrap directly around the wire and inside of the first insulation layer.  After stripping the insulation, I needed to unwind, cut, and remove the cotton string that was in direct contact with the cotton wires.  I have never seen that before but it means the first insulation layer is cotton, which provides a bit of separation from the EPDM insulation and may provide additional damping.

Since I purchased the 8428, I became aware that Belden makes an 8408, which appears to be constructed exactly like the 8402, except that the signal conductors are 16 awg instead of 20 awg.  Since I liked the larger 8428 cable with its 18 awg conductors, and considering the positive results some have reported from using 16 awg Duelund or WE wires, I decided to order some of the 8408 cable and will report on that after it gets here. 

All of this is just playing around to tweak out any sonic variations and, as I said before, the real test of whether they stay in my system will be when I reinstall the Furutech ICs.

I have "full looms" of both the 8402 and 8428 and prefer the 8428 myself. Just "better" and less colored (but both are way less colored than Duelund or WE).

I was also curious about trying the 8408 as well but it's really thick and won't fit in most RCA connectors.

@sfoclt - I agree with your impressions.  However, in my case, the cables are all balanced with the shield connected to pin 1 at both ends, the same as most commercially manufactured balanced cables.

I have the 8408 in route and will report on how they sound, how they compare to the 8428, and whether there are similarities between the 8408 and 8402, which differ only in wire gauge.

Just for grins I ordered a nice set of custom built 8402 interconnects with great ends to give them a true evaluation vs several other cables I have. Tried them for 4 weeks, and passed them along to a friend to give them a whirl. He’s passed on them now too, he's using Audio Sensibility instead for his other budget system. They were worth about what i paid for them. Just okay, nothing special for me. 

If there is a much better version of Belden, might try that later too just for fun. More into pure copper and not a fan of tinned copper as much. Would like to see more/other tests of some of the boutique value-price cable makers vs. Belden to help those exploring value cables or for those building 2nd, 3rd systems fwiw.

I wouldn't argue with those who believe the tinned copper wire colors the sound.  I have tried the 8204 before and thought it to be just ok, but I had just enough extra coiled up that I could make the lengths I needed for a complete set (2@2M and 1@0.5M) and then reading about it brought me to the 8428, which seems to be somewhat of an improvement.  Then I saw the 8408 and thought what the heck, go big or go home.

In the end I will compare the tinned Belden to my Furutech u-P2.1 cables, which may not be what most consider to be at the very top of the line but the quality is hard to argue with: two strands of 19 awg fine stranded (alpha) OCC wire, with foamed polyethylene insulation, cotton fillers, and a copper braid shield, plus a durable, flexible, outer cover.