Abex:
I ended up with a very nice OTA digital cable (it slightly bested my Mapleshade Double Helix anyway - even less HF smearing which is what Mapleshade is all about).
The center (+) lead was 30" long and the outer (-) lead was 60" long. The longer lead was looped around the shorter lead by the means of 5-7 half knots (approx. 1.5"- 2" in diameter).
More and smaller loops close in the sound (though they further define imaging) while fewer and larger loops open up the sound while making imaging less precise. The trick is to balance this out to your liking (the cord is adjustable in the way).
Per the originator of this concept (Richard @ Vantage Audio in the UK), this will work best with total lengths no shorter than 90" (the one that I used) and no longer than 120" (I did not have enough cable left to try this length).
The concept is loosely based on a design that Vantage either uses, or has used, in the past, though their formula (as it was described to me) is far more complex/precise than the cable that I made.
If you do not feel like going to all this trouble, just make the (+) lead 42 " and the (-) lead 48" and separate the cables along the run by approx. 2". This is not as good as the looped design, but it betters equal length runs as the sound is more articulate and open.
Short versions (under 42") did not sound good with my DAC's (Bel Canto 1.0 & 1.1), but some people seem to like them and this may vary with the equipment used. I do use 8" OTA IC's from preamp to phono preamp with super results, but these are analog cables running to dual/mono phono sections with but 34 dB of gain.
I also do not hold to the concept that 75 ohm coaxial designs are the best digital cables as these cables have been my least favorite so far.
I ended up with a very nice OTA digital cable (it slightly bested my Mapleshade Double Helix anyway - even less HF smearing which is what Mapleshade is all about).
The center (+) lead was 30" long and the outer (-) lead was 60" long. The longer lead was looped around the shorter lead by the means of 5-7 half knots (approx. 1.5"- 2" in diameter).
More and smaller loops close in the sound (though they further define imaging) while fewer and larger loops open up the sound while making imaging less precise. The trick is to balance this out to your liking (the cord is adjustable in the way).
Per the originator of this concept (Richard @ Vantage Audio in the UK), this will work best with total lengths no shorter than 90" (the one that I used) and no longer than 120" (I did not have enough cable left to try this length).
The concept is loosely based on a design that Vantage either uses, or has used, in the past, though their formula (as it was described to me) is far more complex/precise than the cable that I made.
If you do not feel like going to all this trouble, just make the (+) lead 42 " and the (-) lead 48" and separate the cables along the run by approx. 2". This is not as good as the looped design, but it betters equal length runs as the sound is more articulate and open.
Short versions (under 42") did not sound good with my DAC's (Bel Canto 1.0 & 1.1), but some people seem to like them and this may vary with the equipment used. I do use 8" OTA IC's from preamp to phono preamp with super results, but these are analog cables running to dual/mono phono sections with but 34 dB of gain.
I also do not hold to the concept that 75 ohm coaxial designs are the best digital cables as these cables have been my least favorite so far.