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Some old cables rescued me from computer audio.

I first brought this up under DIGITAL and since the results worked so well, I thought I'd share it here and see if anyone else experienced this.

In a nutshell (a big one), I couldn't figure out why my CDP was not keeping up with my iMac set up, which is a very simple one. With a lot of time on my hands due to a 5 week layoff, I tried an old set of Mapleshade copper ribbon ICs and was gobsmacked at what I heard. My TEAC PD-H600 never sounded this good. The iMac setup was nowhere near as resolving and detailed and yet, fullbodied. I still kept the Zu Missions as speaker wire and thought I had really lucked out.

A week later, and still bored, I tried the matching Mapleshade speaker wire and the window just blew wide open. The clarity was beyond what I though possible but all was not well in casa de nonoise. The lower mids and bass were weakened some and several rows back from the rest of the presentation.

Rummaging around, I found a pair of Clear Day silver speaker wire (single strand, not shotgunned) with bananas and bi-wired them with the Mapleshades. Man o man, if I could make these, I'd retire my crappy job and be happy. I have all the lower mids and bass of the Zu Missions save the clarity which always eluded them. Texture, definition, and tautness now occupy my lower end to compliment what I've achieved from the mids on up.

It's great to hear a bottom half that keeps up with the top half. It's a whole new presentation for me. Again, just thought I'd share and know that a lot of you have done this already so any feedback as to whether I should twist the two together as best I can or leave them separated would be appreciated.

It pays to keep the older sets around, just in case.

All the best,
Nonoise
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nonoise's avatar
nonoise OP
10,833 posts
 
Thanks Jejaudio,
I knew I wasn't imagining all of this. There seems to be a common element in all of this: the Clear Day cables and another brand of minimalist design.

All the best,
Nonoise
jejaudio
110 posts
 
Nonoise, one thing I forgot to mention. I removed the outer jacket of the 4 conductor 16 awg DIY cable.

I have over the years of making my own speaker cables and powercords found that removing the outer jacket and braiding or twisting the conductors together can produce a much better cable sound wise. The less jacketing the better.

The Clear Day speaker cable is an example of this approach. So there is not alot of jacketing on either DIY copper cable or Clear Day cables.

I also want to clear up something in my last post. The Clear Day cables are already braided together. The DIY copper cables are twisted together. But I do not have both sets of cables twisted together. Both copper and silver cable are running right next to each other, from amp to speaker. Each speaker cable is 8ft. long.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise OP
10,833 posts
 
Jejaudio,
That seems to be another common theme in the cables that seem to work for us (and others) which is a minimal dielectric or sheathing that minimizes the skin effect between the signal carrier and the protective cover.

Air seems to be the best. A loose fitting cover the next best.

Granted YMMV depending on the system those cables are in. It's always different.

All the best,
Nonoise
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