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Try this simple DIY interconnect cable.

Okay, I'd like to weigh in here on the cable issue. First, let me make it perfectly clear that I am not the world's greatest cable expert, I have never heard Valhalla's, Jena Labs, or alot of the others. I am a regular working Joe who thinks that cables do make a difference but can't afford $5k-$10k to buy them. I tried out an idea that I read on the web, and changed it a little, and I thought it sounded great on my system. So here it is, a nice sounding IC for dirt cheap. Go to the Rat Shack and get their magnet wire pack($2.99). I used the 30ga for mine, but you get 26ga and 22ga spools in the pack so you can use thicker if you like. Go to Lowe's and get the 1/4" polyethylene tubing in the icemaker parts section(25ft for $2.50) Get a couple rolls of teflon tape($1.00). Cut off 1 meter(or what you need for each channel) of tubing. Wrap it with the teflon tape in a spiral. Take your magnet wire and wrap a spiral around the entire length with about 2" spacing(18 turns per meter).Leave a couple inches extending on both ends to solder to the connectors.Then wrap the whole length again with teflon tape as a jacket.Make sure the wire gets covered - no gaps. Then thread another piece of the same guage wire down the tube and out the other end. Leave "tails" on both ends, like before. Solder your favorite RCA plug to each end using the center conductor for signal, and spiral wrapped wire for ground. The ones I used had a spring type strain relief that fit right over the teflon covered tube perfectly and looks professional. Then make one for the other channel. Takes about 2 hours total. They're flexible, sturdy, don't fall apart, look good, and sound real good on my system. Now, you can make your comments about inductance, capacitance, whatever. What we've got here is a good sounding cable with a mild level of RF rejection, teflon dielectric, reasonable spacing between conductors, for a dirt cheap price. I would like an enterprising individual with some good quality cables to make a pair of these and see how they stack up against a good commercial product. Dr. Gizmo, where I got the basic idea from, said that they were better than all his exotic stuff. I don't know about that, but they do sound good on my system. Maybe we could all get lucky and be able to save alot of cash.Probably won't beat Valhalla, but for many of us it might be good enough. Share your thoughts, please. And I would love to hear a report from someone who made them and compared.
twl
cdc
1,773 posts
 
Here are some photos of a similar design:
photos
sean
6,231 posts
 
According to Walt Jung and Richard Marsh, solid core 20 gauge is linear out to 20 KHz. Above that point, one may begin to experience skin effect. This will vary with the shape of the conductor though, so some conductors may be better suited than others. Wide and flat solid conductors with rounded edges will work best but then you have to start worrying about high capacitance as you bring the conductors closer together.

While high capacitance isn't a big deal for speaker cables, it is for an interconnect. Goertz finally realized this and came out with their Micro-Purl series of interconnects after already having their "wide, flat & stacked" interconnects. While the Micro-Purls still use flat, wide conductors stacked on top of each other and twisted, they made one very important change. They inserted another unused flat ribbon between the two active conductors. This raises the inductance / lowers the capacitance and makes the cable more usable universally. On top of this, the same cable can be used in a balanced mode now, as you have three conductors at your disposal rather than just two. Too bad they didn't put the Micro-Purls into a better dielectric, as they might have had a real winner with this design.

In the same article mentioned above, Jung and Marsh stated that their tests showed that the use of multiple 24 gauge solid core wires in parallel was the best way to go. This offered low series resistance with no phase or skin effect problems in or directly above the audible range. My experience is that this type of design works VERY well. That is, so long as one uses good quality materials and pays attention to the electrical characteristics of the cable.

In my experience, using just one conductor of this or smaller gauge typically results in a noticeably lean tonal balance. The end result of using multiple wires of light gauge in parallel is a far more even tonal balance without intruding on the high frequency performance that the smaller gauge originally offers.

Magnan is the company that uses conductive paint for some of their interconnects. The drawback to this is that it has a very high series resistance, which in my opinion and experience, is not good thing to design into a cable of any type. Some of the other Magnan's that i have make use of 36 gauge solid core conductors. As a general rule, you'll find that higher grade interconnects avoid using stranded wire. While one can use stranded wire, problems with skin effect and strand jumping will become more apparent at a much lower frequency. Sean
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PS... As i've mentioned before, don't shoot me if you disagree with what i've posted. I'm only the messenger. Take your beef up with Marsh & Jung.
twl OP
3,251 posts
 
Cdc, just for clarification, those photos on your link are speaker cables, not ICs. I do like that speaker cable design though.
twl OP
3,251 posts
 
Sean, I agree with the 20ga wire being ok for skin effect in the audible range. I used that or 22ga for speaker wires on low power systems., but my trials have shown that in IC's, the 26-30ga range works best overall. I have not had any bad effects from leanness, but they aren't exaggerated on the bottom end like Cardas, either. Just fairly neutral and detailed. I think the 30ga for short interconnects and 26 for longer ones is fine. By the way, there are now quite a few Audiogoners that are using these DIY cables, and they all gave very nice reports to me about the sound. Nobody has complained yet. I have even made several sets for those who didn't want to DIY. I make them to custom length and use whatever plugs they want, and they look and sound great. I now use the TechFlex cable coverings and they look real professional. The sound is very competitive with some stuff that is over $500 per meter pair. I only charge $39.95/pair plus whatever plugs they want to use. It's still a bargain for those who don't want to make them themselves. Not getting rich, but I am helping some members to get good cables for cheap prices. And for those that are handy with a soldering gun, the formula to make them is posted in the thread. No trade secrets, just good sound.
twl OP
3,251 posts
 
Cdc, sorry I was wrong about that. They were interconnects, but I didn't look far enough down the page to recognize the finished cable. I looked at the partial product, and thought it was the final one. My apologies to all.
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