Cable Confessions

[amirm]

Yea but are they OFC?

They are. He has described how he used a straw and sucked all the impurities out of it!

 

[Blumlein 88]

Yea but are they OFC?

Shouldn't that be OFC-FP. Ray has covered the OFC, but are his cables Functionally Perfect? I do believe the latter is pure marketing. Then there is OCC for Ohno Continuous Casting. We haven't gotten to cryo or quantum treatment yet either. And I tell you Ray, your lugs look like they came from a breaker box or something. At least gold plate or rhodium plate them if people are going to take this seriously.

 

[Thomas savage]

Harman need to redo their speaker testing in regard to statics, test again with Ray's magic wire.. Might make all the difference and lift the ML off the bottom run in the preference tests.

 

[RayDunzl]

Ray, your lugs look like they came from a breaker box or something.

No, they were new. But they've been in the scrap box since 1992 or so. The cable is marked 1992. It was a good year for copper.

Ilsco ClearChoice® Type SLS Mechanical lug is made of copper for enhanced durability. It features compact design and is reusable. Lug has a tongue of length 0.812 Inch. Bottom collar lug provides maximum conductivity and strength. It has a pad of dimension 13/16 Inch x 1/2 Inch. It is re-usable and has compact design that reduces space as well as saves installation time. It has a voltage rating of 2000 Volts. It features electrolytic seamless copper tubing for better conductivity. Lug has a stud of size 1/4 Inch. It can be used for terminating connector and offers screw terminal connection. Lug has one mounting hole and comes with slotted type screw. It accommodates copper conductor of size 2 - 8 AWG. Mechanical lug is CSA certified and UL listed.

 

[cjf]

No, they were new. But they've been in the scrap box since 1992 or so. The cable is marked 1992. It was a good year for copper.

View attachment 5526

Ilsco ClearChoice® Type SLS Mechanical lug is made of copper for enhanced durability. It features compact design and is reusable. Lug has a tongue of length 0.812 Inch. Bottom collar lug provides maximum conductivity and strength. It has a pad of dimension 13/16 Inch x 1/2 Inch. It is re-usable and has compact design that reduces space as well as saves installation time. It has a voltage rating of 2000 Volts. It features electrolytic seamless copper tubing for better conductivity. Lug has a stud of size 1/4 Inch. It can be used for terminating connector and offers screw terminal connection. Lug has one mounting hole and comes with slotted type screw. It accommodates copper conductor of size 2 - 8 AWG. Mechanical lug is CSA certified and UL listed.

Have you prepared some popcorn in preparation for the fireworks show should one of those big lugs decide to loosen enough from the speaker terminal and meet its shorting partner somewhere in middle

 

[RayDunzl]

Have you prepared some popcorn in preparation for the fireworks show should one of those big lugs decide to loosen enough from the speaker terminal and meet its shorting partner somewhere in middle

Except during exciting photo ops or scheduled powered-off maintenance periods, I keep a genuine non-conductive Home Depot Wooden Paint Stir (dielectric constant estimated to be between 1.4 and 2.9) wedged vertically inbetween those dangerous terminals.

 

[cjf]

Good call and a clever use of a paint stir!

 

[Blumlein 88]

Have you prepared some popcorn in preparation for the fireworks show should one of those big lugs decide to loosen enough from the speaker terminal and meet its shorting partner somewhere in middle

If this were Jeopardy, and the above was the answer, the question would be, "Alex, what are fuses for?"

 

[cjf]

If this were Jeopardy, and the above was the answer, the question would be, "Alex, what are fuses for?"

Or perhaps another way to answer that would be "Alex, what are fire extinguishers, insurance companies, and will's for?"

Give it a try big guy, and take some pics or it didn't happen

 

[watchnerd]

No, they were new. But they've been in the scrap box since 1992 or so. The cable is marked 1992. It was a good year for copper.

View attachment 5526

Ilsco ClearChoice® Type SLS Mechanical lug is made of copper for enhanced durability. It features compact design and is reusable. Lug has a tongue of length 0.812 Inch. Bottom collar lug provides maximum conductivity and strength. It has a pad of dimension 13/16 Inch x 1/2 Inch. It is re-usable and has compact design that reduces space as well as saves installation time. It has a voltage rating of 2000 Volts. It features electrolytic seamless copper tubing for better conductivity. Lug has a stud of size 1/4 Inch. It can be used for terminating connector and offers screw terminal connection. Lug has one mounting hole and comes with slotted type screw. It accommodates copper conductor of size 2 - 8 AWG. Mechanical lug is CSA certified and UL listed.

You could sell those for $500/pair, easy.

 

[Don Hills]

... It has a voltage rating of 2000 Volts. ...

Serious question. What happens if you exceed the voltage rating?

 

[RayDunzl]

Serious question. What happens if you exceed the voltage rating?

I don't know. That caught my eye too. Maybe you should go to compression lugs for high voltage.

---

That was a good guess...

Here's one that popped up, larger gauge, but has HV rating.

T&B 54479 4/0AWG HI-VOLT 2H COP LUG

Technical Description:
600 V TO 35 KV; CONDUCTOR MATERIAL COPPER; 4/0 AWG CONDUCTOR; TAPERED BARREL; PAD SIZE 3 INCH L X 1 INCH W X 0.13 INCH THK; 2 PAD HOLE(S); 1.75 INCH PAD HOLE SPACING; 1/2 INCH STUD SIZE; PURPLE; COPPER; OVERALL LENGTH 4.64 INCH; APPROVAL UL, CSA

Your Price: $270.00 / package ($27.00 / ea)

 

[Sal1950]

I will assume it is this:

ASSUME? You know the old saying about assume.

 

[amirm]

Serious question. What happens if you exceed the voltage rating?

Maybe there will be arcing due to those sharp corners.

 

[RayDunzl]

And, yet, I paid 6X what I needed to pay in order to have the trusted Neutrik connectors and Belden cable. I don't think they would sound any different, but I "feel better" knowing I have quality from trusted brands.

Am I just as much an audiophool as the big cable believers?

6X?

I'd say you're not firmly in that territory till you hit the 600X range.

Higher than that can get you even more style points, though...

 

[aaddas]

Belden 1800F
I did lisnted test for so many XLR cable like gotham,mogami,klotz,sommer,vovox
I found belden 1800F is good but has problem with bass [not punchy].
For me i like:
No.1 is sommer epiluge
No.2 is Mogami Platinum

Best overall @ cheap price is Gotham gac 4
Best overall for home theatre is Mogami 2534

 

[Speedskater]

Oh dear! not again.

 

[egellings]

I thought I was extremely rational, and cheap, about my cable choices.

However, tonight I just ordered a new set of XLR cables (Neutrik connectors, Belden 1800F cable) from Blue Jeans cable. $61 for a 6 foot pair.

Ridiculously cheap from an audiophile POV. Mockable, even, by those who are into spending big on cables.

But, from an objective point of view, very defensible: Belden is a trusted, professional grade, no-bullcrap cable company. Not snake oil in the slightest.

And then I went to Monoprice, where I can get a 6 foot pair of XLR cables for $10 and change.

If I'm honest with myself, I really doubt, whatever quality difference there might be between Belden and Monoprice, that it matters over a 6 foot run.

And, yet, I paid 6X what I needed to pay in order to have the trusted Neutrik connectors and Belden cable. I don't think they would sound any different, but I "feel better" knowing I have quality from trusted brands.

Am I just as much an audiophool as the big cable believers?

Do you have any similar cable confessions you need to make?

Basically, I agree. Good cables for home analog audio are easy to design and make, so just about any reasonably good cable will work, and will sound just like any other reasonably good one. Esoteric cables will just drain your wallet, and if they did sound different, is that better or worse, and what would be the mechanism behind the heard difference? As for d1g1t0l signals, good ol' 75-ohm Belden or similar RG-59U will cut the mustard just fine.