Make your own Speaker wire and or cables RCA / TRS / XLR

[sam_adams]

Hey did anyone notice that this is kinda like this thread that the same member started?

Yes.

 

[xanalog]

You're talking about electric safety issues regarding amps shorting, but what about the kitties? Our beloved smol apex predators who can't help themselves but chew on things they'd better not to, risking their lives? 50V AC and 100V DC are human safety limits, what about a cute little creature of 2-5kg?

Collateral damage in preservation of music?
Can I get a 2nd guess if I am wrong with the 1st?
j/k

 

[Earwax]

I'm glad you enjoy your cables.

Why do you think low frequencies are current hogging and the high frequencies will be on the smaller wire? Did you read something about skin effect and current density, transmission line theory?

How hard is it for you so twist on a 24 gauge wire to the speaker wire your already using and see for yourself

I already stated what I used to know the difference. No measurements with man made devices that all have some kind of short coming in one way or another...

Data measurements are needed when buying Audio gear no doubt about that it`s been proven to me I`ve actually listened to gear and heard the differences the measurements state.

That said those tools are no the end all of every scenario as I have also experienced..


24 gauge wire is cheap, try it if your interested then go after the measurements to find out why.

 

[MAB]

How hard is it for you so twist on a 24 gauge wire to the speaker wire your already using and see for yourself

This has been done here over and over. Perhaps read some of Amir's reviews of cables.

I already stated what I used to know the difference. No measurements with man made devices that all have some kind of short coming in one way or another...

Data measurements are needed when buying Audio gear no doubt about that it`s been a proven and I`ve actually listened to gear and heard the differences the measurements state.

That said those tools are no the end all of every scenario as I have also experienced..


24 gauge wire is cheap, try it if your interested then go after the measurements to find out why.

Speakers are man-made devices, so are the microphones that record music and are used for speaker testing and design. Mics are orders of magnitude more sensitive than human hearing. Electronics even more sensitive.

Also, human ear is particularly poor for measurements. Good for impressions to evoke memories, but not useful for discerning differences. The ear is particularly unsuited for bass evaluation. There is a century of research on this topic, much of it beautifully summarized in Floyd Toole's recently issued book. Lots of other good research on this topic. It's hard for some people to take, since it seems many have their ego wrapped up in their allegedly super hearing. Quite humbling to take a real blind test, find that these perceived differences like fat cables do better bass are an illusion.

You should really read and learn here. Amir has assembled many tests of what cables actually do. The can be found in the review section. Toole's book and other references can be found at your favorite bookseller, where more subtle aspects of acoustics and sound reproduction are presented.

To the cables in this thread, best to aim for simple flexible cables that don't wear out the equipment sockets. Many of your constructions are going to be stiff and heavy, not good for your equipment's sockets. Of all the things in cables, contact wear will degrade the contact often showing up as increase in noise floor, sometimes even as distortion. These are measurable, even when not audible. Also, those lumpy solder joints age poorly, combined with the strain of the heavy and stiff constructions you have created, will end up with some of the joints failing in time. Not saying guaranteed to fail. Perhaps you will be super careful to not strain things. But that kind of misses the point of inexpensive and good cables, which should minimize the probability of wearing things out prematurely, causing issues. @Ropeburn had a good example of simple construction and beautiful solder.

 

[Devnull]

How hard is it for you so twist on a 24 gauge wire to the speaker wire your already using and see for yourself

I already stated what I used to know the difference. No measurements with man made devices that all have some kind of short coming in one way or another...

Data measurements are needed when buying Audio gear no doubt about that it`s been a proven and I`ve actually listened to gear and heard the differences the measurements state.

That said those tools are no the end all of every scenario as I have also experienced..


24 gauge wire is cheap, try it if your interested then go after the measurements to find out why.

Since this is AudioScienceReview and you made a statement of fact people here expect it to be backed up with science, not a single observation skewed with expectation bias.

You stated, I'm paraphrasing, low frequencies hog the big wire delicate high frequencies use the small wire. Why? How do the frequencies know which wire to use? What brought you to this conclusion? What prompted you to try? That's why I asked if you had read something about skin effect and current density.

If you look at how your cables are constructed, the very fact that one conductor is wrapped around the other means that the signal actually has two different propagation times and possibly rates rather than identical times like in traditional twisted pairs. That difference certainly isn't noticeable at audio frequencies but it is certainly measurable and quantifiable. And at high enough frequencies will have a negative detrimental impact on the quality of the signal.

You may not believe me, but I know enough about how signals propagate through conductors that I've had peer reviewed papers on the subject published in IEEE spectrum. Your blanket statement of why you "heard" a difference goes against my decades of engineering experience and observations.

 

[Cbdb2]

Tesla did not believe in EM waves or Maxwells equations (someone elses idea that was actualy right) His math wasnt up to it so he dished it.

 

[Cbdb2]

And the best cable for RCA connections is coax, not what your using.

 

[Cbdb2]

@Chrispy speaking of bizarre. I had a bunch of customers bring me their multi thousand dollar speaker cables/home made expensive speaker cables/expensive RCA interconnects that had been chewed by their cats. They always had many many tiny bite holes in them and sometimes cat molar marks too and where not safe for speaker wire and had issues. The owners somehow thought I could do stuff with them to rescue the owner from buying more stuff. I have no idea why they thought I could save them but each time it was a NO answer from me.

Finally a reason for cable lifters, But you would need 3 foot risers. Put a cat on the packaging and charge a lot more.
Im working on a double shielded cable with a 'PET SHIELD" (patent pending) that zaps the pet with a "mild dose of electrons" if it touches the cable. Also works on toddlers.

 

[Doodski]

Finally a reason for cable lifters, But you would need 3 foot risers. Put a cat on the packaging and charge a lot more.

LoL... Every cat I ever had and I loved them dearly especially "Bonehead" the Blue Burmese cost me too much money. Bonehead was a tiny kitten when I was graced with his presence and gifted him by people that where customers of mine when I managed a sales and service AV store. This man and wife team really took a interest in me, chatted me all the time and wanted to chat hobbies, life, recreation and pets. I said I wanted a beagle and they chatted beagles for hours and said they could help me with that. Then days later I said maybe a cat is better because beagles are nose driven and they run when unleashed and follow their noses and get into all sorts of issues that way. So they said they had blue burmese kittens and gave me one for zero dollars. They taught me lots of stuff about them and got me ready. Anyway... Bonehead was the coolest cat ever. He would slip under the blanket and sleep beside me every night. He knew all by himself not to use his claws on me and retracted them and went clawless. I would stick my legs out when sitting on the sofa and he walked clawless up my legs to my chin and rubbed his head under my chin and bumped by chin hence the name Bonehead. He adored all people. So I moved to Vancouver to live with a 11 year older girlfriend that turned out to be one of the biggest idiots and fools I ever met. She had a large Siamese female cat that was terribly aggressive and territorial to humans and any other animals. Anyway... I still have scars from that cat because it would slash me with it's claws and cut me open both arms and legs as I walked by. Her Siamese cat in the ~middle of the night somehow forced my cat out of the apartment and the only way out was off the 3rd floor deck. Bonehead was gone in the morning never to be seen again. I sure did water spray as much as I could that Siamese cat whenever it was nasty me with the spray water bottle and enjoyed every spray very much.

 

[Todd k]

How hard is it for you so twist on a 24 gauge wire to the speaker wire your already using and see for yourself

I already stated what I used to know the difference. No measurements with man made devices that all have some kind of short coming in one way or another...

Data measurements are needed when buying Audio gear no doubt about that it`s been a proven and I`ve actually listened to gear and heard the differences the measurements state.

That said those tools are no the end all of every scenario as I have also experienced..


24 gauge wire is cheap, try it if your interested then go after the measurements to find out why.

Send them to Amir. We would all love to see the results.

 

[audio_tony]

Look mate, you're seriously overthinking the whole thing. The real world physical requirements for a proper cable are low and very easy to meet. Sturdy plugs, robust coaxial cable, properly constructed, and done.



10€ in materials. Professional quality that can hardly be improved upon at all.

What you could and should improve upon though, judging by your pictures, is soldering quality. What you did there looks outright shoddy, and prone to eventual mechanical failure.

That counts way more than any obscure construction methods you're trying there that won't do a thing electrically, but only lead to more potential failure points mechanically.



The simpler, the better, and the easier to do properly.

Look up some basic tutorials about soldering and making audio cables. It's a simple handicraft everyone can learn to do properly with little effort and just some practice, that means you too.

I can never seem to find decent plugs. May I ask where you bought those from?

 

[Multicore]

Having 2 different gauged wires appears to allow the lower current hogging frequencies to horde one wire so now the higher frequencies can follow a path of less resistance on the smaller wire allowing no shortage of even the most delicate frequencies of both low and high frequencies to have an easy & joyful path.

This is my insight and proven in my listening tests using my purist instruments my Ears, Brain, Mind and Emotions for instincts and of course my Guardian Angel is always a blessing , but then I`m no Audio scientist or engineer nor do I have any formal education in any related areas.

Word!

Send them to Amir. We would all love to see the results.

I think we should send our stuff to Earwax for testing. Amir's AP panels for DACs are a little uninspiring in comparison.

 

[Ropeburn]

I can never seem to find decent plugs. May I ask where you bought those from?

Those are Amphenol ACPR (2€), got them from Thomann. They are nicely spacious inside, and got a little clamp for ground/shield, practical.

Another nice type is Rean/Neutrik NYS 373 (2.60€), open "drum" type, very easy to solder and strain relief just like their XLR plugs.

Both are (kinda) cheap, robust, easy to solder, and accept the usual 6-6.5mm instrument/mic cable, which isn't standard for RCA plugs.

I've briefly searched, and it's weirdly hard finding those or similar ones in the UK indeed. What's going on over there?

Edit: check Mouser. They have these and a good selection in general, all price ranges.

 

[audio_tony]

Those are Amphenol ACPR (2€), got them from Thomann. They are nicely spacious inside, and got a little clamp for ground/shield, practical.



Another nice type is Rean/Neutrik NYS 373 (2.60€), open "drum" type, very easy to solder and strain relief just like their XLR plugs.



Both are (kinda) cheap, robust, easy to solder, and accept the usual 6-6.5mm instrument/mic cable, which isn't standard for RCA plugs.

I've briefly searched, and it's weirdly hard finding those or similar ones in the UK indeed. What's going on over there?

Edit: check Mouser. They have these and a good selection in general, all price ranges.

Many thanks. DIY is not at all popular over here for some reason. So that makes a lot of parts difficult to find.

 

[MAB]

Many thanks. DIY is not at all popular over here for some reason. So that makes a lot of parts difficult to find.

I think DIY is popular here, we have members who post tremendous DIY. I just think it is kept a bit more practical here, the electrical and acoustic properties are also emphasized. Many of the DIY in other forums is not completely useful, with emphasis on esoteric components and materials and complex constructions prioritized over good electrical and acoustical results. This thread is an example of why DIY isn't always welcomed. I still follow a few of my old speaker building friends on other forums, but can't deal with the voodoo and magic that runs unchecked.

 

[antcollinet]

Just found this thread and skimmed through.

What a car crash.

<------- Normally I'd have to use many more for this thread - but my supply for this month is running low.

 

[Ropeburn]

Just found this thread and skimmed through.

What a car crash.

Let's lighten it up a little. Here's a good test signal for special combined bass/treble cables:

 

[Devnull]

Just found this thread and skimmed through.

What a car crash.

<------- Normally I'd have to use many more for this thread - but my supply for this month is running low.

It's my fault, I'll take the heat, I was the first person to respond to the OP. I should know by now not to respond to a post from someone with golden ears that can hear a difference in cables.

 

[xanalog]

Finally a reason for cable lifters, But you would need 3 foot risers. Put a cat on the packaging and charge a lot more.

Perhaps @Doodski's customer cables were laced with catnip!
A little bit of cayenne pepper ointment may work as a fix.

I would not want to have a cat near my speakers or my leather furniture, especially since declawing has become illegal... even for totally indoor felines.

 

[Ropeburn]

Perhaps @Doodski's customer cables were laced with catnip!
A little bit of cayenne pepper ointment may work as a fix.

I would not want to have a cat near my speakers or my leather furniture, especially since declawing has become illegal... even for totally indoor felines.

You wouldn't like your first finger segments amputated either.