So what is your favorite speaker cables to date?
Comments
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Kapton seems like a poor choice, granted a different application, but still....It was found to have very poor resistance to mechanical wear, mainly abrasion within cable harnesses due to aircraft movement. Many aircraft models have had to undergo extensive rewiring modifications, sometimes completely replacing all the Kapton-insulated wiring, because of short circuits caused by the faulty insulation.
Interestingly, Kapton is also used with an aluminum backing for the ribbons in the Carver Amazings. It tears quite easily.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
The absolute best speaker cable that I have ever used were completely custom built to my specifications. The cable detail;
A #4 solid, oxygen free conductor, gold plated and then covered with a kapton coating for the first layer of insulation. The wires must be pre-bent at the factory to exact measurements.
Unfortunately, I sold the speakers that these wires were manufactured for, and as everything was prebent to spec, the wires went with the speakers.
Wow, #4 solid copper? You could've saved it and used it as the worlds most expensive water bond for a 200A service. :biggrin:
I can certainly see why it was pre-bent to your specs though...
On topic, the best I have tried is also the best B4B (in my setup), 8' Signal Cable Ultra bi-wire.So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?
http://audiomilitia.proboards.com/ -
For the rest of you, I am working on a reply with some details of why certain components were used, and the relevance to not just home audio, but cables and electrical conductivity as a whole.
Oh cool. Goodie, goodie! I've always wondered how all those little thingy's in there worked. Can't wait! Please, leave nothing out! Mysteries will be solved!!
CJA so called science type proudly says... "I do realize that I would fool myself all the time, about listening conclusions and many other observations, if I did listen before buying. That’s why I don’t, I bought all of my current gear based on technical parameters alone, such as specs and measurements."
More amazing Internet Science Pink Panther wisdom..."My DAC has since been upgraded from Mark Levinson to Topping." -
Shokdu...I feel for ya dude! You remind me of that kid in the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The kid that touched the infamous taboo cheese laying on the playground.....you seen that movie?
EDIT: Oh yeah....on topic. MIT Terminator 6. Yeah I am poor!--Gary--
Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out. -
Kapton seems like a poor choice, granted a different application, but still....WIKIPEDIA wrote:It was found to have very poor resistance to mechanical wear, mainly abrasion within cable harnesses due to aircraft movement. Many aircraft models have had to undergo extensive rewiring modifications, sometimes completely replacing all the Kapton-insulated wiring, because of short circuits caused by the faulty insulation.
Interestingly, Kapton is also used with an aluminum backing for the ribbons in the Carver Amazings. It tears quite easily.
Kapton is an incredible insulator, it is not a poor choice by any means. Aircraft manufacturers, and apparently even NASA, were using it as a primary source of insulation, which is why circuits shorted. The Kapton broke down, wore off, whatever it did, and then the bare wire shorted to ground. While Kapton may not withstand a lot of abuse on it's own, the cables I had were also insulated with EPDM rubber, two different layers of it. The Kapton coating would never be subjected to any mechanical wear in any fashion. The outer layers of EPDM contained it, therefore it could never break down and cause any issues. -
Guys, I have written the builder of the cables in order to make sure it's OK to share information. I don't want to give up his secrets inadvertently. I do have photos, but I will have to track them down next time I have a chance. In the meantime, I think the builder may send me a video showing just how tough the Kapton coating is while he strips some of it from the gold plated copper. Please be patient while I try to get answers that will satisfy all of you.
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Put it together, Sherlock. Your Google-Fu is incredible, but your logic is not.
Don't you worry, I excell at putting things together and my logic is flawless. It says when it comes to your tales 2+2 does not equal 4.06-29-2012, 10:20 PM
SHOKDU
AK Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Anchorage, AK
Posts: 78
New to AK, from AK (Alaska)
Hello all! I wanted to give a quick introduction for myself, and this sub-forum is the perfect place to do that.
My name is Mark and I'm 26 years old, born and raised in Iowa and now currently live in Anchorage, Alaska. Up until this point in my life I've been happy with the junk of todays electronics and MP3's, but have been shown the light by a co-worker that has nothing better to do than harrass me about audio gear for 12 hours a day. I've been on the hunt for some vintage audio gear around Anchorage, and think I have a decent start. What I've ended up with is;
So, what piece of today's electronic junk did you have those speakers cables hooked up to?Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Certainly not my zune and cheap headphones, which is mainly what that post was reffering to. See my "lurker" thread to get the full explination. I don't have time left for more of your drama tonight, or any night for that matter. You'll find yourself effectively "ignored" from here on out.
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Your ship has already sunk.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
That much attention to detail on cables and no detail spent buying Emotiva. Something doesn't quite add up here. For now I'm taking your cable post as tongue in cheek. Convince me otherwise. Pressure testing and heat testing aren't relevant for in home audio cables. Explain the significance in a home audio arena.
H9
I will be happy to go one further and call it complete, first rate BS.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Guys, I have written the builder of the cables in order to make sure it's OK to share information. I don't want to give up his secrets inadvertently. I do have photos, but I will have to track them down next time I have a chance. In the meantime, I think the builder may send me a video showing just how tough the Kapton coating is while he strips some of it from the gold plated copper. Please be patient while I try to get answers that will satisfy all of you.
Holy Crap... Cheezy's back!The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Guys, I have written the builder of the cables in order to make sure it's OK to share information. I don't want to give up his secrets inadvertently.The absolute best speaker cable that I have ever used were completely custom built to my specifications.
If they are your specifications then why do you have to ask the builder? He just did what you asked, and I assume, paid for.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Never heard of such secret squirrel DIY cables. The story is starting to piece together though.
So at a young age, you dabbled in high end Krell, Levinson, Macintosh, and now can't afford such luxuries and have to settle on Emo. Which on the surface is fine, we all have ups and downs financially. Thing is, your trying to justify the Emo's worth based on your finances by proclaiming it's superiority over higher end brands. Not the first time that's happened around here.
In spite of what you may think, we understand you can't afford certain things and that you live in Alaska and whats available to you is limited. Not a big deal as we have other members there and in Canada too.
You stated you came here because of all the Polk speakers you had, yet haven't asked anything about them as far as I can tell. You also stated you were interested in a path to better equipment, but have no intention on moving from what you have, gear wise or cable wise, nor can you afford anything else. You also give the impression that you know it all when it comes to audio so the forums knowledge base is of no use to you. So then the question has to be asked.....why are you here then ?
Maybe to get to 100 posts to buy and sell in our Flea Market ? You did say you sell off your vintage gear after refurbing them. Just curious is all as to your intentions.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Guys, I have written the builder of the cables in order to make sure it's OK to share information. I don't want to give up his secrets inadvertently. I do have photos, but I will have to track them down next time I have a chance. In the meantime, I think the builder may send me a video showing just how tough the Kapton coating is while he strips some of it from the gold plated copper. Please be patient while I try to get answers that will satisfy all of you.
Well, OK, that's admirable of you to wait until you get the builders' approval... can you at least share the name of the builder? I'm sure he/they would not mind a free advertising plug...
I'm not trying to be a flame-fanner here, if the cable sounded as good as you say, cool. But I really am curious because of the choice of wire gauge, as I have experience with it on a totally different level, and appreciate the difficulties of working with it in close quarters.So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?
http://audiomilitia.proboards.com/ -
SHOKDU....
So what were you specifications and how did you arrive at them? The reason I ask is because you don't seem to have much experience with hifi. But do a lot of reading and have formed opinions from that. Remember...just because its on the internet does not mean it is true! Remember the girl on the State Farm commercial?
One thing is for sure, from what I have seen, since you been around here. Your Troll-Fu is incredible! And as already said. Your logic and wording in posts screams of a past shortimer here by the name of "Cheezy". Just sayin'.....--Gary--
Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out. -
Kimber 8TC, for over 9 years. No desire to replace.
I do have to give props to Steve here, he answered all my thousands of Kimber questions. I am happily in 8VS and Hero land myself....
That said I have Dougs IC's and SC's in house and will be doing a head to head test in the near future. I am slightly terrified of the potential results...."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
EndersShadow wrote: »That said I have Dougs IC's and SC's in house and will be doing a head to head test in the near future. I am slightly terrified of the potential results....
Why dude, nothing wrong with it either way. Cables are simply a matter of preference. No shame in it should Doug's cables tickle your fancy better. Enjoy your shoot out.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Why dude, nothing wrong with it either way. Cables are simply a matter of preference. No shame in it should Doug's cables tickle your fancy better. Enjoy your shoot out.
LOL, no shame, but would be some regret. Doug offered his speaker cables to me for a very good price shortly before I purchased the Kimbers that will be going up against them lol.
I dont regret buying the Kimbers because I got a PHENOMENAL deal on the Hero IC's, but I did pay full retail for the 8VS internally bi-wired cables due to concerns about fakes out there.
So it is more of a "Shoulda bought Dougs cables" potential moment.
Regardless given how nice his IC's sound upstairs, I am for sure getting a set to go between my Sunfire and Parasound, and maybe even do all my IC's with him since I can do small runs now."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
COOL!
Another episode of the "Wives of Polk County!"Aaron
Enabler Extraordinaire -
What exactly is that suppose to mean ? ^^^^^^^^^^HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
^^^^^^^ You really need me to explain this?
:rolleyes:
Not your posts TonyB - just the stuff inbetween. It likens to an episode of "The wives of ...pick your county..."Aaron
Enabler Extraordinaire -
Great story...its all about one's priorities... so what you were practically given a $5K cable...using it to buy a bike is priceless! I would have sold it as well myself...unless I had a $5K amps and $10K+ speakers in the rig.About 3 years go I picked up a pair of Nordost Vallhalla's at an estate sale. They had no idea what they were, even though they had some high end equipment priced accordingly. Paid $25 for a set of $5000 cables. My best pick to date.
They were excellent cables, but I sold them on A-gon and purchased my motorcycle.2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2 -
I make my own. Buy 12 gauge CL2 speaker wire from mono price.com, and get sleeve, speaker wire pants and banan plugs.
Same hereAMP/Pre Pro: Outlaw 7000x, Marantz AV7703
Speakers: Fronts:LSiM 705s/ Center: LSiM 706c / Surrounds: LSim 703s
SUB: Rythmik LV12R x2
Source:OPPO UDP-203 -
Best: Acoustic Zen Satori shotgun
B4B: Audioquest Type4 no frills from Audio Advisor
