IC cable shootout

ben62670

OK I have been experimenting with IC's lately, and have come up with some surprising results.

Straight wire Encore II
Cat5 2 24Ga wires twisted (non Teflon)
PBJ's
Microphone 22Ga stranded
Silver Braided solid core 22Ga Teflon

The SW E2's had the best all around sound and imaging
Cat5's were a close second except at high levels
PBJ's were just below the Cats... little better cranked up
Microphone was pretty good all around
Silver took away some of the detail and staging.

I am running test with Custom SDA1.2's, and Adcom amps.

The cats were surprisingly one of the best detailed cables that I had used. If it wasn't for loss of quality of the top end (as in volume not frequency) these would be the Ideal ICs for someone on a budget. The Straight wires cost about $80 if you shop around for them. The cats can be made for Less than $10 a pair. I used Nuetrik ends in all cables except the Straight wires. I don't know about the validity of burning in IC's, but I thought that IC's didn't make a difference until recently, so maybe there is some thing to burning them in. What should be expected from burnt in connectors? I am writing this not to open a can of worms, but to get opinions from people that may have used similar cables.

Thanks Ben

ben62670

Hello

Music Joe

If under a meter make a CAT5 plenum 'TEFLON' as 2 parallel runs on clear packing tape ...a very good low capacitance cable. Route them away from power cables.
The Venhaus diy is really good at a meter but you need to construct a jig to build it right. Difficult to diy over a meter beyond basic twisted (which raises cap).

ben62670

Thanks MJ. I was thinking of trying 4 wires kinda like star quad, or using 4 strands from the Cat5; separate them and braid them to keep down the inductance. I don't even know if there would actually be a measurable amount of inductance in the short runs I am doing.
Thanks Again
Ben

Music Joe

Try making 2 paralled pairs about 3/4 inch spacing made from straightened out CAT5ePlenum/Teflon(under $3 meter).
Twist and braid lowers inductance. The parallel lowers capacitance which I found very beneficial.
An active pre-amped system did produce a little more gain hiss with ear next to tweeter.
Increased micro/detail no increase in sibilance. Just such a cheap and easy cable to make I wish I had thought to make it first. Just route away from other cables.