I made my own power lead just for curiosity value from sy cable as shown on the TNT site , basically armoured flex as used for electrical leads in industrial sites , never heard a bit of difference but at least it never cost me anything apart from my own time . As for interconnects i again made my own from " Shark " cable & gold plated phono plugs from Maplin , ( £7.00 per 1m length ) ,couldn't hear any difference at all from a mates' Van de Hull ( £265/m ) ,Nordost ( £380/m ) & Ixos 1004 (£20 per pair ). Mains cables , save your money !! . interconnects buy the Ixos / Qed range for £20-£30 only for build quality . All IMHO only of course. Paul
I am suprised your mate would let you compare them all my mates are too shit scared to do a blind test of £20 interconects and £1.50 meter speaker cable cos if they couldnt identify the "pro" gear then they would look rather silly
"kailblue" <pr001b4...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> I made my own power lead just for curiosity value from sy cable as shown on > the TNT site , basically armoured flex as used for electrical leads in > industrial sites , never heard a bit of difference but at least it never > cost me anything apart from my own time . > As for interconnects i again made my own from " Shark " cable & gold plated > phono plugs from Maplin , ( £7.00 per 1m length ) ,couldn't hear any > difference at all from a mates' Van de Hull ( £265/m ) ,Nordost ( £380/m ) & > Ixos 1004 (£20 per pair ). > Mains cables , save your money !! . interconnects buy the Ixos / Qed range > for £20-£30 only for build quality . > All IMHO only of course. > Paul
> I made my own power lead just for curiosity value from sy cable as shown on > the TNT site , basically armoured flex as used for electrical leads in > industrial sites , never heard a bit of difference but at least it never > cost me anything apart from my own time . > As for interconnects i again made my own from " Shark " cable & gold plated > phono plugs from Maplin , ( £7.00 per 1m length ) ,couldn't hear any > difference at all from a mates' Van de Hull ( £265/m ) ,Nordost ( £380/m ) & > Ixos 1004 (£20 per pair ). > Mains cables , save your money !! . interconnects buy the Ixos / Qed range > for £20-£30 only for build quality . > All IMHO only of course. > Paul
Until now the solution has been for the audio dealer/manufacturer to reduce the size of the enthusiast's wallet. The greater the reduction in wallet size, the greater the reduction of the problem. Quoted from http://members.bellatlantic.net/~pcor/Pages/hiendhaven.html
TT ;-))
kailblue <pr001b4...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> I made my own power lead just for curiosity value from sy cable as shown on > the TNT site , basically armoured flex as used for electrical leads in > industrial sites , never heard a bit of difference but at least it never > cost me anything apart from my own time . > As for interconnects i again made my own from " Shark " cable & gold plated > phono plugs from Maplin , ( £7.00 per 1m length ) ,couldn't hear any > difference at all from a mates' Van de Hull ( £265/m ) ,Nordost ( £380/m ) & > Ixos 1004 (£20 per pair ). > Mains cables , save your money !! . interconnects buy the Ixos / Qed range > for £20-£30 only for build quality . > All IMHO only of course. > Paul
In article <0fMo7.24819$N01.1491...@news1.cableinet.net>, kailblue
<pr001b4...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: > As for interconnects i again made my own from " Shark " cable & gold > plated phono plugs from Maplin , ( £7.00 per 1m length ) ,couldn't hear > any difference at all from a mates' Van de Hull ( £265/m ) ,Nordost ( > £380/m ) & Ixos 1004 (£20 per pair ).
FWIW I tend to use the 'low loss UHF, TV or Satellite' types of 75 Ohm coax as interconnects. Typically less than 1 UKP/metre. I also use the gold-plated Maplin phonos as they seem quite decent, and only a few quid each. Been using these items for years and they seem fine to me. In the past I did try comparing them with some more expensive leads, but didn't hear anything that made me feel it was worth spending any more.
My own view is that people should at least consider starting out with cables like the above. The are cheap enough that even if you don't like them for some reason, you haven't wasted much money. They also give the satisfaction of building your own, made to the right lengths.
The outcome of all this is that my mate has now put the " exotic " cables up for sale & is going to try at get some money back & then use the " shark " cables & phono plugs from Maplin. The gold plated phono plugs from Maplin cost £1.99 & the "Shark " cable is £3.49/m & the beauty is you can make them as long as you want without being ripped off by the cable manufacturers / dealers , my own opinion ofcourse. Paul
> The outcome of all this is that my mate has now put the " exotic " cables up > for sale & is going to try at get some money back & then use the " shark " > cables & phono plugs from Maplin. > The gold plated phono plugs from Maplin cost £1.99 & the "Shark " cable is > £3.49/m & the beauty is you can make them as long as you want without being > ripped off by the cable manufacturers / dealers , > my own opinion ofcourse. > Paul
> but are the gold plated plugs from Maplin 24ct gold plated? i doubt it. is > the insulation teflon? probably not.
> "kailblue" <pr001b4...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message > news:FF1p7.32083$N01.2053141@news1.cableinet.net... > > The outcome of all this is that my mate has now put the " exotic " cables > up > > for sale & is going to try at get some money back & then use the " shark > " > > cables & phono plugs from Maplin. > > The gold plated phono plugs from Maplin cost £1.99 & the "Shark " cable is > > £3.49/m & the beauty is you can make them as long as you want without > being > > ripped off by the cable manufacturers / dealers , > > my own opinion ofcourse. > > Paul
When I was doing high-quality, but low quantity engineering of rack-mounted TV transmission system, I spent quite a while searching out metal finishes that would be durable, fairly cheap, conductive and easy to apply. Guess what was the best and cheapest? Gold, by a large margin. Don't be too overawed by gold, it is used in all sorts of places for good reasons. The one thing it is not good for is a soldered connection; there tends to be leaching that can lead ultimately to the joint letting go.
d
On Sun, 16 Sep 2001 21:08:00 +0100, "Rich Lannaghan"
<rich...@lanbia.freeserveREMOVE.co.uk> wrote: >is 24ct gold palting worth the extra 30-40 quid ? i doubt it, >is teflon insulation worth the extra 30-40 quid ? probably not
>Griffin <expresslightfrei...@btinternet.com> wrote in message >news:9o30aq$lri$1@plutonium.btinternet.com... >> but are the gold plated plugs from Maplin 24ct gold plated? i doubt it. is >> the insulation teflon? probably not.
>> "kailblue" <pr001b4...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message >> news:FF1p7.32083$N01.2053141@news1.cableinet.net... >> > The outcome of all this is that my mate has now put the " exotic " >cables >> up >> > for sale & is going to try at get some money back & then use the " >shark >> " >> > cables & phono plugs from Maplin. >> > The gold plated phono plugs from Maplin cost £1.99 & the "Shark " cable >is >> > £3.49/m & the beauty is you can make them as long as you want without >> being >> > ripped off by the cable manufacturers / dealers , >> > my own opinion ofcourse. >> > Paul
Using a low distortion sine wave generator and a storage oscilloscope, I have found that in the expensive mains cables there is a rectification effect at low audio levels. To the ear this gives the effect of a doubling of frequency which many people percieve as more detail in the music. Of course it is merely second harmonic distortion. In fact, if you use an old cotton covered electric iron flex with two knots tied in opposition, any rectification effects will be too low for accurate measurements and there will be a vast improvement in the transparency of the music.
"kailblue" <pr001b4...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> I made my own power lead just for curiosity value from sy cable as shown on > the TNT site , basically armoured flex as used for electrical leads in > industrial sites , never heard a bit of difference but at least it never > cost me anything apart from my own time . > As for interconnects i again made my own from " Shark " cable & gold plated > phono plugs from Maplin , ( £7.00 per 1m length ) ,couldn't hear any > difference at all from a mates' Van de Hull ( £265/m ) ,Nordost ( £380/m ) & > Ixos 1004 (£20 per pair ). > Mains cables , save your money !! . interconnects buy the Ixos / Qed range > for £20-£30 only for build quality . > All IMHO only of course. > Paul
In article <5O8p7.34890$N01.2348...@news1.cableinet.net>, evans
<ce001b5...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: > Using a low distortion sine wave generator and a storage oscilloscope, I > have found that in the expensive mains cables there is a rectification > effect at low audio levels.
I would be interested to hear more details. What model of signal generator and scope did you use? How was the distortion measured, and what level did it reach? What were the details of the signal and load, and the measurement setup? Can you also explain how your test conditions compare with those that apply when the cable is used for its normal purpose?
I have never encountered a mains *cable* producing measureable distortion. I have encountered imperfect joints that do. However even there, in practical situations I have not encountered any significant effects.
You say "the expensive mains cables". Are you referring to specific brands or makes and indicating that these have a distortion problem which standard mains leads do not? If so, and your measurements are correct, then perhaps you should publish all the details for others to judge.
> To the ear this gives the effect of a doubling of frequency which many > people percieve as more detail in the music.
Are you saying this occurs as a result of mains harmonic creation? If so, I have not experienced this. Can you say what amplifiers, etc, you used to perceive this? (Or is your comment a generalised opinion?) In my experience the PSU of most well-built amplifiers, etc, will essentially prevent the normal levels of mains 'distortions' from reaching the actual amplifier output. More details of your measurements, please, as I am interested.
> Of course it is merely second harmonic distortion. In fact, if you use > an old cotton covered electric iron flex with two knots tied in > opposition, any rectification effects will be too low for accurate > measurements and there will be a vast improvement in the transparency of > the music.
Again, I would be interested to learn the details of your measurements that support what you say. Why do you mention 'knots' here? Are you assuming they play a role? If so, what?
In article <4abb51c5edj...@st-and.demon.co.uk>, Jim Lesurf <j...@st-and.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> > Using a low distortion sine wave generator and a storage oscilloscope, > > I have found that in the expensive mains cables there is a > > rectification effect at low audio levels. > I would be interested to hear more details.
Wooooooooooooooosh?
-- * Virtual reality is its own reward*
Dave Plowman dave.so...@argonet.co.uk London SW 12 RIP Acorn
How low is the "Low Distortion" of your sig gen? How many of "the expensive cables" did you test? What price do you consider expensive? Quote from your post "In fact, if you use an old cotton covered electric iron flex with two knots tied in opposition, any rectification effects will be too low for accurate measurements and there will be a vast improvement in the transparency of the music." Did you try this ? How did you measure the transparency of the music using a sig gen and scope? I ask this because you say "WILL be too low for accurate measurements" and "there WILL be a vast improvement in the transparency of the music" this infers, to me at least, that you did not listen, you merely measured. Once again how do you measure increased transparency with a sig gen and scope?
regards
Welly
" evans" <ce001b5...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> Using a low distortion sine wave generator and a storage oscilloscope, I > have found that in the expensive mains cables there is a rectification > effect at low audio levels. To the ear this gives the effect of a doubling > of frequency which many people percieve as more detail in the music. Of > course it is merely second harmonic distortion. In fact, if you use an old > cotton covered electric iron flex with two knots tied in opposition, any > rectification effects will be too low for accurate measurements and there > will be a vast improvement in the transparency of the music.
> "kailblue" <pr001b4...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message > news:0fMo7.24819$N01.1491459@news1.cableinet.net... > > I made my own power lead just for curiosity value from sy cable as shown > on > > the TNT site , basically armoured flex as used for electrical leads in > > industrial sites , never heard a bit of difference but at least it never > > cost me anything apart from my own time . > > As for interconnects i again made my own from " Shark " cable & gold > plated > > phono plugs from Maplin , ( £7.00 per 1m length ) ,couldn't hear any > > difference at all from a mates' Van de Hull ( £265/m ) ,Nordost ( £380/m ) > & > > Ixos 1004 (£20 per pair ). > > Mains cables , save your money !! . interconnects buy the Ixos / Qed range > > for £20-£30 only for build quality . > > All IMHO only of course. > > Paul
