[busterfree]

That's a lot of strands Dave!

The cable I've found to give the most neutral and organic presentation without losing detail is made up of cryo'd 56-strand OCC with cotton filler and poly insulation. It's 15 gauge.

I like to stick with gold-plated copper connectors, not a fan of rhodium given its comparatively poor conductivity and never had the need for increased corrosion resistance. I also prefer to keep metal changes to a minimum so if binding posts are not rhodium, I won't run rhodium plugs on them.

What are the cables that you mention above?

[Good Times]

I make them myself, the wire is Furutech Alpha S-14.

They do a larger 13awg cable called the S-25 but it's 3x the price. I also use Furutech plugs as they never use brass, only plated copper. The FP-200 and 201 banana and spades are great as they use a screw-down termination method which is superior to soldering.

[DaveC113]

GT, the Furutech FP-200B are brass banana plugs. They are ok for what they are, Furutech's brass parts are much better than most. The FT-212 is a much better banana but also a lot more cash.

The best affordable, but all copper/locking type banana is probably Neotech's locking bananas, they are $100/4 in rhodium, DH Labs sells the same ones in gold for less, I think $15/each which is a good deal. The Furutech FT bananas are a little better but these are good for the price.



 

[Good Times]

Are you sure Dave? Specs say copper:
http://www.furutech.com/2013/01/27/1056/

[DaveC113]

"Material: Conductor central pin with Rhodium or 24k Gold Plated non-magnetic copper alloy,
　Housing with anti-oxidized Aluminum Alloy."


=brass. Actually, the FP-101 RCA with the filament style center pin is a brass connector too and it's very good. Furutech's brass parts are much better than most.

[Good Times]

Hi Dave. I'd love to know exactly what the make-up is (for sheer curiosity), but couldn't a non-magnetic copper alloy be a number of things, e.g. beryllium copper? Or a mix of anything potentially non-magnetic such as aluminium, tin, zinc as well as brass?

[dodger4]

having a cary 300sei with a pair of custom omega super 6xrs trying out a pair of clear day shotgun speaker cables ,,very impressive without break in, improved bass response  and a big soundstage,,,paul the seller will loan you a pair to try real nice guy to talk to..price for 8ft pair shotguns is 270  if you don't like them after 30days all it cost you is shipping both ways  have used dnms and a set of daves 20guage(a keeper) which bested the dnms I had ...I dont know how these clear days would sound with ss eqpt but like all cabilng is system dependant ..

[DaveC113]

Clear day is a very good option for the price, but it does have the downsides of silver with lower purity... exaggerated leading edges, adds a bit of harshness and less accurate vs upocc conductors, this can lead to long term listening fatigue. Performance for the price is good and may be the best option at that price point for some systems though. Initially they sound exciting, but over time you may notice some downsides.

GT, It's definitely a type of brass and it is probably their own alloy... They used to state they use brass and phosphor bronze for some things but it seems like they recently switched to "copper alloy", which I suppose they think sounds better. Regardless, Furutech connectors can be trusted to sound good. I do not use the FP-200Bs anymore as they are not as good as the much more expensive pure copper locking bananas, but they are not a bad sounding connector.

[nature boy]

I use Gregg Straley's Reality Cables with my Omega speakers and like them a lot.  Also have his special wire IC's throughout my system. 

NB

[beowulf]

I use something really similar to the Decware Zen Styx (made by the same military supplier) which are a military grade, silver plated copper.  Contrary to some beliefs about silver ~ I don't find the Styx fatiguing at all and actually feel that the highs are better opened and extended than with all the other copper cables I tried.  I experimented with a few brands including Clear Day Shotguns and found the Zen Styx to sound the best with my current setup which includes the Omega RS7 speakers with a Decware Taboo MK II and also a Rega Brio-R for amplification.  I go naked with these without any terminations on either the amp or speaker bindings.

If I were going to try another cable it would be OCC Copper such as the ones Dave makes, but at the current time I'm very happy with what I have.

[DaveC113]

Yeah, I actually use mil spec wire for returns on the D1, and it does make decent speaker cable for the price, without the typical issues I usually get with regular 4N silver wire. I don't know why.

I have recommended using a star quad of mil spec wire many times in threads here, you can get it by the foot from Apex Jr, then twist it into a star quad with a drill and you have a very inexpensive speaker cable that is really pretty decent, and a bargain for how inexpensive it is.

[gab]

Yeah, I actually use mil spec wire for returns on the D1, and it does make decent speaker cable for the price, without the typical issues I usually get with regular 4N silver wire. I don't know why.

I have recommended using a star quad of mil spec wire many times in threads here, you can get it by the foot from Apex Jr, then twist it into a star quad with a drill and you have a very inexpensive speaker cable that is really pretty decent, and a bargain for how inexpensive it is.

Dave - which one specifically at Apex Jr? Does this article explain the quad star construction as you build them (do you use an overall shield as well?)?
 
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov09/articles/qa1109_4.htm

Thanks

gab

[DaveC113]

Yup, that's it, and I would not use a shield... The wire on Apex Jr is the silver plated copper with teflon insulation, 18g should be plenty for Omegas but you can go bigger without spending much more.

[gab]

Yup, that's it, and I would not use a shield... The wire on Apex Jr is the silver plated copper with teflon insulation, 18g should be plenty for Omegas but you can go bigger without spending much more.

Dave - I'm still somewhat confused. Do you twist all 4 conductors in the drill at the same time or twist 2 individual pairs and then twist those 2 twisted pairs in the drill or "how do you do it "? Thanks for info on the Apex Jr wire.

gab

[DaveC113]

Hi, I have heard both techniques, but what I do is stick all 4 ends into a drill. It will help to get the twist started by hand maybe, but once you get going it is very easy.

[Alwayswantmore]

I don't agree that you can't have warmth and also detail.

From experience I would avoid solid core cables with Omega speakers. They can be hard edged at the upper frequencies which will only augment your 'clinical' trait more. Because Omegas are efficient and don't use large drivers, you don't need to go for too large a gauge in your cables. So my advice would be to use a multi-stranded ohno-cast wire with gold-platted copper connectors. This should steer you on the path to neutrality fairly swiftly.

Also re power conditioning, that's not going to cure any hums or buzzing you may have. This is a sign of issues elsewhere (most likely grounding issues).

I need to add a perspective on solid wire in terms of a hard edge. I have about a 10 -12 year pair of Anticable (solid copper - little dielectric in the shielding). Mine were purchased as bulk wire, and I've tried them both straight and with a modest twist. For a number of years I've run the modest twist.

Speakers are Omega Super 6 / Deep Hemp Sub. Amps have been Red Wine Audio (Sig 30 - Sig 16, and all iterations between) and small Decware. DACs have been Red Wine Audio and Wavelength Cosecant.

No brightness or edge to be found. I also have found it very easy to detect differences in upstream components, or say a tube change.

So not trying to argue that Anticable solid is good or better, just want to comment within the context of what I've heard it is not bright and has no edge.

K

K

[Canada Rob]

I have not heard Dave's speaker wire, but Louis has and he is very impressed.  If people are going to be listening to Louis' speakers on suitable amplification, I can't see how one could go wrong at least trying Dave's speaker wire.  If it is going on tour, how can you go wrong?

[jorgen]

hi all
Couldnt find back to this reference, but read somewhere that some have had very nice results with two positve and one negative wire. Have I understood correctly? How do I achieve that? Im not sure how I can explain this any better, and I am afraid I might ask a "stupid question if i go to my local store and ask this..
Im at the moment leaning to try yours Dave, just want to learn a little more so that I feel that im doing an educated choice.

[DaveC113]

CR, thanks! Everyone who has been participating on AC is welcome on the tour. CR, I can send you some cables to try out if you like since I cannot ask people on the tour to ship int'l...

jorgen, take your time and certainly try as many options as you can. The two positive wires are just that... instead of using one + and one - wire you simply use two + and one - wires when hooking up your amp to your speakers. This assumes you have separate wires you are using for speaker cable and not an assembly of wires in a finished cable.

[Alwayswantmore]

hi all
Couldnt find back to this reference, but read somewhere that some have had very nice results with two positve and one negative wire. Have I understood correctly? How do I achieve that? Im not sure how I can explain this any better, and I am afraid I might ask a "stupid question if i go to my local store and ask this..
Im at the moment leaning to try yours Dave, just want to learn a little more so that I feel that im doing an educated choice.

I think I know where this came from. When the Super 6 first came out, one of my drivers was DOA. Louis shipped a new driver, and while replaced I noticed there were two internal wires to +. I asked Louis why, and his answer was because it sounded better. I think the point for all of this is trust your ears. And IMO, I certainly trust Louis's option, as he lives this stuff everyday.