GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball

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Hobbsmeerkat

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #140 on: 25 May 2022, 05:32 am »
I made my original pair of 16 strand and it took me 6-8 hours To make them, nit including the time i needed to find some rope.

I made a new pair a few months ago & it took 4-ish hours to make them and they look much nicer.




Making prototype interconnects has been more annoying tbh.
I've just finished a 3rd pair and I'm burning them in now.

Here's a pair after feeding a 1/4" cotton rope through them:



And the tight space to install the wiring...



It's gotten easier, but it's still a pain, and the raw cable loses ~45% of it's length with the rope inserted. 7 feet of raw cable produced 2x 2' cables...

I've come up with an interesting tweak that we're really happy with. The trick now will be finding some good quality & affordable RCA ends to use in the final product. Currently I've been using the Neutrik "Pro-Fi" ends as they were pretty good quality without being expensive.

I have more cable on the way, and Danny has several sample ends on their way for us to try out in the coming weeks.  :scratch:
(They likely won't be offered as DIY due to the pain they can be to make)

Tyson

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #141 on: 25 May 2022, 04:45 pm »
Check out the Viborg RCA connectors, which are exceptional (and inexpensive). 

Copper with gold plating:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/203219215969?hash=item2f50cf2661:g:Q~YAAOSwSQpgSWjL

Copper with rhodium plating:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/203452779176?hash=item2f5ebb0aa8:g:Xi4AAOSwFghgn3zm

Hobbsmeerkat

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #142 on: 25 May 2022, 08:30 pm »
We have several RCA ends coming in we plan to try out from different manufacturers to see which version suites our needs best.

I just received a version of the cable hoping it would be easier to feed a rope through, and it is, but it's also ugly compared to the other style.  :duh:
so I've got another 10M of the original cable coming in about 3 weeks.
« Last Edit: 13 Jun 2022, 06:23 pm by Hobbsmeerkat »

Kaiju2189

Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #143 on: 26 May 2022, 02:32 pm »
I used the KLE RCA connectors. They were great to work with. They have low mass connections for the wire and the soldering points are spaced apart nicely, making things simple to work with. Very tight connection to my amp and DAC as well. They also sound quite good to my ears as well.

jrocks29ms@gmail.com

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #144 on: 10 Jun 2022, 05:26 am »
Hey y’all, I have some 12 strand GR research speaker cables I built. These were made with tube connectors and silver/copper banana plugs. They measure about 9 feet each after construction.

I had about 2 feet of leftover speaker cable that I didn’t use and wanted to see how much length is added to the cable with the braiding technique. Turned out 26.5” braided, unwound and straightened was 30.5”,
about 115% of the length.
This makes my 9 foot pair about 10.5’.
I have some extra length in my set that I built in for possible setup location changes. Using cable risers adds a little more possible slack.
I’m wondering if it would make a noticeable difference in performance if I terminated one end with about 14” less cable (roughly 16” considering the braid.) Leaving 9’ cables rather than a 10.5’ pair
There are elements I feel that these cables are limiting my speakers sound in mostly treble and upper midrange presence and attack. I do only have about 25 hours play time on them and maybe only 10 since I set up my system after moving.
Sure there are other considerations that could be the culprit like power quality here or my room, but if this unnecessary length can rob performance I’d sure like to know.
I know this scenario can definitely effect performance with regularly constructed speaker cable, but I’ve no experience with cables designed like this, and in such a low gauge.


Tyson

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #145 on: 10 Jun 2022, 02:27 pm »
Oh, copper in teflon takes a long time to burn in.  At least 100 hours.  Don't judge them at all before then. 

You can make them shorter if you want to but it won't affect the sound much.

corndog71

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #146 on: 10 Jun 2022, 07:55 pm »
I recently moved too and when I got my system up it definitely sounded off.  I ran a brown noise track on repeat and let it play for a day and everything sounded better the next day.  I still had some speaker adjustments to work out which also helped a lot.  I wouldn’t worry about the cables too much.

jrocks29ms@gmail.com

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #147 on: 11 Jun 2022, 04:06 am »
As a follow p my post let me think about what could be affecting performance. Turned out my power cable was touching the wall twice and i placed some spacers there and wow.
Good to know on the burn in i guessed maybe more like 50. I did think that these were coated in polyethylene but I’m no expert on it. I do know the rope used in the center is cotton.

Nico M

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #148 on: 16 Aug 2022, 05:27 pm »
Received my pair of 24 strand cable's last week, and have been burning them in.
I had a decent set of audioquest rocket biwire 88's, but they are no competion for these 24 strand cable's.

The biggest difference is the seemingly effortless way they do everything so natural. Very good instrument seperation, more silent background, great resolution. Even the soundstage improved. I didn't know my old cable's where in fact a bottleneck which held my system down.
O yeah, and the're giving my system more speed also. I 've also seen the basic untweaked Chineese versions off course, but i don't mind paying a proffessional extra for doing actual research, and taking things up a notch or two.
Long after the price is forgotten, the quality remains.
Chuffed to bits with them.

Big thanks to Danny and Hobbs.

dolsey01

Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #149 on: 30 Aug 2022, 05:19 pm »
Would there be any disadvantage to Tech Flex sleeving these cables?  My reasons are mostly aesthetic.

corndog71

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #150 on: 30 Aug 2022, 05:40 pm »
Would there be any disadvantage to Tech Flex sleeving these cables?  My reasons are mostly aesthetic.

Kimber Kable uses tech flex on their top of the line $25,000 cables so… no.

Hobbsmeerkat

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #151 on: 30 Aug 2022, 05:43 pm »
We also use it on our B16 & B24 power cables.

Danny Richie

Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #152 on: 10 Sep 2022, 10:54 pm »
Would there be any disadvantage to Tech Flex sleeving these cables?  My reasons are mostly aesthetic.

Techflex will absolutely have an effect on the sound of the speaker cables. It is not recommended.

Danny Richie

Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #153 on: 10 Sep 2022, 10:56 pm »
Kimber Kable uses tech flex on their top of the line $25,000 cables so… no.

Yes, it negatively effects their cables too.

I am sure you've heard all of that positive benefit everyone keeps talking about from lifting the cable off of the floor. The Techflex has the same or greater effect than the effect of the floor.

nlitworld

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #154 on: 11 Sep 2022, 03:07 am »
Techflex will absolutely have an effect on the sound of the speaker cables. It is not recommended.

I got bored this afternoon and decided to experiment with this idea. I didn't want to believe there would be a difference, but there totally was. Biggest thing I noticed was a lot more open, airy, effortless sound in the upper midrange. Well, I guess you learn something new every day. Thanks for the tip Danny.  :thumb:

Danny Richie

Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #155 on: 15 Sep 2022, 08:07 pm »
I got bored this afternoon and decided to experiment with this idea. I didn't want to believe there would be a difference, but there totally was. Biggest thing I noticed was a lot more open, airy, effortless sound in the upper midrange. Well, I guess you learn something new every day. Thanks for the tip Danny.  :thumb:

You are welcome.

mr1incubus

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #156 on: 7 Dec 2022, 06:27 pm »
Nice work, these came out really good. I think I may try to make a set for myself as well.

Cheers,
Andy

KTS

Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #157 on: 29 Dec 2022, 06:50 pm »
I made my original pair of 16 strand and it took me 6-8 hours To make them, nit including the time i needed to find some rope.

I made a new pair a few months ago & it took 4-ish hours to make them and they look much nicer.




Making prototype interconnects has been more annoying tbh.
I've just finished a 3rd pair and I'm burning them in now.

Hobbs,
Any update on the interconnects? Thinking of DIYing some in the near future, curious about the ones you built.

Thank you, Kelly

Here's a pair after feeding a 1/4" cotton rope through them:



And the tight space to install the wiring...



It's gotten easier, but it's still a pain, and the raw cable loses ~45% of it's length with the rope inserted. 7 feet of raw cable produced 2x 2' cables...

I've come up with an interesting tweak that we're really happy with. The trick now will be finding some good quality & affordable RCA ends to use in the final product. Currently I've been using the Neutrik "Pro-Fi" ends as they were pretty good quality without being expensive.

I have more cable on the way, and Danny has several sample ends on their way for us to try out in the coming weeks.  :scratch:
(They likely won't be offered as DIY due to the pain they can be to make)

Hobbsmeerkat

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Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #158 on: 31 Dec 2022, 12:36 am »
Quote
Hobbs,
Any update on the interconnects? Thinking of DIYing some in the near future, curious about the ones you built.

Thank you, Kelly

We're really happy with the results we've gotten so far. The most recent prototypes have already replaced Danny's previous Reality RCA cables and they also look a lot better than the early prototypes, sound better too. You can occasionally get a peek of them in the background of some of Danny's more recent videos.

We've sent some sample raw materials to one of our manufacturers to see if they can reproduce the cables based on my instructions, and a sample finished cable.
They're still more difficult/tedious to assemble than the speaker cables, requiring some specialized tools, so we're not currently planning to offer them them as a DIY kit.

XLR is also something I've been toying with, and I recently finished the first prototype pair but it's even more tedious, requiring a wire running through the middle of the cable by using a Teflon tube rather than rope, losing a lot of flexibility in the process. The other option is dividing the 8 strands into sets of 3-3-2 instead of 4-4+1, which will fix the flexibility issue, but will require knowing & maintaining which strands will be used for which pins.

KTS

Re: GR-Research Speaker Cables build by Rock Ball
« Reply #159 on: 31 Dec 2022, 12:31 pm »
We're really happy with the results we've gotten so far. The most recent prototypes have already replaced Danny's previous Reality RCA cables and they also look a lot better than the early prototypes, sound better too. You can occasionally get a peek of them in the background of some of Danny's more recent videos.

We've sent some sample raw materials to one of our manufacturers to see if they can reproduce the cables based on my instructions, and a sample finished cable.
They're still more difficult/tedious to assemble than the speaker cables, requiring some specialized tools, so we're not currently planning to offer them them as a DIY kit.

XLR is also something I've been toying with, and I recently finished the first prototype pair but it's even more tedious, requiring a wire running through the middle of the cable by using a Teflon tube rather than rope, losing a lot of flexibility in the process. The other option is dividing the 8 strands into sets of 3-3-2 instead of 4-4+1, which will fix the flexibility issue, but will require knowing & maintaining which strands will be used for which pins.



Thank you for update, much appreciated!