[SteveRB]

thanks guys,
 heres a quick breakdown of the Blue jean and Morrow cables:

Blue Jean:
BJC LC-1 Stereo Audio Cables, Capacitance: 12.2 pF/ft. -- $30. for a 18" pair.

Morrow:
PH1 Phono Cable Pair, Capacitance: .06 nf/ meter -- $100. for a 18" pair.


I think I need a little help with the unit conversions of the capacitance values...

[SteveRB]

A lot of the guys on Audiokarma are using a pair of these.  Only 66pf for a three foot pair and cheap.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10236&cs_id=1023603&p_id=2681&seq=1&format=2

thanks, certainly a deal. Ilike it when people who know what they are talking about can recommend products based on spec rather than marketing. I did laugh though when I read that the cables come "w/ Fancy Connector".

[JackD]

I've used that same cable for years for subwoofer hookup.  The connectors are fine. Never tried it for phono as all of mine are captive.  Most all of the brands are using cable from Belden, Petra,Canare or one of the other suppliers that sell in bulk to studios for Microphone cables or digital cables.  If you could buy it in small enough quantaties you could make them yourself as the specs for the bulk cable are on the suppliers websites.  Don't think you can buy the parts as cheap as Monoprice does though. The figure for the Morrow cable would be 60pf per meter so basically the same as the Monoprice for about five times the price.  Here is a conversion chart for capacitance measurements.


http://www.justradios.com/uFnFpF.html

[SteveRB]

Parts Connexion has a sale on balanced, silver interconnect wire:

http://www.partsconnexion.com/wire_interc_connex.html

the capacitance on the wire were quoted at 13.4 pf/ft if the shield is not connected to neutral and 25.6 pf/ft it is connected -- so still well under the 100 pf/meter as stated above.

Makes me think, that with reasonable rca ends; I could construct two 2' pairs for $120-$150...

I'm good with a soldering gun so the construction is fine.
Seems like this would be a step-up from the Blue Jean /Morrow /MonoPrice options...?  ...good value for the extra money spent?

[JackD]

DH Labs makes good cables, been using them for over a decade.  Cost would depend on how high end you go with RCA connectors. So if you like doing it yourself seems like a reasonable deal for the cable. Don't think that the silver will really be that noticable on the phono cable though, but just my opinion.

[roscoeiii]

IIRC the Morrow cables are unshielded.

[SteveRB]

yeah, not too sure if I'll get that much more out of the silver... and it then becomes pretty dependant on the cable ends ($12/pair or $85/pair is a pretty big gap)

the Belden options seem like a perfectly reasonable solution. We'll see as the other guys chime in.

[SteveRB]

IIRC the Morrow cables are unshielded.

another vote for the Belden then...

[neobop]

If you're staying with LOMC you don't need low capacitance cables.  That's for HO carts.  They need to be loaded at a particular value of capacitance, depending on the cart, and the cable capacitance gets added in to the total value.  For LOMC low inductance cable is more desirable, but I wouldn't worry about it.  Since you're going RCA to RCA, you can try different cables and just pick the one you like.

Since you're handy with soldering, the loading plugs referred to previously are just a resistor soldered between the hot and ground.  Easy as pie.  I'm sure they supply instructions for selecting values.  Sometimes it's in parallel with another resistor and you have to calculate.  Instead of spending a lot of dough on boutique resistors, I recommend IRC - RC55 series 1/4 watt 0.1% metal film.  You can get them at Mouser, about $1.25 ea.  I load resistors into little sockets in my AHT phono, for both load and gain.  Some resistors like tantalum, seem to have a sound of their own, in this case sweet and slightly soft.  The RC55 doesn't sound like much of anything, to me.
neo

BTW, a low wattage iron is recommended over a gun, for this kind of work.  It's easy to overheat the part.

[Wayner]

thanks guys,
 heres a quick breakdown of the Blue jean and Morrow cables:

Blue Jean:
BJC LC-1 Stereo Audio Cables, Capacitance: 12.2 pF/ft. -- $30. for a 18" pair.

Morrow:
PH1 Phono Cable Pair, Capacitance: .06 nf/ meter -- $100. for a 18" pair.


I think I need a little help with the unit conversions of the capacitance values...

I believe that .06nf = 600 pf.

Wayner

[JackD]

If you are going to stay with LOMC then I agree with neobop, the capacitance doesn't matter, but if you are unsure what you are going to do in the cartridge arena then I would get a pair of the inexpensive BJC for between the table and the phono preamp and then you can do whatever you want between it and the preamp and no matter what you do with cartridges in the future you will be covered whether or not capicitance matters or not, again just my opinion and others may differ.  But like a lot of others I have done the whole wire swapping thing from IC's to speaker cables to power cords and have a Rubbermaid tub full of them to prove it and in the end decided that I was only fooling my self that I heard that great of a difference to justify the expense.

[SteveRB]

Yeah going through all the info today, and considering my system; I think I'll go the BJC route.

[JackD]

Good choice, IMO you can't really lose for what they are charging.

[SteveRB]

I apprciate all the help guys. I also apprciate that everyone respected my budget constraints -- no one claiming any cables/components under $x,xxx are worthless.

[Letitroll98]

I believe that .06nf = 600 pf.

Wayner

No, .06nf = 60pf.  Still much higher than the Bluejeans cable.

[SteveRB]

PS Audio phono stage arrived today and BlueJeans Cables arrived yesterday. Both items have fantastic build quality. The gentleman who sold me the phono stage included a upgraded power cord: it has the diameter of a garden hose!

Can't wait to get it all dialled in this evening. Thanks again for the advice along the way.

[JackD]

Hope things work out well

Jack

[SteveRB]

Two nights in and the PS Audio phono stage is dialed in nicely. Being able to dial the load, input and output gain while everything is playing is a nice feature. Once I've stopped fiddling perhaps it will be superfluous. But it will surely help dial in carts when I upgrade later.

Sound quality is neutral and detailed. I could see this being an excellent reference for the price. Again, could be a great long term reference for testing carts. The build quality is very high. The remote is a little light (cheap), but handy. The mute button is nice between sides.

I sat my wife down this morning with a familiar record for her. I appriciate her non-hifi remarks. She commented that it was more detailed than our past setup, but lacking a little character (warmth). Our last phono stage/step up was gushingly pleasant but not super accurate. I heard separation in backup singers that I had never been aware of before.

Realistically, for what I paid, I couldn't be wanting more. I figure I would be in for 5-6 times what I paid on this to get an upgrade. Not to say that I won't be trying a couple others I this range to compare their character 

[SteveRB]

Later on with the PS Audio:

I was a luke-warm on the front panel output gain dial (volume) at first. I though that I should set it and leave it alone. Not so. I find that I set the volume on the integrated tube amp at a good level for the tubes and use the output gain on the PS Audio to adjust volume. Works great; keeps a steady input signal to the tube amp. No more hot records pushing the preamp tubes.

Again, this unit isn't breaking any new ground. It is simply neutral and accurate.

Thanks again for the help along the way.

[jimdgoulding]

The new JoLida looks like a $700.00 winner to me: See at Jerry Raskin's Needle Doctor.  As does the new Michael Yee batt powered phone pre.  Sorry for no link.  That one costs 1k.