[bluesky]

Hi Aksaphiles

I am building some interconnects to use in my amps and thought I would seek some advice from those that have "boldly gone" before me.

At the moment I have used Cat5e, twisted with three strands, one of which has not been grounded.  As shielding I have used, wait for it, aluminium kitchen foil and the braided shielding raided from some cheap coax.  Is this ok?  Will it work?  I have a very limited income so I have tried to copy using cheap stuff.

I have heard that jewellers can supply (relatively) cheap silver wire and was wondering if this is worth it sonically as many manufacturers market this as magic stuff.  But does it make our amps sound better?

Any input would be appreciated, I would just like to make use the collective knowledge and experience out there.

Cheers,

Ian
The platypus in paradise aka Queensland, Australia

[Oz_Audio]

I use Beldon CAT5, 4 strands braided, 2 for + and 2 for ground.  No shielding.  Terminated with $2 Gold plated DSE RCA's.

This works fine and they sound better than very expensive Tara Labs, Audio Quest and others.  

Mark

[andyr]

I use ICs made using Allen Wright's "Super Cable Cook Book" ... which book I thoroughly recommend getting hold of.

The particular recipe I use is not shielded (try removing your alfoil and see if it gives you a problem in your system with picking up RFI) and uses two wires which are wrapped - in an opposing helix - around a central support consisting of teflon tubing about 4mm OD.

As to the wire ... Allen recommends thin, solid-core wire-wrap wire with teflon insulation.  Trouble is with this, the Cu core is most probably tin or silver plated ... so I am about to replace these with ICs using "transformer" wire which is polyurethane insulated (which Jon Risch of AA says is next to bare Cu, sonically).

Regards,

Andy

PS:  If you decide you do need to use shields, make sure they are only connected to the barrel of the RCA plug at one end, so they do not interfere with the signal earth.

[Jens]

Ian,

Even though you're going DIY on your cables to save money, I would suggest you at least try out the Eichmann Bullet Plugs for one cable.

I've used these special Aussie RCA plugs on a number of my cables with extremely positive results. Also, they are not very expensive. Probably, they are cheaper in Australia than in Europe.

Try making two identical cables - one with your usual RCA plugs and one with the Bullet things. There will be no doubt in your mind once you've tried this  

One hint - don't even consider the silver Bullet Plugs. The difference between the silver ones and the standard copper ones is very, very small. The same cannot be said about the price.

Personally, I just sitting here waiting for Eichmann to come up with RCA sockets. Rumours are that these may be on their way. If or when they become available, all important RCA sockets in my system will be changed, if I can hear a difference.

Btw, I'm not in any way connected (!) to Eichmann.

Cheers

Jens

[bluesky]

Thanks guys, I do have a few questions though.

Why use two strands of Cat5e over one, I guess it must be better?  Is Beldon Cat5e better than others?

I am trying to get my brain around an "opposing helix", haven't got there yet.  What is wire- wrap wire?

Jens, I would love to try out the Eichmann plugs but they are expensive (to me), I rely on a Disability Pension after a hit and run accident, and I am raising two kids.  I have to say that despite these adventures I have discovered new pleasures in DIY audio, music, reading and some part time work with Aboriginal kids at my local state school.  One door closes but quite a few new ones have opened.  
 
Cheers

Ian

[bluesky]

Jens

I forgot to mention the state of play with the Eichmann Bullets.  The head office is just down the road from me in Brisbane.  But.....  I cannot buy from them and I have to go through a retailer.  This means they are no cheaper in Australia, in fact they appear to be cheaper to buy from overseas.  When I can I will buy them, sometime in the future, when one of the online retailers has them on special!  

And thanks for that info about the copper ones being best value, it is so often the case that high end stuff is really a case of diminishing returns for far greater outlay.  

Ian

[AKSA]

On the Eichmann Bullet Plugs,

I have a pair of interconnects from Silver Stealth using these plugs.  I know Keith-Louis Eichmann very well, and in fact he has stayed for a week in my home.  Nice guy, lives in Brisbane.  He has an extraordinary ear for hifi subtleties, very acute indeed.

K-L developed the design, but sold the right to manufacture to one Michael Redland, a marketer of great skill.  This man had them made in Taiwan and now ships them all over the world.  Redland has found the Australian market too small, and hardly bothers with the locals, so they are actually more expensive to Australians than to US citizens.  They are distributed in the States from Indiana, and now sold through Parts Connexion.  K-L is bitterly disappointed in the whole exercise, but constantly working on new designs.  He is paid a royalty, quite small, by Redland.

Such is life.  The Oz scene is littered with the corpses of products now successfully marketed from the States.  Examples are photocopying technology, developed in Adelaide in the fifties and subsequently made and marketed by Xerox, the Black Box flight recorder, ADSL, the baling machine knotter, devised by Farrer in 1910 and sold in a pub binge to McCormick of the States, and numerous others.....

Cheers,

Hugh

[PJ]

I use JR89259 twisted pair DIY IC's.

They are not shielded and I hear no noise.

[andyr]

Thanks guys, I do have a few questions though.

I am trying to get my brain around an "opposing helix", haven't got there yet.  What is wire- wrap wire?

Cheers

Ian

Ian,

By "opposing helix" I mean do the following:

*  take, say, 2 lengths of 1m of wire.  Secure them to the end of the teflon tubing by means of 30mm of heatshrink.

*  tie the heatshrinked end of the teflon tubing to a firm support - like a table leg (or a central heating heater, which I use down here in cold Victoria!).

*  hold each piece of wire in each hand, one either side of the teflon tube.  Take the wires under the tubing and swap hands.

*  take the wires over the tubing and swap hands.

*  what you end up with is a teflon tube with the two wires criss-crossing each other down its length.  This is a pair of opposing helixes!

Secondly, the wire-wrap wire I mentioned is, for example, RS Components part no. 359-835.  The polyurethane copper wire is, for example, part no. 357-716 (for very thin and very hard to work with!) or 357-744 (for thicker).

The latter is the cheapest.

Happy DIY!

Andy

[Jens]

On the Eichmann Bullet Plugs,

I have a pair of interconnects from Silver Stealth using these plugs.  I know Keith-Louis Eichmann very well, and in fact he has stayed for a week in my home.  Nice guy, lives in Brisbane.  He has an extraordinary ear for hifi subtleties, very acute indeed.

K-L developed the design, but sold the right to manufacture to one Michael Redland, a marketer of great skill.  This man had them made in Taiwan and now ships them all over the world.  Redland has found the Australian market too small, and hardly bothers with the locals, so they are actually more expensive to Australians than to US citizens.  They are distributed in the States from Indiana, and now sold through Parts Connexion.  K-L is bitterly disappointed in the whole exercise, but constantly working on new designs.  He is paid a royalty, quite small, by Redland.

Such is life.  The Oz scene is littered with the corpses of products now successfully marketed from the States.  Examples are photocopying technology, developed in Adelaide in the fifties and subsequently made and marketed by Xerox, the Black Box flight recorder, ADSL, the baling machine knotter, devised by Farrer in 1910 and sold in a pub binge to McCormick of the States, and numerous others.....

Cheers,

Hugh

Hugh,

Thanks for enlightening us with the Eichmann story. It's a bit saddening that great minds do not always get what they deserve. I still think that the great sound of the Bullet Plugs is a tribute to Mr Eichmann's genious, though. In my mind they are the best plugs around for sound - at any price.

Somehow the Bullet Plugs are a bit like the AKSA - a no-nonsense product that simply works because the design is right on the dot!

The price in Denmark is DKK 300 for 4 plugs, which translates to roughly AUD 70. Not exactly cheap in monetary terms, but an utter bargain in terms of sound per dollar. These plugs will move up almost any decent cable one or two classes ....

I hope Ian manages to get hold of these sound-improvers at some point.

Cheers

Jens