How do you keep your cables OFF the ground?

95bcwh · « **on:** 7 Apr 2006, 03:51 pm »

Has anyone been bothered to keep speaker cables and IC off the ground? If so, how did you manage to do it? Pls share any innovative ideas that you have.

Thanks
barry

kfr01 · « **Reply #1 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 03:52 pm »

Quote from: 95bcwh

Has anyone been bothered to keep speaker cables and IC off the ground? If so, how did you manage to do it? Pls share any innovative ideas that you have.

Thanks
barry

Because the ground is bad....? I don't get it.

skrivis · « **Reply #2 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 04:02 pm »

Quote from: 95bcwh

Has anyone been bothered to keep speaker cables and IC off the ground? If so, how did you manage to do it? Pls share any innovative ideas that you have.

Thanks
barry

I don't see why you'd need to do it, unless you've got serious water problems on your floors.

I remember seeing ceramic insulators that somebody was selling. He was from Utah and his name is Ryan something if I remember right. I know he posts here at AC. I thought they were extremely silly, but not as far into Cloud Cuckoo Land as the crud Peter Belt and his sock puppets push. (These ceramic ones did sem to be decent quality, and, if insulators make a difference, these are as good or better than any.)

woodsyi · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 04:47 pm »

Quote from: skrivis

Quote from: 95bcwh
Has anyone been bothered to keep speaker cables and IC off the ground? If so, how did you manage to do it? Pls share any innovative ideas that you have.

Thanks
barry

I don't see why you'd need to do it, unless you've got serious water problems on your floors.

I remember seeing ceramic insulators that somebody was selling. He was from Utah and his name is Ryan something if I remember right. I know he posts here at AC. I thought they were extremely silly, but not as far into Cloud Cuckoo Land as the crud Peter Belt and his sock puppets push.

If you must I suppose these are "good" price.

http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AELEVI I think I saw John Casler using Pringle can lids but he is the cheaptricks meister.

jeffreybehr · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 04:50 pm »

With these DIY supports. I call them Behr's Heavy Lifters.

http://gallery.AudioAsylum.com/cgi/gi.mpl?u=30777&f=HeavyLifters_2_500w.jpg" width=500 height=327>

http://gallery.AudioAsylum.com/cgi/gi.mpl?u=30777&f=HeavyLifters_3_500h.jpg" width=296 height=500>

The GEAs among us--and that does NOT include me*--can hear differences between cable lying on carpet and cable NOT lying on carpet.

* I just continue improving my system, knowing it sounds a little better with each change.

miklorsmith · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 04:56 pm »

I did an experiment once where, with a dialed system, I lifted one cable off the ground with styrofoam cups and left the other on the carpet. The speaker with the lifted cable was louder. I did this several times.

That said, my cables are on the floor.

woodsyi · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 05:01 pm »

Gees, Jeffrey. Couldn't you at least pare out grooves on the PVC pipe so your cable wouldn't slide off at the merest nudge?

Whatever works is fine with me. I am thinking of seeing an acoustic hypnosis specialist who also holds a doctorate in piezoelectric stimulation.

nathanm · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 05:08 pm »

My listening room's floor is constructed of a number of re-purposed CNC machine vacuum tables bolted together with the motors set to "blow" instead of "suck". With constant air pressure maintained the speaker cables hover just above the surface, avoiding any dielectric nastiness and interference. The next project is silencing the vaccuum motors, which produce approximately 75db of constant white noise. It will be expensive, but with audio there can be no compromises!

Levi · « **Reply #8 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 05:21 pm »

If you don't hear any difference in sound, then at the least it is easy to vaccum underneath the wires.

Quote from: skrivis

I don't see why you'd need to do it, unless you've got serious water problems on your floors.

I remember seeing ceramic insulators that somebody was selling. He was from Utah and his name is Ryan something if I remember right. I know he posts here at AC. I thought they were extremely silly, but not as far into Cloud Cuckoo Land as the crud Peter Belt and his sock puppets push. (These ceramic ones did sem to be decent quality, and, if insulators make a difference, these are as good or better than any.)

skrivis · « **Reply #9 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 05:24 pm »

Quote from: woodsyi

If you must I suppose these are "good" price. http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AELEVI I think I saw John Casler using Pringle can lids but he is the cheaptricks meister.

Yes, those are the ones I was thinking of. They look like those old ceramic or glass insulators they used to use on telephone poles (actually power poles....).

I thought they were rather expensive for the benefit...

kfr01 · « **Reply #10 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 06:53 pm »

Quote from: skrivis

Quote from: woodsyi
If you must I suppose these are "good" price. http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AELEVI I think I saw John Casler using Pringle can lids but he is the cheaptricks meister.

Yes, those are the ones I was thinking of. They look like those old ceramic or glass insulators they used to use on telephone poles (actually power poles....).

I thought they were rather expensive for the benefit...

I love that the "customers also purchased" category on that page highlights the stupid expensive (for what they are) Cardas RCA hats/caps.

95bcwh · « **Reply #11 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 07:04 pm »

Quote from: woodsyi

If you must I suppose these are "good" price. http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AELEVI I think I saw John Casler using Pringle can lids but he is the cheaptricks meister.

Thank you all. Interesting ideas. I wonder if any type of ceramic will do? I will test the idea out by using the kitchen plates/bowl made of glass/ceramic..

avahifi · « **Reply #12 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 07:13 pm »

I have recently switched to some outstanding helium filled speaker wires and interconnects. I do not have to worry aout them touching anything, they just float suspended in space from component to component, and it is a beautiful sight too.

I do have one problem and that is with one rather long speaker wire run. That cable seems to have too much slack and wants. to drift up and touch the ceiling. I could use advice on what to use to weigh that one down with a bit. Lead or steel seem to have a bad effect on the "floating" quality of the sound and I am at a loss about it.

I did get a good deal on an almost unused tank of heliium to keep them refilled from a guy who was scrapping out an old pair of defunct Hill Plasmatronic speakers.

Frank Van Alstine

skrivis · « **Reply #13 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 07:15 pm »

Quote from: 95bcwh

Quote from: woodsyi
If you must I suppose these are "good" price. http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AELEVI I think I saw John Casler using Pringle can lids but he is the cheaptricks meister.

Thank you all. Interesting ideas. I wonder if any type of ceramic will do? I will test the idea out by using the kitchen plates/bowl made of glass/ceramic..

You could also try ceramic (stoneware) coffee mugs. They should be inexpensive and they're about the right shape.

So will ceramics from Wedgewood sound better than those from Pfaltzgraff?

You could also try unglazed terra-cotta flower pots. Those are also inexpensive. Glazes often have metallic salts in them to give them their color, so maybe avoiding glaze would be good?

But I'll still stick to feeling that, as long as your cables are normal and you don't have a wet floor, you're not going to see a difference.

skrivis · « **Reply #14 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 07:17 pm »

Quote from: avahifi

I have recently switched to some outstanding helium filled speaker wires and interconnects. I do not have to worry aout them touching anything, they just float suspended in space from component to component, and it is a beautiful sight too.

Did you get the glow-in-the-dark ones?

I tried them, but the helium seemed to make all of my music higher-pitched. Weird...

95bcwh · « **Reply #15 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 07:18 pm »

Quote from: avahifi

I have recently switched to some outstanding helium filled speaker wires and interconnects. I do not have to worry aout them touching anything, they just float suspended in space from component to component, and it is a beautiful sight too.

I do have one problem and that is with one rather long speaker wire run. That cable seems to have too much slack and wants. to drift up and touch the ceiling. I could use advice on what to use to weigh that one down with a bit. Lead or steel seem to have a bad eff ...

Wow!

First time I have ever heard of this "helium filled" wires... is there any where on the internet I can get to read about them and make an order?

skrivis · « **Reply #16 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 07:23 pm »

Quote from: 95bcwh

Wow! First time I have ever heard of this "helium filled" wires... is there any where on the internet I can get to read about them and make an order?

How about: http://www.andrew.com/products/trans_line/heliax/

But do keep in mind that wire filled with hot air works just as well. (Hot air comes into play in many expensive cables...)

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #17 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 07:24 pm »

As well as ceramic's...you might try a teepee design with short sticks....chopsticks or similar.

As for tweaks...alot of DIY items...here........interesting reading.

[/list:u]

skrivis · « **Reply #18 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 07:29 pm »

Quote from: lonewolfny42

As well as ceramic's...you might try a teepee design with short sticks....chopsticks or similar.
As for tweaks...alot of DIY items...
here........interesting reading. [/list:u]

They even have a review of Cable Elevators...

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #19 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 07:31 pm »

Via telekinesis.