PassionForSound Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 (edited) Far too long ago now, @andyr offered to send me some of his speaker cables to test out for the YouTube channel. Prior to receiving Andy's cables, I was running some simple World's Best Cable built with Canare wire. They were solid, but I'm always curious. Andy sent me some lengths of his cables built on individually insulated, solid core wire (from Belden, I believe). These were hooked up to a set of Harbeth P3ESR XD speakers and also some Revel M105s at another time. Driving the speakers were the Enleum AMP-23R and Burson Timekeeper GT mono blocks (at different times). What I heard when going from the decent WBC cables to Andy's custom made cables was striking. I've used high quality speaker cables before and even more various interconnects and headphone/earphone cables so I know cables can make a difference. What impressed me though was the degree of improvement achieved by Andy's cables. As for specifics, the key differences I heard between the WBC cables and Andy's cables were noticeably improved resolution/detail without any harshness or edginess. This also led to improved staging and imaging accuracy as well. Ultimately, what I appreciated most about Andy's cables was that the tonality of the sound remains unchanged from a quality copper cable, but they enhance all of the other characteristics that matter. For the future, I'll be using Andy's cables as my main test cables for speaker and amp reviews. I'm not suggesting they're the best cable on the market, but they are very impressive without spending a fortune. Thank you Andy for the opportunity to try them out! Edited July 7 by PassionForSound 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengineer Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Link to what wire he used? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 2 hours ago, Bengineer said: Link to what wire he used? Belden 1585A. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengineer Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 (edited) 9 minutes ago, andyr said: Belden 1585A. And are you doing anything to it or using it as is? Is it 8 x 24awg solid core copper? Assuming you just using 4 per channel, thats about the same as 18awg, 4 strands solid core 24? I think Canare 4S8 is 4 runs of 16awg or so in stranded copper. Edited July 7 by Bengineer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickelle Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 I am not surprised, a 10 foot speaker cable made using all 4 pairs of a Cat5 (4 conductors going out, 4 coming back) will have a resistance of 0.15 ohms. So little resistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 1 hour ago, Bengineer said: And are you doing anything to it or using it as is? I strip off the outer PVC jacket - leaving the twisted pairs. 1 hour ago, Bengineer said: Is it 8 x 24awg solid core copper? Correct - in each 'jacket'. What is special about it - relative to 'normal' Cat5e cable - is that, apart from being solid-core, it uses FEP insulation around each wire - not PVC. 1 hour ago, Bengineer said: Assuming you just using 4 per channel, that's about the same as 18awg, 4 strands solid core 24? Why would you assume I use 1 jacket per speaker - ie. 4 strands for +ve and 4 for -ve? 1 hour ago, Bengineer said: I think Canare 4S8 is 4 runs of 16awg or so in stranded copper. And so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengineer Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Just curious on the changes Lachlan heard. Has dropped several guages, but changed to solid core and change of insulation. Got a photo of what they look like @PassionForSound ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muon* Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 15 hours ago, andyr said: What is special about it - relative to 'normal' Cat5e cable - is that, apart from being solid-core, it uses FEP insulation around each wire - not PVC. Flame Retardant Polyolefin/Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene. Interesting, I always thought they used PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) also known by brand name of Teflon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 1 hour ago, muon* said: Interesting, I always thought they used PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) also known by brand name of Teflon. So did I, Ian - because, unlike PVC ... the insulation around each strand doesn't melt when you are soldering the wires to a connector. But I looked up the Belden spec sheet and that said FEP. Note: it's not available in Oz because our standards don't permit network cable to be run in heating ducts ('plenums'). 1585A is 'plenum-rated' - hence the FEP insulation. So I had to import a 1000' roll, myself. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artnet Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 (edited) 57 minutes ago, andyr said: So I had to import a 1000' roll, myself. I hope there is some left ? Running some Belden 9497 ATM and loving what they do, curious how they would compare. Edited July 8 by Artnet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 46 minutes ago, Artnet said: I hope there is some left ? Running some Belden 9497 ATM and loving what they do, curious how they would compare. Belden 9497 is a. stranded and b. PVC insulated, Stephen. Yes, I do have some of my 1585A left - happy to sell you some, if you want to make up some new spkr cables. I am positive you would be able to hear the improvement! Quite a lot of work, though - stripping all those damn ends! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artnet Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 4 minutes ago, andyr said: Quite a lot of work, though - stripping all those damn ends! Happy to try a length, but are you intending to sell a finished product ? Not afraid of stripping those damn ends though. Will send you a PM. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizaudio Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 @andyr any photos of the finished product? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 3 hours ago, Grizaudio said: @andyr any photos of the finished product? They're pretty basic, Griz - here's some pics of some I made recently: Andy 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizaudio Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 Cool thanks Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 Mmmm, interesting.... I may have to try at some point. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artnet Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 I am enjoying mine. Very transparent!! tend to rotate them through with the rest of the collection but keep coming back, has to be something in them wires 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 1 hour ago, MattyW said: Mmmm, interesting.... I may have to try at some point. I think you should, Matt! And given a recent post of yours that I read, mentioning digital cables - I'm happy to send you up one of my digital cables for a free trial; if you don't like it - send it back ... if you do like it - then it'll cost ya. (A lot less than many US brands! ) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artnet Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 2 minutes ago, andyr said: I'm happy to send you up one of my digital cables for a free trial; What you do digital cable as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 Just now, Artnet said: What you do digital cable as well Indeed I do, Stephen! I use 6 or 7 of them in my system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artnet Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 MMMM, interesting I will have to try one at some point Yes I have heard your system and of course you would need more than the one 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKay Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 If I was in the market for some cables I would definitely give yours a try Andy. Very curious about the Cat cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 (edited) The low resistance nature of this wire makes it interesting and every cable I’ve tried using Fiori polymer insulation has sounded very good to me in both the digital and analog domains….. Solid core also seems far smoother and more coherent vs stranded so I believe this could be very compelling as a speaker cable provided the thickness of the solid core wire is right….. Too thick and treble suffers, too thin and bass suffers. Really interesting, and particularly so if the price is right. I like the look of those low mass connectors you’re using also….. I will need to look at what lengths I will need. I’ve a mate would be very interested in an I2S cable with solid core copper if possible also….. I may need to compare against my Tubulus Concentus I2S and AES/EBU cables too if the speaker cables work to my liking….. Anyway will think on it. I don’t really need more cables. Edited October 3 by MattyW 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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