DIY speaker cables closer


I have been experimenting with different design speaker cables. What I have concluded is for my system very good results have been obtained with four 16 gauge wires (resulting in a combined 10AWG) are used for each speaker conductor to lower the overall resistance of the speaker cable. With regards to the speaker cable geometry, the wires are twisted together in opposite directions clockwise. Thus reducing asymmetrical field interactions since the wires are not on either the inside or outside of the cable more than any other wire. It also helps to keep the inductance of the overall speaker cable at a minimum. Low-inductance is required to prevent attenuation of the high-frequency response within the audible range.

This is fairly simple- Make four twisted pairs of 16AWG wire. The pairs are twisted together in a clockwise direction. You will need two sets of four twisted pairs for each pair of speaker cable.

I then put in espandable sleeving for isolation from any static forces on the floor-followed by your prefered termination. 12' pair can be made for $40 less termination costs. These sound equivilent to many higher prices cables. I will post some pictures in the next week.
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Showing 5 responses by vernneal

After living with my DIY cables for a week I did notice the system sounded a bit thin. I connected the DIY on the left speaker and the old Monster M1 on the right. Imaging seemed better as did bass on both sides.Don't know why. I switched both to M1 cable and now I think I prefer it to the DIY. These cables are close but the M1 gets the nod.
I cannot figure our how to post pictures here. If you want detailed pictures just send me an email and I will gladly send you them.

I did a comparrison test on the DIY cables. Sources included McIntosh MC 206 6 channel amp, McIntosh MX118 preamp, Meridian 508 CD player, Thiel CS 2.3 loudspeakers and Velodyne F1500 sub crossed at 80hz with volume at 9 (5 oclock is maximum)

My current speaker cables are Monster M1. These sound good and have lots of bass even with sub volume down. I used all 6 channels for ease of comparring 3 sets of cables for two channel. I used the Monster M1, cheapest Monster, and the DIY. The cables could be changed quicker via speaker end with the 6 channels. My ranking would be as follows-

BASS
1-M1
2-DIY
3-cheapo

HIGHS
1-DIY
2-M1
3-cheapo

OPENNESS/SPACIAL SOUND
1-DIY
2-M1
3-cheapo

OVERALL
1-DIY
2-M1
3-cheapo

The M1 seemed to have too much bass,and bass is not a problem with this setup/the DIY cables seem to open the soundstage up. Cables do sound different,I prefer my DIY at least for now.