Looking for really fine cables at really low price

Thanks Nonoise. The good news is the Supra's are not expensive and thus not a huge risk to try out.

Yes, you can skip the terminations and just use the bare ends. Three meter pairs will set you back about $90.00.

All the best,
Nonoise

At T.H.E. Irvine Show this past weekend, the cable panel members (Kimber/Cardas/Shunyata/K-S) recommended against tinning speaker wire ends, suggesting instead bare wire. I don't remember the reason why, but Ray was pretty adamant about it.

I think what they were referring to was the act of soldering the exposed bare wire ends, which is known as 'tinning'. It's done to prevent oxidation of the copper. It follows that soldering is just adding another layer of disparate metal(s) between the wire itself and the terminations or connecting post, which is undesirable. Some say all that's needed is a good and tight cold crimping.

What I'm referring to with the Supra Ply cables when mentioning tinning is that the whole length of each 192 copper wires is covered with actual tin. Supposedly it minimizes the skin effect to negligible, prevents oxidation, and restricts interaction between each of the strands.

All I know is that it sounds really good.

On another note, I checked out Lars' ebay listings to see if the 3.4W cables were listed only to note that the 3.4 standard cables were in very short supply with a note stating that terminations could be omitted and just use bare ends to better effect, going the old school route. I trust he wasn't overloaded with demand since he's still recovering. It's good to see he's working and I hope it helps.

All the best,
Nonoise

Nonoise,
Jeff Day (Positive Feedback/6 Moons) in a recent blog of his in Wordpress did a wonderful article on NOS Western Electric 16ga speaker wire which is stranded tinned copper. It was brought to his attention by the Japanese builder (Yazaki-San), of the new Spec Amp (read Positive Feedback review) as well as a number of fabulous 300B amps in the Japanese markets. Yazaki-San described this speaker with as having the attributes of the Western Electric 274B tube from the 40s, not the later models of 274B. Yazaki-San basically stated it was an "artistic" sounding wire with a transparent presentation that presents a natural, organic sound, full of saturated color and texture, faithful timbre, warm, and dynamic, big soundstage in depth and width. I was fortunate to buy some of this same wire on e-bay for $1.15 a foot. Honest, no hyperbole, it is that good. Unfortunately, it is now even more impossible to purchase as Day's readers bought most of what was being sold in the States. It is fast disappearing in Japan and elsewhere as well. I have used a lot of Kimber cable in my life. I like it; but this Western Electric tinned copper, my system, slays the Kimber I have used.

Another tip Yasaki-san gave to Jeff Day was the inexpensive Belden 8402 microphone as interconnect cable terminated with inexpensive Switchcraft 3502A, or better still if you desire a little more warmth, 3502AAU from Switchcraft. Also Canare F-10s if you need a slimmer profile. Day and a panel of friends compared the Belden favorably to the $$$ Sablon interconnects. Different presentation, but on the same level. I Also purchased these...sound similar to the Western Electric 16ga. This Belden cable terminated as above cost only about $60.00. Terminate DIY, cut the cost in half. I am a happy camper. Read the Jeff Day Word Press Blog, really good stuff. Best, All.