Silver cables - Great price!!


Has anyone out there in audio-land used the silver interconnects being sold by a new company called "Home Grown Audio"? I saw a comment in one of the threads about them, commenting that they are silver interconnects at very low prices. I decided to check out their Web page, and I want to share the news with other 'philes. I have no connection in any way with this company, but I think their products and pricing deserve serious attention from anyone who wants to save money on high-end cabling. The name of the company is "HomeGrownAudio", and their 999.999% pure, all-silver cables sell for $70 per 1-meter pair, or $40 in DIY kit form (you do the assembly and soldering). Their lower-priced interconnect has silver positive leads, and copper negative returns (ala the Kimber Silver Streak), and are priced at $40 ($24 for DIY kit). I ordered 2 kits for the all-silver interconnect, and will report back after I have assembled and used them. In the meantime, check out their Web site: www.homegrownaudio.com.
sdcampbell
Just a follow-up. I have purchased seven sets of these cable kits. Great fun to build and can add your own upgrades if desired. Not sure how he does it for the price. Need to spend at least $300 per cable set to better these. Can order custom lengths, XLR connectors etc.
I am probably the person who authored the thread that spurred SD's purchase. I have been trying to drum up interest in these cables. They are knockoffs of Kimber KCAG, and Silver Streak. They use the same braid geometry, and also pure teflon insulation, but substitute solid core wire for Kimber stranded(perhaps the reason Kimber tends to brightness/harshness in some systems). And NO(!!!), I do not work for the company, or get ANYTHING from them. I am simply a person who likes to participate in these discussions, and in the sharing of information(especially when it comes to us saving our hard earned money). Soneone who is always wondering why there aren't more cables that cost less than $200/meter, featuring the most exotic materials. Others cables could cost less than $50/meter. And that IS with a very generous markup. 12 gauge silver wire(from a jewelry supply house I checked out) costs $8.95/oz. And one ounce of that 99.99% purity wire is 3 feet(a hair under 1 meter) in length. But, please don't misunderstand me, I don't have a problem with someone charging $1200/m for a cheap copper cable(they can charge whatever they want), it's their company(and the market obviously supports them). Just that if someone is going to sell a pure silver cable for $70, I don't think it's beyond my bounds to share the good news! Personally, I am planning on buying a 2 meter kit(for $68!), and doubling the conductors to produce my own 1 m knockoff of Kimber KCTG. I want maximum bass extension, etc. Also, I will substitute pure copper(rather than the brass I always see, even in most exotic plugs), plated with gold. These are available from Orca Design, who imports many of the parts used in VERY high end speakers systems(Focal drivers, Solen/SCR caps, AXON wire/caps/resistors/accessories). The constuction is along the lines of WBT, but the price is not. How about 4 male RCA's for less than $20! My cable will surely be the equivalent of ANY $1000 cable out there. That's NOT to say it will be right in everyone's system. No cable can do that. Kimber KCAG works well in mine, so this does also. One more thing, wait till I make a 10 gauge SILVER power cord for less than $100! Good Luck everyone!!!
Trelja- Where can you get the Orca design RCAs? I asked Homegrown about a six conductor strand version, like my KCTG, and they said that they have a four strand version, not yet on their internet site, for $129 1m pr assembled, with locking RCAs or XLR, same price. They found no greater sonic benefit going from 4 to 6 strands. So, I am planning on ordering several sets of them. Now I must decide whether to assemble them myself, or just have them do it. What is involved in assembling these cables, both XLR and RCA?
Gjames, glad to see you're on the move! For the AXON RCA's, go to www.orcadesign.com. Then go to AXON, then accessories. These plugs appear to be of very high quality. Siver plated housing, gold plated contacts, teflon dielectric, WBT look, etc. $4.64 each! Careful reading shows that pure copper is NOT listed(but neither is brass), but as their other accessories ARE pure copper(spades, bananas, binding posts), I'm keeping my fingers crossed... While you are on the site, you can look up their distributors(Madisound, Zalytron, etc.), and go from there. They have a lot of speaker building info(how I found them, initially in 1992), so it's a great hit for many of us. To assemble cable, you just make the braid(they include instructions, or you can ask someone who braids their hair to teach you). Then, just make the(included silver solder) solder connection. I was told about the 4 conductor version from HomeGrownAudio, but think I will still make my own KCTG(with the AXON RCA's). Cheaper($68 + $20 for the AXON RCA's), more conductors, and a proven product to base it on(Kimber KCTG). Let's start a cable revolt, affordable exotic cable. Good Luck!
I bought three of these (silver) kits and assembled them, using lead free high silver content solder. They come with braided wire now which is convenient since the braiding process was the only thing part of the process where I could have used three hands. RCA's were of high quality. I added some additional shrink tube from Radio Shack and did a direct A/B with AQ Quartz. Only difference - little less prominent bass which is no big deal since I just turned the powered subs up a notch. Bottom line is this - they're a steal at $39 for the silver kit with RCA's. They are working on a speaker wire (silver) which should be really interesting. And the silver kit (1.0 meter) with XLR's is just $54. You just cannot go wrong with the quality or price.