lynnm Posted October 10, 2002 Share Posted October 10, 2002 Kelly How do you find your DIY Cross-Connects compare with the other speaker cables under discussion ? I made up a bi-wire set from some generic coax and must admit, ( as a previously outspoken sceptic on the whole wire issue ) , that I perceive an improvement in midrange openness. Overall there seems to be more "air" around the vocals and solo instruments - (damn this is starting to sound like describing the subtleties of fine wines and home made sauerkraut! ) It is a little difficult to say whether this apparent improvement is related as much to the wire or my bloody minded determination to hear some improvement after making them and wrecking a test lead on my Fluke - ( clumsy little beggar decided to take a nap on the barrel of my soldering iron ). In any event it was an interesting exercise and the sound is certainly as good,( and I think somewhat better ) , as it was using my previous HD 12 guage. I cannot comment on whether the Belden 89259 would be a better choice than the generic coax as I needed to do this on the cheap. I would point out that superficially at least the cable I used is similar in that the cable is Teflon coated with a 22 AWG inner conductor and copper braided shielding. The most salient difference - for me - is in cost as I was able to assemble a 10' biwire set for about C$25.00 . The price quoted by DYI seems eminently reasonable for the product when compared to the price of quality cables offered by other sources. BTW - Did you do their site ? It looks great ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 10, 2002 Share Posted October 10, 2002 Yes, I did the DIYCable site. Thanks for the remarks. I made some comments on the Twisted Cross-Connect in the Customer Feedback section. Was the coax you used solid core or 22awg stranded? Also, the shielding is a bit different not to mention the copper. Belden really makes some nice wire but it is more expensive than getting your standard coax. As you saw, you can order the wired and actually put the cable together yourself using John Risch's site and instructions. I never actually put the wire together myself but I can say I was extremely impressed with the sonics. It was a dramatic step up from the homebrew CAT 5 and the RAdio Shack 18awg twisted pairs I assembled. And via SET 2A3, those were both preferable to the Transparent Cable which sounded excellent via solid state and even push pull tubes. So yes, I think the Risch design compares VERY well if not better than any of the AQ I used as well as the Transparent, Kimber 8TC, Cardas, and a few others via SET. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Disc Posted October 10, 2002 Share Posted October 10, 2002 Mobile - Thanks for the info and links to the isolators. Lots of good and cheap ideas there. Any idea how difficult it is to assemble the DIY Twisted Cross connects and the time involved? I wish Kevin offered assembed kits as well. I've previously inquired about seeing the instructions that come with the cables to determine a difficulty level, but I guess that's not possible for some unknown reason? - tb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted October 10, 2002 Share Posted October 10, 2002 tbabb The construction is actually quite simple. For details see: http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/cables.htm Kelly The cable I used has 22 AWG solid inner core. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 10, 2002 Share Posted October 10, 2002 Well, the DIYCable design actually twists the pair and looks a lot better in person than the Risch construction. You can actually by all the parts separately or in the kit. I amp pretty sure Kevin would send you instructions or perhaps he might put them up on the site. Did you ask him for them? As for the possible wire stands, the glass options look very cool. Actually, some elect to go with the pipe insulation you get at the hardware store, cut in a neat fashion. Get the dark grey and it's a super cheap alternative. Use your imagination here and anything could suffice. Lynn, the Belden 89259 is actually a stranded inner core. As for more riser options, see the MANY here at bottom of page: http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&ht=1&query=insulator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Disc Posted October 10, 2002 Share Posted October 10, 2002 lynnm - thanks for the link. Kelly - What pipe insulation? What material is it made of? - tb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 11, 2002 Share Posted October 11, 2002 That foam/air cell, black/dark gray pipe insulation you stick around water pipes to keep from freezing. Hell, ole Risch even mentions it in his cable FAQ. The foam cell make a good dielectric and doenst interact as much as other materials. You could cut small cross sections... or in half. Would not be too intrusive. Surely not as interesting as the glass insulators from the 40s! heh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Disc Posted October 11, 2002 Share Posted October 11, 2002 Mobie - I was thinking both... the glass or ceramic insulators to raise the cable off the floor, supporting the cable wrapped in the pipe insulation to act as dielectric. I think that will do it for me... - tb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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