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Cables for LaScala?


ebrandon

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44 minutes ago, dtel said:

And if there is a nick in the covering they can leak out and make a big mess, that snake oil layer can only hold back so much of it, I guess that is what the cable risers are for ?

 

Yes.  One purchases as many risers as needed.  The key is to place the riser under a nick, twisting the cable so the nick is at the high point where nothing (non-gaseous) can leak out.  Just don't apply much electrical pressure to the cable because now the nick is opened up a little and what was once a possible seep or drip can now become a squirt.  Gotta pick yer poison, but a flea amp should be safe in any event.

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31 minutes ago, Raygun said:

One thing I will say about not using bare copper is that over time copper oxidizes and will turn green and the affect is EXTREMELY noticeable

But it seems some wires do it much faster than others, could this be the oxygen free part affecting it ?

 

33 minutes ago, Raygun said:

What I seriously doubt though is if you can tell a difference between bare copper and terminated ends. 

And don't forget about the audio grade wall receptacle and fancier power cord.

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3 minutes ago, glens said:

 

Yes.  One purchases as many risers as needed.  The key is to place the riser under a nick, twisting the cable so the nick is at the high point where nothing (non-gaseous) can leak out.  Just don't apply much electrical pressure to the cable because now the nick is opened up a little and what was once a possible seep or drip can now become a squirt.  Gotta pick yer poison, but a flea amp should be safe in any event.

Had no idea, no wonder I found puddles, or it was just the dog. :o

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2 hours ago, jimjimbo said:

Dave, I didn't ask you, I asked Mookie who is having a good time with his meds.....please be respectful of the intent of this thread!   Damn.

Hey I still have some pain meds left over from my surgery. If I take them can I become a valued contributor like Mookie?

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10 minutes ago, Dave A said:

Hey I still have some pain meds left over from my surgery. If I take them can I become a valued contributor like Mookie?

Only on complicated complex theory based discussions are pain meds recommended.

For other topics such as politics, mdf, zip tie capacitor type topics, whiskey is a better option. 

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9 minutes ago, MookieStl said:

Only on complicated complex theory based discussions are pain meds recommended.

For other topics such as politics, mdf, zip tie capacitor type topics, whiskey is a better option. 

Anyone who can catch the biggest blue channel catfish...is some kind of fisherman ...

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1 hour ago, dtel said:

But it seems some wires do it much faster than others, could this be the oxygen free part affecting it ?

 

And don't forget about the audio grade wall receptacle and fancier power cord.

I cant say about the oxygen free stuff. All I know is that I hooked up a stereo with solid green cord (I thought it was the color of the jacket) until we turned the stereo on. Swapping out the oxidized cable for non oxidized cable was a literal night and day difference and a late 60's man with two hearing aids could tell. 

As far as wall receptacles. I dunna, I never listened  to see if they made sound better or not. I would guess not, but I have not observed it so I can not say as an absolute. 


As far as power cords. I have to disagree on that one. I have swapped power cords out and made substantial differences. In fact my intro into power cords was taking my failing PC to the stereo shop I worked at and having my boss diagnose the PC (he was a super computer geek). We determined the PC acted as if it was not getting enough power, he thought  the power supply was failing, but decided to swap out cables first to start with.

Upon swapping out the cable, PC fired right up, no issues and never gave another issue. I ultimately replaced it with a new pc but who knows how long it would have run. But the bottom line is the fix was a power cable. 

Now, does that mean a better power cable that is 5000 dollars will sound better, not necessarily but what made my PC work vs not working was simply the gauge size. We cut open the Chinese power cord that came with my power supply (antec) and measured it in shop. It was a whopping 22ga (phone cord is 24). So its clear that the gauge was the issue and why the better power cord made a HUGE impact on my PC operating or not. 

Now, take that same Chinese power cord and hook it to your amp vs buying a power cord with 14-12ga. I guarantee you the thicker copper will make the system sound better. 

Does this mean a 5000 dollar power cord will sound better than a 14ga el cheapo from Hope Depot, I don't think so, but again I have never compared them. 

 

I am going to play devils advocate for a second though. I see a lot of people giving manufactures grief for selling "high end" power cords, its snake oil blah blah. Yet these same people have no issues buying jewelry, or clothing both of which have markups FAR beyond what MOST power cables have. I mean we are talking 700 points of margin and more. Cables from a store have about 65%, speakers about 40 to 50 points, electronics less. TVs about 10. Computers about 8-10. 

I don't like being taken for a ride as much as they next guy, but people lose sight (not accusing you) of what it takes to run these businesses which do not have the margin that many other businesses get the luxury of. Power cords help to increase the margin. 



 

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Yes so, any good pure copper is exposed to element in or out and no controlled will oxidize or corrideto greater or less an extent.

Would get away from the green and get some quality copper cord,

You require. Low DC catalytic corression has been understood for some time now... remember 100 pure...close as can get nowaday... thanks... welcome.

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11 hours ago, Raygun said:

I cant say about the oxygen free stuff. All I know is that I hooked up a stereo with solid green cord (I thought it was the color of the jacket) until we turned the stereo on. Swapping out the oxidized cable for non oxidized cable was a literal night and day difference and a late 60's man with two hearing aids could tell. 

As far as wall receptacles. I dunna, I never listened  to see if they made sound better or not. I would guess not, but I have not observed it so I can not say as an absolute. 


As far as power cords. I have to disagree on that one. I have swapped power cords out and made substantial differences. In fact my intro into power cords was taking my failing PC to the stereo shop I worked at and having my boss diagnose the PC (he was a super computer geek). We determined the PC acted as if it was not getting enough power, he thought  the power supply was failing, but decided to swap out cables first to start with.

Upon swapping out the cable, PC fired right up, no issues and never gave another issue. I ultimately replaced it with a new pc but who knows how long it would have run. But the bottom line is the fix was a power cable. 

Now, does that mean a better power cable that is 5000 dollars will sound better, not necessarily but what made my PC work vs not working was simply the gauge size. We cut open the Chinese power cord that came with my power supply (antec) and measured it in shop. It was a whopping 22ga (phone cord is 24). So its clear that the gauge was the issue and why the better power cord made a HUGE impact on my PC operating or not. 

Now, take that same Chinese power cord and hook it to your amp vs buying a power cord with 14-12ga. I guarantee you the thicker copper will make the system sound better. 

Does this mean a 5000 dollar power cord will sound better than a 14ga el cheapo from Hope Depot, I don't think so, but again I have never compared them. 

 

I am going to play devils advocate for a second though. I see a lot of people giving manufactures grief for selling "high end" power cords, its snake oil blah blah. Yet these same people have no issues buying jewelry, or clothing both of which have markups FAR beyond what MOST power cables have. I mean we are talking 700 points of margin and more. Cables from a store have about 65%, speakers about 40 to 50 points, electronics less. TVs about 10. Computers about 8-10. 

I don't like being taken for a ride as much as they next guy, but people lose sight (not accusing you) of what it takes to run these businesses which do not have the margin that many other businesses get the luxury of. Power cords help to increase the margin. 



 

I guess bottom line for me is there is more BS and gullible people around cables than any other thing in audio.

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14 minutes ago, jimjimbo said:

Except capacitors

 

12 minutes ago, Dave A said:

Yeah I was thinking to mention those but $30,000 6' pieces of wire still won the day for insanity for me. Capacitors are really good at starting pleasant conversations though.

I'm cutting back on my meds starting today, so I doubt if I will be able to explain these topics for you.

 

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@ebrandon sorry but as you can see, you fell into the alien world of speaker cable discussions on this forum.  The real answer likely is ... spend what you are comfortable with but really do be careful not to get sucked into the marketing hype.  If you can hear a difference great, but don't buy based on what others say or the marketing brochure claims.  This might be, in competition with capacitors, the biggest sink hole in audio spending.  Good luck with your decision and I hope you have gotten the answer you were looking for (not likely).

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