Thanks Danny, I’ll stick with my 14 AWG pure copper from Amazon for 35 bucks for a 50 foot roll and a good set of banana connectors under 10 bucks. Perfect on my Marantz Model 40 coupled to my Encore’s. 😊
Every time I buy from Danny he is very thorough and generous with his time and he has been better to me than he had to be. I trust and believe just about anything he offers is a genuine value that blows anything you will find in a chain store out of the water. In my experience with Danny, personally. Take that for what it’s worth. I bet these are a major improvement over what most of us have. Another great idea right here. Kudos
Что за шнур туда засунули? Какой диаметр шнура? И какой состав, хлопок или полиэстер? Полиэстер не даёт помех за счёт электростатического электричества?
I am a proud owner of a pair of the 24 strand GR Research speaker cables. Two days ago I received my new pair of Spatial Audio X5 open baffle speakers and I was breaking them in using my stock pair of Amazon speaker cables. Today I swapped out the Amazon cables for the Gr-Research cables and I immediately heard a HUGE improvement in overall sound quality - better clarity, better sound stage, better imaging, more dynamic punch, etc… And the difference was not subtle! So if you are on the fence watching this video wondering if you should get a pair of these cables and you have a decent pair of speakers and system do it! You won’t regret it.
Ok, folks! I just finished building 2 pairs of these cables. They are fairly easy to assemble, with the pulling of the rope through the cable being he most difficult. My advice is the make sure you use something stiff that is very close to the same diameter of the rope. Secure your guide carefully to the rope because you don't want it breaking loose and have to start again. Ask me how I know! Also, using gloves while squooshing the cable down the rope helps. I did 4, 16ft runs! After the first 16ft pair, my hands were toast! Listening impressions are very positive! Please understand that the motivation to try these cables came from the desire to move my speakers further out into the room, and my old cables just weren't long enough. I haven't moved the speakers yet because I need to make longer power cables for my Sanders electrostats. I have the Sanders Sound Model 10C speakers powered by 4 mono blocks at a total of 750wpc. These are already very revealing, but I was stunned to find a wider, taller soundstage. The bass was more forceful. So much so I had to use my crossover to pull a couple db out. The most impressive change was the "delicacy" improvement. Some may say this is more detail. They may be correct, but in the past, detail could equate to hard. Not with these cables.
I built the 16 strand cables in an evening. I purchased an upgraded soldering iron, heat gun, and wire strippers in advance of the project. Only complaint I have is the project went too quickly :). I was hoping to kill at least a week while I wait for my amp build. Ended up only burning about 5 hours. Thanks Danny!!
Assembled a pair of 16-strand cables a couple weeks ago! They made a bigger difference than I honestly expected and it was noticable within just a couple seconds. Using tube connectors & bananas. They really added a lot of depth to the soundstage & even more clarity vs my previous pair of cheap zip-cord that also used the same connections. 10/10 would recommend if your looking for a great sounding cable. 👍 Thanks, Danny!
Dude, these things are badass! I used 3% silver solder, and it was a funking choir putting these things together; I have blisters on three fingers! But they sound fantastic, extremely clear and the soundstage, wow! Definitely worth it! Thanks Danny!
Real nice kit. Braiding all those wires by hand would be a deal breaker. Very tempting since the hard work is done. Gotta complete a dozen unfinished projects before bringing in more parts boxes.
I've been using this exact cable in my system years before I ever saw your videos. I used a very flexible fuel tubing to shove down the middle of mine.
Hi, This is Brian. I couldnt believe you quoted your prices. And then i couldnt believe how reasonable the prices actually were. I remember places selling cable in ads in stereo review magazine. They asked 100 dollars a foot in the 1990s. And some people bought it. Although their problems were with having expensive amplifiers with limited abilities, they reasoned their problems were with the speaker cable. Some foolish people spent thousands on speaker cable and it turned out to be simple high end wire worth only about 30 cents a foot. It always gave the novice audiophile bragging rights because their wire cost more, therefore it was better. So they thought. Anyway, thanks for making an affordable alternative . if someone fails to purchase your kit for 39.95, let them try and top it. Those good connections always wind up being Very expensive. Good Job, Men. Keep it up!!
This approach to why cables make a difference is such an eye opener. From this angle it now makes sense. I still can’t stand companies that try to say their cables have a direction and it’s just regular cable runs (you all might know who I’m talking about and if not, take a small quest in audio and you’ll figure it out). But, after talking about field effects and winding canceling out inductive intrusions and other sorts of EM/FI the approach is valid. Thank you for making this vid and also providing a channel for us to get our hands on the raw materials. No way in hell am I paying a grand for some cables when we can do a little work and grab the mats for $40. Thank you! Doing god’s work lol
I always buy Blue Jeans cables. Made in Seattle. Speaker wire is all 12 ga, and 10 gauge US made Belden stock made with optional sonic welded termination. Very good wire without any pretense of audiophile one way or another. Same with their interconnects. All Belden stock and all at very good prices.
I wish that somebody would test the electrical characteristics of this cable, against the Kimber 8TC, to find out if they are the same product. It would be cool if Danny actually discovered a supplier of theirs and we could just buy it from Danny, at a huge discount! :D
Not the same product at all. This is China sourced, Kimber sources all raw materials from the USA and does all of their braiding in-house in Ogden, Utah.
I think Danny had these wired to the NXtreme (?) that I was lucky enough to hear when I visited Danny in Wichita Falls a couple of weeks ago. I was there just to pick up some speakers, but I was treated to a very short (couple of songs) listening session - hooked up with what looked like these cables. Xtremely nice. :-D. Lots of inner detail, but the overall sense was very neutral and quiet. Thanks again Danny for finding another way to make amazing sound - very affordable.
Blue Jeans Cable 'Ten White' (Belden 5T00UP 10AWG ) owner here, great speaker cables. From this point, if i do any upgrade, i'll go with Mundorf pure silver wires...end of story.
I became a believer back in 2012 when I rolled Chris Venhaus's CAT5 cables. At the time I was using something basic from MonsterCable in a roll-your-own system that included Rod Elliott's P101 MOSFET amp. It sounded decent enough, but when I hooked in the big Venhaus braids I realized I'd only been experiencing a small fraction of what that amp was all about. If I ever get finished with the 8 channels of amplification I'm building right now for an active speaker system I'll be ordering sets of these new cables from Danny. Among other things, they'll save me from another bout of bleeding fingers. :)
Building mine right now. Rope feeding is really the easiest part. I have 12ft and it takes 2 min. I put masking tape to the end in how far I wanted to unwind the cables. After that the separation is important to get best positioning of the conductors. I have banana plugs that fit 8 AWG so I can solder them right in. Be careful stripping the wires as they are thin individually. If you guys like it I can make some pictures and post it on the forum.
Danny, thks for the rope into the cable, it is really a simple tweak to already a great cable, quieter and more details come through, I reckon it’s at the level of Kimber Select series .
Great video that helped me make my cables, but I cut 9' lengths of cable and "lost" a foot after I stretched the weave and put the rope inside. Luckily, I needed an 8-9' cable so it worked out. Just know as you open up the cable there will be some shortening.
Thanks for this video. Looking forward to putting one of these together.. just went to the link on the site and one suggestion for the kit to include three other options (tube + spade) and (tube+banana) for those like me who will want tube connector only on the speaker side and banana or spade on the amp side and lastly (Spade + Banana).
a friend is using the same cable but with better connectors and no rope inside. ive heard his system a number of times as these cables are very transparent. Amazing cables for the price.
It would be really interesting to see you apply your speaker testing methods to these, and other, cables. Cables seem to be the biggest mystery area in audio. Can you measure a difference between these cables and some random 12GA copper cables? If so, make a video!
@@thehifimaster5618 That seems to be proof that some cables make better FM antennas than others. If any of those claims about radio energy coupling were actually an issue, then just use shielded cables for $3/ft and you'll get the same benefit, if there is any benefit to be had.
@@mdocod Most indeededly. And if you are content with the end result on your system that a $1/ft or $3/ft (Shielded) cable provides, that's great. Many people are more demanding or picky, and can perceive a difference in the cables, whether or not you can quantifty it on your test equipment. There is NO perfect conductor, as a matter of fact based on metallugy and physics, ALL cables will act as a filter (even a shielded one !). So even putting the maintenance of signal purity aside for a moment, you must agree that all cables will have a "flavour" of sorts. Your argument should probably be that, as far as you are concerned, it should be impossible, based on physiology, for any human to actually perceive any audible difference in the cables - Which would be far more plausible than claiming there is no difference. I personally like the way my system sounds with my current cable setup. I've changed cables a number of times - Without changing any other components, and I do perceive a difference. And if you, or anyone else would prefer to believe that it's all psychological, I don't care, it brings me joy and pleasure nevertheless. And if enjoying the difference a cable can make to my music listening experience is wrong... I don't wanna be right.
Just finished putting some of these together. Using a 1' long piece of dowel about the diameter of a pencil taped to the rope made getting the rope go through the cable really easy. Stripping and twisting all the strands to get good symmetry and length uniformity was way more time consuming, (and way more of a PITA ). Also none of the six strand twists, (i did 16 of them) fit inside the tube supplied connectors without the help of a dremel tool. Looking forward to seeing if these will deliver a sonic improvement over my old Virtual Dynamics Nite spade terminated cables.
@@Canadian_Eh_I I stupidly assumed the tube terminations would work fine w/ my speakers and amp...they might work, but they seem pretty loose in the binding posts, so I'm going to cut them off and start over w/ KLEI banana terminations.
Not gonna go down the cable rabbit hole debate, but I will say that when I made my own wire, did I appreciate the fact it was time consuming and a PITA and I appreciated the costs of reasonably priced speaker wire with quality connectors, and such, so ignoring the claims of superior audio, if one wants to do the labor, this is a good deal for the $ for decent wire.
I bought a diy braided cable similar to this but it’s bundled solid core wires (4 per conductor) twisted. Amazing bass and sound staging - but was like being shouted at and a little ‘Dry’. Loved the dynamics but yea, harsh. So I’d be very Interested in this. I suspect the fact each individual core is insulated and braided, along with the rope, makes a big difference.
It would be nice if the end could fit all the conductors into it. When I make cables for my off grid solar system, soldering isn't advisable, hydraulically crimping the ends actually cold welds the conductors to the terminal. If you cut one in half, you can actually see the connector and cable have become one. Solder introduces contamination and corrosion. Not to mention brittleness at the joint, unlikely, but there's a potential for breakage. How many loose connections do techs find in equipment that doesn't even vibrate? Crimping, and correctly with the right dies solves all those issues.
Whoo! All I gotta say is thanks! This is really fun when it’s affordable! Still have the flat world there! Hehe! Just wanted to say you must use the right kinda crimper. Or the crimp will be all messed up.
Hi Danny. I bought rolls of that in bulk as well. Good stuff. Just fyi, it is fake Kimber kable TC series. Made in China. Compare it to Kimber sometime. It shocked me how different it sounds. Neat project@
I think you could include a piece of the Teflon tube with the kit for what ever size wire we are buying. Just add it too the price as a option. Thanks, ted
Yeah, that's an *awesome* quality pair of speaker cables to have for about $200/pair and about 2 hours of your own time to assemble them!... Kimber Cable quality for a fraction of the price, plus you get the satisfaction of knowing that you made them yourself, which is really cool!... I've known that Kimber Cables are some of the best overall speaker wires for decades already, but I've never been able to actually afford a pair of them, so this option is awesome!... When I have some money to spare, (hopefully sometime next year, &/or after all of this Covid shit is finally over), then I would love to get a set of those! A few questions though; Can you also build bi-amp cables with this 24 conductor wire, separating each of the ends into 4 sets of 6 individual wires? (2 sets of 6 wires for each of the two positives, and 2 sets of 6 wires for each of the negatives) Or does that ruin the sound of each pair of conductors? Do ALL of the conductors have to work together to sound the best or can they be separated into the low and high frequencies like that?... OR, do you need two totally separate cables of equal lengths, with only the 2 conductors on each end, like you show, one cable each for both the lows and highs? If you have time to experiment with that option, (or you already know the definite answer to my inquiry), please let me know your thoughts on that whenever you have time to answer... Have a great holiday season and much thanks for all of your expertise in your videos!
I built mine for bi amp. Exactly I separated into 6 core groups then used banana plugs that can join together so that I can use as bi amp cable or just regular cables by joining the two reds together and both blacks together.
Danny, I have to get technical on you here. You mention that separating the conductors decreases the inductance, which with conductors carrying current in opposing directions as in this case, the inductance actually increases with the distance between conductors. The effect is logarithmic not linear, and a doubling of distance has approximately six times the inductance. Also, your use of radar-absorbent material acts as a small capacitor, so you are actually just lowering the roll-off frequency of the naturally occurring 2nd order low-pass filter created by the wires without the "tweaks". This might help in the case of a situation with a high level of EMI like in a city or having an amateur radio operator as a neighbor, but I think that in most cases the effect will be negligible to non-existent. You may disagree of course, but I would like to see some measurements of noise on the output of your power amps with your cables with the tweaks and without them. Also compared to other lower cost cables of similar length and physical positioning relative to other potentially noise inducing cables. But as a big DIYer myself, I thoroughly believe in building cables yourself, and speakers as well. 👍 Oh, I also have to say I like the new website design, finally see the X-MTMs I'm building. 👍👍
As a math person, I have to ask if this makes sense. If inductance increases with distance between conductors, then as distance approaches infinity, then so does inductance - which makes no sense. Also, L = Phi(i)/i, where i is current, and Phi(i) is magnetic flux. Magnetic flux decreases with distance, implying that as distance increases, Phi decreases. As distance approaches infinity, Phi(i) approaches 0, and so does L. Lastly, I know there are special functions for various types of set ups, but any function used to calculate L, must be equal to the parent function. I.E. L = (some derived function) = Phi(i)/i. If (some derived function) not= Phi(i)/i, then (some derived function) is the wrong function. Please set me straight if I am wrong.
@@joshua43214 I have to say that I also struggle with this. In researching the inductance of parallel wires with opposing current direction, the related equations show an increase of inductance with spacing and length, which as you point out would go to infinity at infinite spacing. I look at it this way, which seems more intuitive. If EITHER the spacing OR length goes to infinity, then so will the inductance. The same can be said for resistance. So in practical terms, the resistance and inductance (as well as capacitance) are all affected by the geometry, but the audible effect is what really counts, and this is what really matters of course. Given that the inductance and capacitance of all reasonably designed and constructed cables is such that the effect on audio frequencies is negligible, I am not among the believers in the great differences in the sound of cables.
@@Coneman3 I read the white paper on these cables and it is clear the designer Roger Skoff is just balancing the capacitance and inductance to a hypothetical optimum ratio and using the terms electrostatic and electromagnetic fields in place of capacitance and inductance to sound more high tech. Given that the amount of capacitance and inductance in the short runs of cables commonly used in home audio environments is small, the effect on audible frequencies is so small as to be negligible. And the claimed impact on power cables with 50 or 60 Hz frequencies is just absurd.
I built two 6’ runs of Danny’s 24 conductor speaker wires. They caused my Schiit Aegir to go into protection as soon as I plugged them into the amp. The wires worked fine with my NAD and McIntosh amps. Strange. I wrote Danny asking about this.
@@syhi7971it's not a short naims early amplifiers did the same thing with some cables I believe Kimber braided may have been one, they had their own cable to suit the characteristics of their amps NAC A5 I think it was called it's either reactance or capacitance, the latter I think
Kimber Kable their 4 conductor strand wire is good..though they don't sell 14 gauge..which is what you want to twist the sets of conductors to make 11gauge .this is great for running systems as low as 4 ohms..and for speaker wire runs up to 50 ft...look at Next Wire..just as good as Kimber though less money...
@@davidfesta3061 But that begs the question David, why would you run 50 foot speaker cable in a high quality audio system??? You would certainly try and keep all the equipment relatively close together!!
@@Nicholas.T I've never seen a situation where running 50ft speaker cable would be necessary..in a home audio system.. And of course you would want to keep your cable lengths as short as your room and set up will permit..my point is 4 conductor 14 gauge wire with pairs twisted..will give you 11 gauge and in system running down to 4 ohms will permit up to approximately 50 ft..with no audible loss of signal.. I'm not suggesting using that length of cable..
I bought a 8 foot pair of the 16 strand assembled. I run Cary Audio Design Pre, Power, HDCD, and a pair of Revel F-32 speakers. The improvement in sound was not subtle. Greater air, soundstage, and well defined fast bass with greater impact. The litmus test? If I lost these, I would replace them with the same. Thank you Danny:)
@@LeoRousseau Gmorn Leo, assembly looked tedious. I opted for assembly. The insertion of the interior rope shortens the length. I think I paid for a ten foot pair which after assembly winds up to be eight foot. I think it was close to $300. You can email for a quote. All of my equipment has been upgraded, except my speaker wires. Im diggin em. Merry Christmas my friend. Danny is a “stand up” guy!
Nice video. I bought some 8tc similar cable from an outside source too, high purity copper and all. It appears to be no different than the Kimber 8tc. Nice soundstage and all. There are a lot of misconceptions in audio land about these types of cable and they are mostly wrong. In the old days it's called folklore everyone tends to repeat. In the 1980s they called it a mantra that's repeated over and over, then after that in the 90s they call it a meme. Back to the non issue. A lot of discussion goes on about how the low inductance of this cable leads to high capacitance which is claimed to damage amplifiers, ie oscillations and so on. You do not have to be an electronics theorist to realize that this is incorrect by just looking at numbers. For example 8tc is rated at 346 pico farads per meter. A 4 meter cable would then have about 1400 pico farads capacitance. Low and behold the speaker crossover has a capacitor (at the beginning?) of typically around let's say 1 micro farads. This only adds 1 micro farads + 0.000346. = 1.000346 microfarads. No significance whatsoever. So if the capacitor is in front of the crossover (not sure) then the amp load from cable to speaker is not an issue. Even so 0.000346 micro farads not significant if you don't even add capacitance. If you figure in relativity, then the amp only experiences the capacitance of the cable and crossover as a single capacitance value. Amps don't have problems with crossovers so why insignificant cable. Resistance and low inductance are the things to look at, with resistance generally not any problem with copper conductor. One last thing, Kimber talks about counterfeits. They never talk about their source or that they have patent rights on the design and material. So it's the Wild West for the consumer. Correctly, they are right when a counterfeit is passed off as Kimber cable which is wrong. Everything else is business as usual. I believe the tc wire is probably sourced from Japan, and a lot of it is shipped to China. Oscillating amp damage from high capacitance cable, some other issue is involved or it's made up by the industry.
I've finished to build two pairs of a similar cable (24-cores) and I would say that low inductance is a thing. Before I had a thick 2-cores cable (just a good one) and that new one beat it in all aspects especially in sound dynamics. This is easy to hear that. I only have no idea why the rope is needed. And I doubt it's a "pure copper in a teflon"). Looks like a China made (al everything these days) breaded cable for 11 euros/meter (despite they state "OCC pure copper bla-bla-bla"). Nobody needs a pure copper, and no one manufactures a pure copper in mass market quantities. Let's be an adult. An insulation may contain some teflon, or may not. It feels better than PVC, but is far from a "natural" teflon I remember. It's nice to use "cable pants" and cable sleeves, however if you would like to have it finished like a $200/pair cable, several hours must be spent, and few cables must be assembled before you got all technics and workflows.
The design reminds me of VH Audio’s CheLA bare cables which has been around for some time.. Except those are much more expensive 48 strands with cotton rope damping inside already..
@mr do I have made a pair of cables with pants just a little too small and was able to strip wire and fit them through the pants stripped. Maybe not perfect but worked
it basically comes down to this, under 50 feet doesn't matter too much. Not certain what gauge 24 is, I believe he said it is 8 gauge, but 12 gauge is basically all you need. Cables are a battle always, I dont battle. I go by the rules of physics which are universal. Cables are no issue unless they are made wrong. Certain factors mentioned in this video do play a factor, but it is basically overkill. I am not here to advertise any wires, but almost any reputable 12 gauge cable is sufficient. Max price 60 for a 100 ft, you can find it for 40 easily. These cables are great, but again you need to be reasonable. The change is nominal, the question is if it is worth it to dish out the X amount of dollars for lets say 10% difference. As he had mentioned, depends on your system too. I would suggest to just get 16 threads, and also use banana plugs. You dont need to sauter or solder if you are using banana plugs. Also really up to the person, but I wouldn't run any rope through it. the benefit would merely be 2-3% better. And they cant even measure it any how.
I would suggest you watch the video he posted do audiophile cables matter. He says and very honest, that you'll stop more from coming in by adding these cables. But whatever else is being picked up by your system is now going to still be present. So now it comes down to the fact that you need to knock it all out to really get benefits and that the benefits will be far less until those other contaminations are given proper attention. Something very good to consider.
Great video but, does this make any sense for a lower cost audio system, to have cables costing almost as much as the speakers? Would not it be better to invest in better speakers first?
No, this isn't the place to invest your whole budget. Start with a good set of speakers and a well set up and treated room. But as your system moves up the performance ladder a few hundred dollars for an improvement these offer most people is a bargain.
Heck Yeah ! Its funny 3 years ago , I believed all cables were snake oil then I tried Audioquest dang it !! Thanks for the video Danny !! I made my own Audioquest cable x2 cable plus bfa suregrip 300 berryllium 🍌 plugs 😃 And actually cost me a grip Your kit looks better foe sure
Found out in 1997 it's def. not snake oil when I tried different speaker cables on my Marantz PM-78/Acoustic Research S50 setup. What a difference it can be... I had some Audioquest wires for a long time. I swiched 7 years ago to Piega Opus 3 cables. Just outstanding.
I just finished building a pair of these GR-Research cables for a customer and have a healthy respect for why retail versions are so expensive. Partly lack of competition, combined with fact that they are highly labor intensive to assemble. 24 strands per end x 4 ends for pair of cables =96 ends to strip, which each require at least two stripping efforts because of the length of stripped cable needed= 192 end stripping actions. Depending upon your connections, you may be sorting and separating individual strands, with multiple solder operations per connector. Tube connectors are the best performing option but also most labor intensive with this set. All said and done it could be 6 to 8 hours + of labor, if you are performing the high-quality, appearance-perfection matters type of assembly that customers demand. Sure it could be done faster but that extra speed is usually the difference between something that looks DIY vs something that looks professional. 6.5 foot pairs of Danny's 24ga wire costs are 15ft x $13.95=$210. +$39 for terminations= $249. A retailer then adds a skilled labor cost of $50/hr x 6hrs for additional $300. That's $549 before marketing budget, website management, facility costs, and profit markup. That's why Kimber charges $692 for the same length pair. I personally believe that the GR-research cable is superior to the Kimber cable version as the GR kit adds the benefits of the inserted rope opening up the conductors, and the ESR shielding tape. It's a better product for approx $250 in product cost vs $690 for the Kimber assembled version. Even if you had to pay someone to assemble the GR kit you would still be far ahead in cost, and have a better performing product. No contest.
Reminds me a song : "Send it to me" But I'm on a single Duelund awg 12GA test right now. I think it's just & only another highway to hell. Both could be a nice ticket... or maybe I'm wrong ?
you are wrong bro i have a very high end system and use one pair of 12 awg duelund multy strand tinned copper cotton sleeving after alot of testing with other cables this one is the best by far......
I plan on ordering the 24 strand cable, I want as close to a pair of 8ft cables not including the spade connectors I plan to place. After reading the entire thread here, I plan on using the 1/2" cotton rope which Danny says is now included. 1. What length cable shall I order? 2. Danny do you include the teflon tube now? If not, 3. I like the drum stick idea. I know nothing about drum sticks, what diameter and length should I use and where do I buy drumsticks? Amazon? Thank you all. FYI, I am a retired electrical engineer previously employed by Hewlett Packard designing precision instrumentation in Colorado. I have been an audiophile for 47 years. I have used Kimber 12tc and 8tc in my systems. I studied the physics behind the multi stranded braided wire and can understand why this can make a difference in sound. I am far passed the discussions of the merits of cable selection and burn in. The greater quality of music I hear with using such cable geometry is unmistakable in my listening experience. Also the products that were designed and manufactured at Loveland Instrument Division in Colorado were powered up, tested, and burned in prior to shipping the product to our customers. And for precision measurement and control, cable matters. So for what it's worth, I say cables matter and burn in is necessary for all audio components. Danny, I am looking forward to trying one of you upgrade kits for my Wharfedales later this summer. Thanks all for the information in advance. If you don't agree with my ramble here, I don't care.
You'll have to tell us how long you need it. You can feed the rope through with just about anything. Even a pencil will work. You can order all of this online as well.
24 strands is terrible, you do realize that the current flows on top of the wire right so more wire means more surface area plus they're easier to manipulate
Business has really grown. It is great to hear from you old buddy. I hope you are doing well too. Oh yeah, the cable kit is much easier than the hand braiding we used to do back in the day.
Can you make a set of bi-wire cables from this? Splitting the small wires into 4 bunches with each bunch terminated at one end & the amp end, terminated as you have shown in the video?
How much does the rope inside reduce the length? if I bought 10 foot of cable and then increased the diameter by inserting the rope, would that not reduce the length?
So how many of us have Teflon tubing lying around? Where do we get it 'cause I got a mind numbing variety when I searched. What size tube for 16gu wire, it sounded like you said 1/4"? Does it need to be a certain kind of rope from a certain place? I couldn't quite see what you were doing with the tube connector explanation, but I guess if you had it in front of you it would make sense. Pretty good video, great value for wire, well done. I didn't see pre terminated wire pricing, that might be interesting, if it was only $25 or $35 a channel (+ rope!) I bet people would jump on it. Two 10 foot pieces for $270 + $39 + $75 labor (and rope LOL) seems like a steal at $384
I happen to be building some speaker cables with the kimber cable 8pair cable, similar to what danny is using, and after watching his video i bought some rope to put inside of mine. I taped the rope to a drum stick and pulled it through with that. it worked totally fine with just the wood
Good gosh! Watching Danny play with his big white cables is the perfect combination of listening to women’s Wimbledon up loud and watching Japanese tentacle…”stuff”. “Get it good and hot and give it a good squeeze…it’s got a little titt-ee on the end…” I love it. And, by the way, Newton’s laws still cover 90 percent or better of life on a flat planet, even when it’s really round,. (wink…and ducks and runs for cover!)
Enid Lumley first discovered this using Magnepan speakers writing for THE ABSOLUTE SOUND maybe 40 or more years ago. Works only in well set up systems that allow improvements to be heard. If your speakers already disappear then it is worthwhile.
Hi. Thank you for the great video. Do you have any comments on pairing sprout 100 with Wharfdale Denton or Linton? Will these cables be too much for that setup?
Very informative video and a good way to get great product for a reasonable price, are those individual wires solid core? Thank you for doing this but the ads are pretty intrusive.
Ok, 3yrs later... Do speaker cables make a difference? Yes. Is there diminishing returns? Definitely. But here, you're providing the cable and the insert tube plus termination kit... so that you can build a cable for a more reasonably price over spending more for the cable than you spent on your amp or speakers. At the time of writing this... you're charging $13.75 per foot for the cable. (Note that you need to buy more because you're stretching the cable around a tube so 25ft makes a 20ft cable) [You explain this on the web page] Yet the Kimber 12TC in bulk is roughly 4x. Yours is 24 wire, and I have to ask... are you really getting a good OFE wire? I mean I've seen stuff on Alibaba for roughly 1/2 your price, yet how do you know the quality of the copper wire used? Your wire seems reasonable. I would love to see you do a follow up on the pros/cons of different bulk cables (yours, mogami, cardas, etc ...) Also I've seen a bloke out of the UK making his own silver clad copper cables from scratch so then you have a debate on the type of wire used and its impact.
I want to build a high level subwoofer cable for my Rel with low inductance and high impedance. Which geometry would you recommend? ( 3 wire: 1-GND / L channel /R channel
Danny, you have me very interested in this upgrade. I have used very heavy gauge Monster cable in a bi-wired mode between a Denon receiver and a pair of Snell Type D tower speakers for over 20 years and never gave it a thought. My question is would bi-wiring with your cable be an improvement over just going with a pair of your 24 lead wire cables? If I went with a bi-wire setup would I need to use the same cable for both leads or could I use the smaller cable for one lead (Tweeter lead?). Thanks, Ken
It will sound better if used the whole cable and did not split it up into a Bi-wired cable. Then replace both sets of binding posts with one set of tube connectors.
Does the speaker cable have a direction or any kind of markers on it to help?? I know the Kimber ones always do. I'm just about to build a pair of these cables up. Thx
Do both cables need o be the same length? The run from my amp to one of the speakers is about 10 feet and the run to the other speaker is about 25 feet because I have to run it around the room to avoid running it across the floor.
Hello Danny, I’d love an opportunity to do some impedance measurements on one of your cables. I’ll put in an Agilent 4294a Impedance/gain/phase impedance analyzer and perform a battery of measurements to determine the Z-theta, capacitance and inductance. Then I’ll measure the DC resistance on a precision micro Ohmmeter. I’ll return the cable to you after the measurements and share the results/waveforms, and data with you. Let me know
That would be great. Then if Danny would do some properly designed and executed double blind tests to attempt a correlation of the objective and subjective data it would be beyond great.
@@StewartMarkley Been there done that or I wouldn't be offering them. Lots of listening comparisons made. And double blind testing is not possible for comparing cables. I wish everyone would get past using it as a catch phrase. Double blind means the person listening and the person doing the switching doesn't know the result. That is not possible. The person doing the switching always knows the difference. They have to make the switch. But if they aren't doing the listening then it isn't relevant.
I can measure the inductance, capacitance, and resistance myself. Unless comparing equal length cables then the numbers are not relevant or comparable.
@@dannyrichie9743 I wish people that don't know how difficult, time-consuming, and expensive double-blind tests are would stop using it as a catchphrase as well. As someone who designed and performed double-blind tests when I was at CBS, I have been there and done that. And I can tell you that it IS possible to compare cables in a double-blind test. But I found that the control required to eliminate bias and preconceptions and also the data analysis effort can be pretty difficult, and we had to bring in statisticians to help turn the data into conclusions sometimes. It isn't very likely that you are willing to embark on such a great task, especially given that you are convinced how drastic the difference is in your cables versus, well I don't know actually. But if the difference is so drastic, then it should not be very hard to measure the electrical parameters and the frequency, phase, and transient distortions of various cables and relate the results to your assessment of the virtues of different cables.
Thanks Danny, I’ll stick with my 14 AWG pure copper from Amazon for 35 bucks for a 50 foot roll and a good set of banana connectors under 10 bucks. Perfect on my Marantz Model 40 coupled to my Encore’s. 😊
Every time I buy from Danny he is very thorough and generous with his time and he has been better to me than he had to be. I trust and believe just about anything he offers is a genuine value that blows anything you will find in a chain store out of the water. In my experience with Danny, personally. Take that for what it’s worth. I bet these are a major improvement over what most of us have. Another great idea right here. Kudos
Are you paying for this crap? One born eh? bet you've seen the emperors new clothes?
Что за шнур туда засунули? Какой диаметр шнура? И какой состав, хлопок или полиэстер? Полиэстер не даёт помех за счёт электростатического электричества?
@@АлександрЗябликов-щ1я Teflon insulator
Well geez. I need to give me some of the cable.
I am a proud owner of a pair of the 24 strand GR Research speaker cables. Two days ago I received my new pair of Spatial Audio X5 open baffle speakers and I was breaking them in using my stock pair of Amazon speaker cables. Today I swapped out the Amazon cables for the Gr-Research cables and I immediately heard a HUGE improvement in overall sound quality - better clarity, better sound stage, better imaging, more dynamic punch, etc… And the difference was not subtle! So if you are on the fence watching this video wondering if you should get a pair of these cables and you have a decent pair of speakers and system do it! You won’t regret it.
snake oil
@@Deke1poor hearing it's ik
Ok, folks! I just finished building 2 pairs of these cables. They are fairly easy to assemble, with the pulling of the rope through the cable being he most difficult. My advice is the make sure you use something stiff that is very close to the same diameter of the rope. Secure your guide carefully to the rope because you don't want it breaking loose and have to start again. Ask me how I know! Also, using gloves while squooshing the cable down the rope helps. I did 4, 16ft runs! After the first 16ft pair, my hands were toast!
Listening impressions are very positive! Please understand that the motivation to try these cables came from the desire to move my speakers further out into the room, and my old cables just weren't long enough. I haven't moved the speakers yet because I need to make longer power cables for my Sanders electrostats.
I have the Sanders Sound Model 10C speakers powered by 4 mono blocks at a total of 750wpc. These are already very revealing, but I was stunned to find a wider, taller soundstage. The bass was more forceful. So much so I had to use my crossover to pull a couple db out. The most impressive change was the "delicacy" improvement. Some may say this is more detail. They may be correct, but in the past, detail could equate to hard. Not with these cables.
I built the 16 strand cables in an evening. I purchased an upgraded soldering iron, heat gun, and wire strippers in advance of the project. Only complaint I have is the project went too quickly :). I was hoping to kill at least a week while I wait for my amp build. Ended up only burning about 5 hours. Thanks Danny!!
Assembled a pair of 16-strand cables a couple weeks ago! They made a bigger difference than I honestly expected and it was noticable within just a couple seconds. Using tube connectors & bananas. They really added a lot of depth to the soundstage & even more clarity vs my previous pair of cheap zip-cord that also used the same connections.
10/10 would recommend if your looking for a great sounding cable. 👍
Thanks, Danny!
Dude, these things are badass! I used 3% silver solder, and it was a funking choir putting these things together; I have blisters on three fingers! But they sound fantastic, extremely clear and the soundstage, wow! Definitely worth it! Thanks Danny!
A choir? So you had a group of people singing while setting up?
@@PeterKKraus Autocorrect from hell... Was supposed to have been "chore"
@@jackjones7665 (edited) isn't a conspiracy.
Real nice kit. Braiding all those wires by hand would be a deal breaker. Very tempting since the hard work is done. Gotta complete a dozen unfinished projects before bringing in more parts boxes.
I've been using this exact cable in my system years before I ever saw your videos. I used a very flexible fuel tubing to shove down the middle of mine.
Hi, This is Brian. I couldnt believe you quoted your prices. And then i couldnt believe how reasonable the prices actually were. I remember places selling cable in ads in stereo review magazine. They asked 100 dollars a foot in the 1990s. And some people bought it. Although their problems were with having expensive amplifiers with limited abilities, they reasoned their problems were with the speaker cable. Some foolish people spent thousands on speaker cable and it turned out to be simple high end wire worth only about 30 cents a foot. It always gave the novice audiophile bragging rights because their wire cost more, therefore it was better. So they thought. Anyway, thanks for making an affordable alternative . if someone fails to purchase your kit for 39.95, let them try and top it. Those good connections always wind up being Very expensive. Good Job, Men. Keep it up!!
This approach to why cables make a difference is such an eye opener. From this angle it now makes sense.
I still can’t stand companies that try to say their cables have a direction and it’s just regular cable runs (you all might know who I’m talking about and if not, take a small quest in audio and you’ll figure it out).
But, after talking about field effects and winding canceling out inductive intrusions and other sorts of EM/FI the approach is valid.
Thank you for making this vid and also providing a channel for us to get our hands on the raw materials.
No way in hell am I paying a grand for some cables when we can do a little work and grab the mats for $40. Thank you! Doing god’s work lol
I always buy Blue Jeans cables. Made in Seattle. Speaker wire is all 12 ga, and 10 gauge US made Belden stock made with optional sonic welded termination. Very good wire without any pretense of audiophile one way or another. Same with their interconnects. All Belden stock and all at very good prices.
g̶o̶d̶'̶s̶ the devils
I wish that somebody would test the electrical characteristics of this cable, against the Kimber 8TC, to find out if they are the same product. It would be cool if Danny actually discovered a supplier of theirs and we could just buy it from Danny, at a huge discount! :D
Not the same product at all. This is China sourced, Kimber sources all raw materials from the USA and does all of their braiding in-house in Ogden, Utah.
@@brettterry1707ya, thats why its $1000 for 8 feet 😂😂😂😂😂😂
I think Danny had these wired to the NXtreme (?) that I was lucky enough to hear when I visited Danny in Wichita Falls a couple of weeks ago. I was there just to pick up some speakers, but I was treated to a very short (couple of songs) listening session - hooked up with what looked like these cables. Xtremely nice. :-D. Lots of inner detail, but the overall sense was very neutral and quiet. Thanks again Danny for finding another way to make amazing sound - very affordable.
Blue Jeans Cable 'Ten White' (Belden 5T00UP 10AWG ) owner here, great speaker cables. From this point, if i do any upgrade, i'll go with Mundorf pure silver wires...end of story.
I became a believer back in 2012 when I rolled Chris Venhaus's CAT5 cables. At the time I was using something basic from MonsterCable in a roll-your-own system that included Rod Elliott's P101 MOSFET amp. It sounded decent enough, but when I hooked in the big Venhaus braids I realized I'd only been experiencing a small fraction of what that amp was all about. If I ever get finished with the 8 channels of amplification I'm building right now for an active speaker system I'll be ordering sets of these new cables from Danny. Among other things, they'll save me from another bout of bleeding fingers. :)
Building mine right now. Rope feeding is really the easiest part. I have 12ft and it takes 2 min.
I put masking tape to the end in how far I wanted to unwind the cables. After that the separation is important to get best positioning of the conductors. I have banana plugs that fit 8 AWG so I can solder them right in.
Be careful stripping the wires as they are thin individually.
If you guys like it I can make some pictures and post it on the forum.
Danny, thks for the rope into the cable, it is really a simple tweak to already a great cable, quieter and more details come through, I reckon it’s at the level of Kimber Select series .
Fun video to geek out to. Liking the Jon Bon Jovi haircut! Inspiration to be had here
I made a set of these. Very refined sound. More air. Opened up the sound stage. Well done.
DANNY YOU ARE AWESOME! helping many to find better quality audio in sensible approaches...
Great video that helped me make my cables, but I cut 9' lengths of cable and "lost" a foot after I stretched the weave and put the rope inside. Luckily, I needed an 8-9' cable so it worked out. Just know as you open up the cable there will be some shortening.
Thanks for this video. Looking forward to putting one of these together.. just went to the link on the site and one suggestion for the kit to include three other options (tube + spade) and (tube+banana) for those like me who will want tube connector only on the speaker side and banana or spade on the amp side and lastly (Spade + Banana).
We'll tweak the ordering process.
a friend is using the same cable but with better connectors and no rope inside. ive heard his system a number of times as these cables are very transparent. Amazing cables for the price.
It would be really interesting to see you apply your speaker testing methods to these, and other, cables. Cables seem to be the biggest mystery area in audio. Can you measure a difference between these cables and some random 12GA copper cables? If so, make a video!
Dave Rat has some videos on testing cables that are very good.
th-cam.com/video/DC0s6KqQz3g/w-d-xo.html - Solid proof that some cables affect performance negatively
@@thehifimaster5618 That seems to be proof that some cables make better FM antennas than others. If any of those claims about radio energy coupling were actually an issue, then just use shielded cables for $3/ft and you'll get the same benefit, if there is any benefit to be had.
@@mdocod Most indeededly. And if you are content with the end result on your system that a $1/ft or $3/ft (Shielded) cable provides, that's great. Many people are more demanding or picky, and can perceive a difference in the cables, whether or not you can quantifty it on your test equipment. There is NO perfect conductor, as a matter of fact based on metallugy and physics, ALL cables will act as a filter (even a shielded one !). So even putting the maintenance of signal purity aside for a moment, you must agree that all cables will have a "flavour" of sorts. Your argument should probably be that, as far as you are concerned, it should be impossible, based on physiology, for any human to actually perceive any audible difference in the cables - Which would be far more plausible than claiming there is no difference. I personally like the way my system sounds with my current cable setup. I've changed cables a number of times - Without changing any other components, and I do perceive a difference. And if you, or anyone else would prefer to believe that it's all psychological, I don't care, it brings me joy and pleasure nevertheless. And if enjoying the difference a cable can make to my music listening experience is wrong... I don't wanna be right.
@@thehifimaster5618 no, you cannot perceive the differences in a blind ABX test. But keep believing you can and support folks like these.
Just finished putting some of these together. Using a 1' long piece of dowel about the diameter of a pencil taped to the rope made getting the rope go through the cable really easy. Stripping and twisting all the strands to get good symmetry and length uniformity was way more time consuming, (and way more of a PITA ). Also none of the six strand twists, (i did 16 of them) fit inside the tube supplied connectors without the help of a dremel tool. Looking forward to seeing if these will deliver a sonic improvement over my old Virtual Dynamics Nite spade terminated cables.
any difference?
@@Canadian_Eh_I I stupidly assumed the tube terminations would work fine w/ my speakers and amp...they might work, but they seem pretty loose in the binding posts, so I'm going to cut them off and start over w/ KLEI banana terminations.
Not gonna go down the cable rabbit hole debate, but I will say that when I made my own wire, did I appreciate the fact it was time consuming and a PITA and I appreciated the costs of reasonably priced speaker wire with quality connectors, and such, so ignoring the claims of superior audio, if one wants to do the labor, this is a good deal for the $ for decent wire.
I bought a diy braided cable similar to this but it’s bundled solid core wires (4 per conductor) twisted. Amazing bass and sound staging - but was like being shouted at and a little ‘Dry’. Loved the dynamics but yea, harsh. So I’d be very Interested in this. I suspect the fact each individual core is insulated and braided, along with the rope, makes a big difference.
It would be nice if the end could fit all the conductors into it. When I make cables for my off grid solar system, soldering isn't advisable, hydraulically crimping the ends actually cold welds the conductors to the terminal. If you cut one in half, you can actually see the connector and cable have become one. Solder introduces contamination and corrosion. Not to mention brittleness at the joint, unlikely, but there's a potential for breakage. How many loose connections do techs find in equipment that doesn't even vibrate? Crimping, and correctly with the right dies solves all those issues.
Whoo! All I gotta say is thanks! This is really fun when it’s affordable! Still have the flat world there! Hehe! Just wanted to say you must use the right kinda crimper. Or the crimp will be all messed up.
Hi Danny. I bought rolls of that in bulk as well. Good stuff. Just fyi, it is fake Kimber kable TC series. Made in China. Compare it to Kimber sometime. It shocked me how different it sounds. Neat project@
Что лучше звучит как ститаете? Китай или кимбер?
What were buying a knock off here?
I own a pair of these GR Research cables and they're awesome! Exceptional price and performance.
Prior to GR Research, I used a pair of DCCA custom made copper ribbon speaker cables.
@@tehuhti2 what difference did you hear between the two?
@@HoomanR17 Blacker background which allows more details and resolution to flow through.
I think you could include a piece of the Teflon tube with the kit for what ever size wire we are buying. Just add it too the price as a option. Thanks, ted
We have tried a Teflon tube, but liked the Cotton rope better.
Yeah, that's an *awesome* quality pair of speaker cables to have for about $200/pair and about 2 hours of your own time to assemble them!... Kimber Cable quality for a fraction of the price, plus you get the satisfaction of knowing that you made them yourself, which is really cool!...
I've known that Kimber Cables are some of the best overall speaker wires for decades already, but I've never been able to actually afford a pair of them, so this option is awesome!... When I have some money to spare, (hopefully sometime next year, &/or after all of this Covid shit is finally over), then I would love to get a set of those!
A few questions though; Can you also build bi-amp cables with this 24 conductor wire, separating each of the ends into 4 sets of 6 individual wires? (2 sets of 6 wires for each of the two positives, and 2 sets of 6 wires for each of the negatives) Or does that ruin the sound of each pair of conductors? Do ALL of the conductors have to work together to sound the best or can they be separated into the low and high frequencies like that?... OR, do you need two totally separate cables of equal lengths, with only the 2 conductors on each end, like you show, one cable each for both the lows and highs?
If you have time to experiment with that option, (or you already know the definite answer to my inquiry), please let me know your thoughts on that whenever you have time to answer...
Have a great holiday season and much thanks for all of your expertise in your videos!
I built mine for bi amp. Exactly I separated into 6 core groups then used banana plugs that can join together so that I can use as bi amp cable or just regular cables by joining the two reds together and both blacks together.
Danny, I have to get technical on you here. You mention that separating the conductors decreases the inductance, which with conductors carrying current in opposing directions as in this case, the inductance actually increases with the distance between conductors. The effect is logarithmic not linear, and a doubling of distance has approximately six times the inductance. Also, your use of radar-absorbent material acts as a small capacitor, so you are actually just lowering the roll-off frequency of the naturally occurring 2nd order low-pass filter created by the wires without the "tweaks". This might help in the case of a situation with a high level of EMI like in a city or having an amateur radio operator as a neighbor, but I think that in most cases the effect will be negligible to non-existent. You may disagree of course, but I would like to see some measurements of noise on the output of your power amps with your cables with the tweaks and without them. Also compared to other lower cost cables of similar length and physical positioning relative to other potentially noise inducing cables.
But as a big DIYer myself, I thoroughly believe in building cables yourself, and speakers as well. 👍
Oh, I also have to say I like the new website design, finally see the X-MTMs I'm building. 👍👍
I agree, would love to see some measurements on these especially considering those tweaks
As a math person, I have to ask if this makes sense.
If inductance increases with distance between conductors, then as distance approaches infinity, then so does inductance - which makes no sense.
Also, L = Phi(i)/i, where i is current, and Phi(i) is magnetic flux. Magnetic flux decreases with distance, implying that as distance increases, Phi decreases. As distance approaches infinity, Phi(i) approaches 0, and so does L.
Lastly, I know there are special functions for various types of set ups, but any function used to calculate L, must be equal to the parent function. I.E. L = (some derived function) = Phi(i)/i. If (some derived function) not= Phi(i)/i, then (some derived function) is the wrong function.
Please set me straight if I am wrong.
What about field optimised geometry ones like XLO Electric sell?
@@joshua43214 I have to say that I also struggle with this. In researching the inductance of parallel wires with opposing current direction, the related equations show an increase of inductance with spacing and length, which as you point out would go to infinity at infinite spacing. I look at it this way, which seems more intuitive. If EITHER the spacing OR length goes to infinity, then so will the inductance. The same can be said for resistance. So in practical terms, the resistance and inductance (as well as capacitance) are all affected by the geometry, but the audible effect is what really counts, and this is what really matters of course. Given that the inductance and capacitance of all reasonably designed and constructed cables is such that the effect on audio frequencies is negligible, I am not among the believers in the great differences in the sound of cables.
@@Coneman3 I read the white paper on these cables and it is clear the designer Roger Skoff is just balancing the capacitance and inductance to a hypothetical optimum ratio and using the terms electrostatic and electromagnetic fields in place of capacitance and inductance to sound more high tech. Given that the amount of capacitance and inductance in the short runs of cables commonly used in home audio environments is small, the effect on audible frequencies is so small as to be negligible. And the claimed impact on power cables with 50 or 60 Hz frequencies is just absurd.
I built two 6’ runs of Danny’s 24 conductor speaker wires. They caused my Schiit Aegir to go into protection as soon as I plugged them into the amp. The wires worked fine with my NAD and McIntosh amps. Strange. I wrote Danny asking about this.
@@helmut3356 something to investigate. Thank you.
What did you and Danny figure out?
bump
Have you checked if the cable has a short?
@@syhi7971it's not a short naims early amplifiers did the same thing with some cables I believe Kimber braided may have been one, they had their own cable to suit the characteristics of their amps NAC A5 I think it was called it's either reactance or capacitance, the latter I think
At the beginning of the video, I thought I would need to braid the whole thing by hand
Like the new site by the way
Hmmm - Kimber cable for a fraction of the price - that's good pricing👍👍
Kimber Kable their 4 conductor strand wire is good..though they don't sell 14 gauge..which is what you want to twist the sets of conductors to make 11gauge .this is great for running systems as low as 4 ohms..and for speaker wire runs up to 50 ft...look at Next Wire..just as good as Kimber though less money...
@@davidfesta3061 But that begs the question David, why would you run 50 foot speaker cable in a high quality audio system??? You would certainly try and keep all the equipment relatively close together!!
@@Nicholas.T I've never seen a situation where running 50ft speaker cable would be necessary..in a home audio system.. And of course you would want to keep your cable lengths as short as your room and set up will permit..my point is 4 conductor 14 gauge wire with pairs twisted..will give you 11 gauge and in system running down to 4 ohms will permit up to approximately 50 ft..with no audible loss of signal.. I'm not suggesting using that length of cable..
I bought a 8 foot pair of the 16 strand assembled. I run Cary Audio Design Pre, Power, HDCD, and a pair of Revel F-32 speakers. The improvement in sound was not subtle. Greater air, soundstage, and well defined fast bass with greater impact. The litmus test? If I lost these, I would replace them with the same. Thank you Danny:)
You are welcome and thanks for posting feedback.
Hi Steven,
Approximately how much did it run you for the 8' pair. I'm disabled and have to buy them assembled and would like to give these a try.
@@LeoRousseau Gmorn Leo, assembly looked tedious. I opted for assembly. The insertion of the interior rope shortens the length. I think I paid for a ten foot pair which after assembly winds up to be eight foot. I think it was close to $300. You can email for a quote. All of my equipment has been upgraded, except my speaker wires. Im diggin em. Merry Christmas my friend. Danny is a “stand up” guy!
Thanks for the response Steven. Much appreciated!
DANNY THANKS BIG TIME FOR THIS VID ON ASSEMBLY OF CABLE . HELPS A LOT IF US FOLKS . THANKS BRO. KIRK'OUT'PEACE
Thanks for all your DIY stuff and all the great videos!
I've been watching your channel for over a year Danny and I really enjoy the content and appreciate the product and the information keep it up brother
Nice video. I bought some 8tc similar cable from an outside source too, high purity copper and all. It appears to be no different than the Kimber 8tc. Nice soundstage and all. There are a lot of misconceptions in audio land about these types of cable and they are mostly wrong. In the old days it's called folklore everyone tends to repeat. In the 1980s they called it a mantra that's repeated over and over, then after that in the 90s they call it a meme. Back to the non issue. A lot of discussion goes on about how the low inductance of this cable leads to high capacitance which is claimed to damage amplifiers, ie oscillations and so on. You do not have to be an electronics theorist to realize that this is incorrect by just looking at numbers. For example 8tc is rated at 346 pico farads per meter. A 4 meter cable would then have about 1400 pico farads capacitance. Low and behold the speaker crossover has a capacitor (at the beginning?) of typically around let's say 1 micro farads. This only adds 1 micro farads + 0.000346. = 1.000346 microfarads. No significance whatsoever. So if the capacitor is in front of the crossover (not sure) then the amp load from cable to speaker is not an issue. Even so 0.000346 micro farads not significant if you don't even add capacitance. If you figure in relativity, then the amp only experiences the capacitance of the cable and crossover as a single capacitance value. Amps don't have problems with crossovers so why insignificant cable. Resistance and low inductance are the things to look at, with resistance generally not any problem with copper conductor. One last thing, Kimber talks about counterfeits. They never talk about their source or that they have patent rights on the design and material. So it's the Wild West for the consumer. Correctly, they are right when a counterfeit is passed off as Kimber cable which is wrong. Everything else is business as usual. I believe the tc wire is probably sourced from Japan, and a lot of it is shipped to China. Oscillating amp damage from high capacitance cable, some other issue is involved or it's made up by the industry.
I've finished to build two pairs of a similar cable (24-cores) and I would say that low inductance is a thing. Before I had a thick 2-cores cable (just a good one) and that new one beat it in all aspects especially in sound dynamics. This is easy to hear that.
I only have no idea why the rope is needed. And I doubt it's a "pure copper in a teflon"). Looks like a China made (al everything these days) breaded cable for 11 euros/meter (despite they state "OCC pure copper bla-bla-bla"). Nobody needs a pure copper, and no one manufactures a pure copper in mass market quantities. Let's be an adult. An insulation may contain some teflon, or may not. It feels better than PVC, but is far from a "natural" teflon I remember.
It's nice to use "cable pants" and cable sleeves, however if you would like to have it finished like a $200/pair cable, several hours must be spent, and few cables must be assembled before you got all technics and workflows.
Great idea for a diy product. After making many cables myself I think is is a bargain.
The design reminds me of VH Audio’s CheLA bare cables which has been around for some time.. Except those are much more expensive 48 strands with cotton rope damping inside already..
I use spring clamps on my speaker cables to tighten the high end response.
😆😂🤣😆😂🤣😆😂
Perfect timing. Finishing up some DIY ICs and looking into DIY speaker cable or PCs next. Any plans to offer your power cable for DIY or by the foot?
This was the perfect video at just the right time!
Thank you.
I’ll be in touch.
A Polypropylene rope would be best suited as it has better electrical properties than cotton or nylon and is easily available.
Hi Danny, I’m interested in this speaker cables.. what are the sonic differences between the 16strand and 24 strand cables? Thank you
first ! Those cables look they mean business. Can't wait for Black Friday . $9.50 a foot of 16 strand is a deal!
Yup! And we have them listed on our site. Check them out. www.gr-research.com/cables.html
@mr do I have made a pair of cables with pants just a little too small and was able to strip wire and fit them through the pants stripped. Maybe not perfect but worked
Why would someone need the 24 over the 16?
Is the 24 for longer run cable runs or high powered amplifier?
Thanks
it basically comes down to this, under 50 feet doesn't matter too much. Not certain what gauge 24 is, I believe he said it is 8 gauge, but 12 gauge is basically all you need. Cables are a battle always, I dont battle. I go by the rules of physics which are universal. Cables are no issue unless they are made wrong. Certain factors mentioned in this video do play a factor, but it is basically overkill. I am not here to advertise any wires, but almost any reputable 12 gauge cable is sufficient. Max price 60 for a 100 ft, you can find it for 40 easily. These cables are great, but again you need to be reasonable. The change is nominal, the question is if it is worth it to dish out the X amount of dollars for lets say 10% difference. As he had mentioned, depends on your system too.
I would suggest to just get 16 threads, and also use banana plugs. You dont need to sauter or solder if you are using banana plugs. Also really up to the person, but I wouldn't run any rope through it. the benefit would merely be 2-3% better. And they cant even measure it any how.
I would suggest you watch the video he posted do audiophile cables matter. He says and very honest, that you'll stop more from coming in by adding these cables. But whatever else is being picked up by your system is now going to still be present. So now it comes down to the fact that you need to knock it all out to really get benefits and that the benefits will be far less until those other contaminations are given proper attention. Something very good to consider.
Are solid core cables "better" than equivalent stranded cable for speakers?
Solid is lower resistance and lower noise.
Stranded are more durable for bending and movement but speaker cables done need to be moved around a bunch.
Hi. Thanks for this video
One question, whats the rope for?
Kind Regards
Great video but, does this make any sense for a lower cost audio system, to have cables costing almost as much as the speakers? Would not it be better to invest in better speakers first?
No , it does not make any sense at all..
No, this isn't the place to invest your whole budget. Start with a good set of speakers and a well set up and treated room. But as your system moves up the performance ladder a few hundred dollars for an improvement these offer most people is a bargain.
Heck Yeah ! Its funny 3 years ago , I believed all cables were snake oil then I tried Audioquest dang it !! Thanks for the video Danny !! I made my own Audioquest cable x2 cable plus bfa suregrip 300 berryllium 🍌 plugs 😃 And actually cost me a grip Your kit looks better foe sure
Tee-Jay The Stereo-Bargain-File sup TJ !
Found out in 1997 it's def. not snake oil when I tried different speaker cables on my Marantz PM-78/Acoustic Research S50 setup. What a difference it can be... I had some Audioquest wires for a long time. I swiched 7 years ago to Piega Opus 3 cables. Just outstanding.
@@dilbyjones hey !!
X2 Audioquest speaker cable, what makes the speaker cable directional?
Huh... IMO it's the same as when a bottle of expensive wine tastes better because it's expensive.
Does the rope come with the cable-kit? Great diy idea as usual! :)
It does now.
amazing video and awesome renovation of your webpage congratulations and greetings from argentina!
I've made a handful of speaker cables, and boy is it time consuming.
Yup! Cables makes a difference and one don't need the highest of ends to hear it.
Here it is!! The guru at work. 👍
Can you please do a video showing why some of these cables cost thousands of dollars. It's crazy. Thank you
I just finished building a pair of these GR-Research cables for a customer and have a healthy respect for why retail versions are so expensive. Partly lack of competition, combined with fact that they are highly labor intensive to assemble. 24 strands per end x 4 ends for pair of cables =96 ends to strip, which each require at least two stripping efforts because of the length of stripped cable needed= 192 end stripping actions. Depending upon your connections, you may be sorting and separating individual strands, with multiple solder operations per connector. Tube connectors are the best performing option but also most labor intensive with this set. All said and done it could be 6 to 8 hours + of labor, if you are performing the high-quality, appearance-perfection matters type of assembly that customers demand. Sure it could be done faster but that extra speed is usually the difference between something that looks DIY vs something that looks professional. 6.5 foot pairs of Danny's 24ga wire costs are 15ft x $13.95=$210. +$39 for terminations= $249. A retailer then adds a skilled labor cost of $50/hr x 6hrs for additional $300. That's $549 before marketing budget, website management, facility costs, and profit markup. That's why Kimber charges $692 for the same length pair. I personally believe that the GR-research cable is superior to the Kimber cable version as the GR kit adds the benefits of the inserted rope opening up the conductors, and the ESR shielding tape. It's a better product for approx $250 in product cost vs $690 for the Kimber assembled version. Even if you had to pay someone to assemble the GR kit you would still be far ahead in cost, and have a better performing product. No contest.
Reminds me a song : "Send it to me"
But I'm on a single Duelund awg 12GA test right now. I think it's just & only another highway to hell.
Both could be a nice ticket... or maybe I'm wrong ?
you are wrong bro i have a very high end system and use one pair of 12 awg duelund multy strand tinned copper cotton sleeving after alot of testing with other cables this one is the best by far......
strait not twisted ....
@@shaynakash4222 Thx, read a nice of good things & sound test was promising on YT. Love those meds. So waiting for dispo.
I plan on ordering the 24 strand cable, I want as close to a pair of 8ft cables not including the spade connectors I plan to place. After reading the entire thread here, I plan on using the 1/2" cotton rope which Danny says is now included.
1. What length cable shall I order?
2. Danny do you include the teflon tube now? If not,
3. I like the drum stick idea. I know nothing about drum sticks, what diameter and length should I use and where do I buy drumsticks? Amazon?
Thank you all.
FYI, I am a retired electrical engineer previously employed by Hewlett Packard designing precision instrumentation in Colorado. I have been an audiophile for 47 years. I have used Kimber 12tc and 8tc in my systems. I studied the physics behind the multi stranded braided wire and can understand why this can make a difference in sound. I am far passed the discussions of the merits of cable selection and burn in. The greater quality of music I hear with using such cable geometry is unmistakable in my listening experience. Also the products that were designed and manufactured at Loveland Instrument Division in Colorado were powered up, tested, and burned in prior to shipping the product to our customers. And for precision measurement and control, cable matters. So for what it's worth, I say cables matter and burn in is necessary for all audio components.
Danny, I am looking forward to trying one of you upgrade kits for my Wharfedales later this summer. Thanks all for the information in advance. If you don't agree with my ramble here, I don't care.
You'll have to tell us how long you need it.
You can feed the rope through with just about anything. Even a pencil will work.
You can order all of this online as well.
24 strands is terrible, you do realize that the current flows on top of the wire right so more wire means more surface area plus they're easier to manipulate
Does twine sound more twangy and country than plastic rope? Where can I buy audiophile grade rope?
Hi Danny, this is Hank from Austin. Long time no see/talk. Interesting cable kits. Hope your biz is still doing well!
Business has really grown. It is great to hear from you old buddy. I hope you are doing well too. Oh yeah, the cable kit is much easier than the hand braiding we used to do back in the day.
Can you make a set of bi-wire cables from this? Splitting the small wires into 4 bunches with each bunch terminated at one end & the amp end, terminated as you have shown in the video?
You can, but that doesn't gain you any performance.
Another good product Danny. Also you web page improvements look great.
Voice coils have very thin wire in them. How is this not a problem?
they also go a very short distance though right?
Thank you for the great video and showing the flat earth....lol... I am getting both.
How much does the rope inside reduce the length? if I bought 10 foot of cable and then increased the diameter by inserting the rope, would that not reduce the length?
It does reduce the length. We have noted it on our website.
So how many of us have Teflon tubing lying around? Where do we get it 'cause I got a mind numbing variety when I searched. What size tube for 16gu wire, it sounded like you said 1/4"? Does it need to be a certain kind of rope from a certain place? I couldn't quite see what you were doing with the tube connector explanation, but I guess if you had it in front of you it would make sense. Pretty good video, great value for wire, well done. I didn't see pre terminated wire pricing, that might be interesting, if it was only $25 or $35 a channel (+ rope!) I bet people would jump on it. Two 10 foot pieces for $270 + $39 + $75 labor (and rope LOL) seems like a steal at $384
I will work on supplying the rope and the tube to feed it through with. The site just went up. So we'll tweak it.
@@dannyrichie9743 That's a really good idea. Thanks for the response. I didn't get a notification or I would have replied sooner.
I happen to be building some speaker cables with the kimber cable 8pair cable, similar to what danny is using, and after watching his video i bought some rope to put inside of mine. I taped the rope to a drum stick and pulled it through with that. it worked totally fine with just the wood
You made a Fid out of a plastic tube❤
A spool of lamp cord would be easier and better, not to mention a hell of a lot cheaper.
No it wouldn't.
Also 16 to 18 gauge is fine for runs 30 feet or less.
Brilliant product
Another great video. Thanks Danny
Good gosh! Watching Danny play with his big white cables is the perfect combination of listening to women’s Wimbledon up loud and watching Japanese tentacle…”stuff”. “Get it good and hot and give it a good squeeze…it’s got a little titt-ee on the end…”
I love it. And, by the way, Newton’s laws still cover 90 percent or better of life on a flat planet, even when it’s really round,. (wink…and ducks and runs for cover!)
Bought the 24 strand 2x 8ft. Mostly after reading the reviews of this cable. Just curious how they compare to my audioquest rocket 88 biwire.
What do you think of Blue Jean speaker wire??
What are your thoughts on lifting speaker cables off the floor? I made lifters for speaker and power cables and it completely opened up the top end.
Enid Lumley first discovered this using Magnepan speakers writing for THE ABSOLUTE SOUND maybe 40 or more years ago. Works only in well set up systems that allow improvements to be heard. If your speakers already disappear then it is worthwhile.
Does lemon oil on the cabinets actually make them resonate better?
I lost count of how many "THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID" replies were possible throughout this whole vid. 😂
Hi. Thank you for the great video. Do you have any comments on pairing sprout 100 with Wharfdale Denton or Linton? Will these cables be too much for that setup?
Subjectively speaking, what difference inserting polyethylene rope instead of Teflon tubing makes on sound?
Measurably it slightly lowers capacitance. Audibly it does some things in the sound stage.
@@dannyrichie9743 😂😆🤣
@@dannyrichie9743 Probably blackens it....
@@poserwanabe dielectric constant of teflon 2.1, polyethylene 2.5; he's got it upside down
@@paulb4661
"Audiophile speaker cable"
🤣😂😆😂🤣😆🤣🤣😂
Very informative video and a good way to get great product for a reasonable price, are those individual wires solid core?
Thank you for doing this but the ads are pretty intrusive.
If possible, use Firefox browser and the Ad Block Plus (free) extension. I see no ads at all on any videos as a result.
Can I put RCA connectors on these?
Snake Oil, you said it man, soooooo funny, right up 'em both barrels!
Ok, 3yrs later...
Do speaker cables make a difference?
Yes.
Is there diminishing returns?
Definitely.
But here, you're providing the cable and the insert tube plus termination kit... so that you can build a cable for a more reasonably price over spending more for the cable than you spent on your amp or speakers.
At the time of writing this... you're charging $13.75 per foot for the cable. (Note that you need to buy more because you're stretching the cable around a tube so 25ft makes a 20ft cable) [You explain this on the web page] Yet the Kimber 12TC in bulk is roughly 4x. Yours is 24 wire, and I have to ask... are you really getting a good OFE wire? I mean I've seen stuff on Alibaba for roughly 1/2 your price, yet how do you know the quality of the copper wire used?
Your wire seems reasonable.
I would love to see you do a follow up on the pros/cons of different bulk cables (yours, mogami, cardas, etc ...)
Also I've seen a bloke out of the UK making his own silver clad copper cables from scratch so then you have a debate on the type of wire used and its impact.
I need to know the sound characteristics of that tapeon the rope 🤣 just kidding. Looks good.
Great video as always. But I am getting an advert every four minutes or so. It's too much. Left before the end.
I want to build a high level subwoofer cable for my Rel with low inductance and high impedance. Which geometry would you recommend? ( 3 wire: 1-GND / L channel /R channel
are those kimber ?
No, but very similar.
Danny, you have me very interested in this upgrade. I have used very heavy gauge Monster cable in a bi-wired mode between a Denon receiver and a pair of Snell Type D tower speakers for over 20 years and never gave it a thought. My question is would bi-wiring with your cable be an improvement over just going with a pair of your 24 lead wire cables? If I went with a bi-wire setup would I need to use the same cable for both leads or could I use the smaller cable for one lead (Tweeter lead?). Thanks, Ken
It will sound better if used the whole cable and did not split it up into a Bi-wired cable. Then replace both sets of binding posts with one set of tube connectors.
if you compare with OCC copper wire, how does the sound different?
Are the speaker cables sold in pairs for $13.50 or singles for $13.50?
The price is $13.75 a foot and includes the rope core.
You could use those to jump start a bulldozer
Just ordered one
Does the speaker cable have a direction or any kind of markers on it to help?? I know the Kimber ones always do. I'm just about to build a pair of these cables up. Thx
Speaker wires are not directional
Do both cables need o be the same length? The run from my amp to one of the speakers is about 10 feet and the run to the other speaker is about 25 feet because I have to run it around the room to avoid running it across the floor.
Hello Danny, I’d love an opportunity to do some impedance measurements on one of your cables. I’ll put in an Agilent 4294a Impedance/gain/phase impedance analyzer and perform a battery of measurements to determine the Z-theta, capacitance and inductance. Then I’ll measure the DC resistance on a precision micro Ohmmeter. I’ll return the cable to you after the measurements and share the results/waveforms, and data with you. Let me know
That would be great. Then if Danny would do some properly designed and executed double blind tests to attempt a correlation of the objective and subjective data it would be beyond great.
@@StewartMarkley Been there done that or I wouldn't be offering them. Lots of listening comparisons made. And double blind testing is not possible for comparing cables. I wish everyone would get past using it as a catch phrase. Double blind means the person listening and the person doing the switching doesn't know the result. That is not possible. The person doing the switching always knows the difference. They have to make the switch. But if they aren't doing the listening then it isn't relevant.
I can measure the inductance, capacitance, and resistance myself. Unless comparing equal length cables then the numbers are not relevant or comparable.
@@dannyrichie9743 I wish people that don't know how difficult, time-consuming, and expensive double-blind tests are would stop using it as a catchphrase as well. As someone who designed and performed double-blind tests when I was at CBS, I have been there and done that. And I can tell you that it IS possible to compare cables in a double-blind test. But I found that the control required to eliminate bias and preconceptions and also the data analysis effort can be pretty difficult, and we had to bring in statisticians to help turn the data into conclusions sometimes. It isn't very likely that you are willing to embark on such a great task, especially given that you are convinced how drastic the difference is in your cables versus, well I don't know actually. But if the difference is so drastic, then it should not be very hard to measure the electrical parameters and the frequency, phase, and transient distortions of various cables and relate the results to your assessment of the virtues of different cables.
@@StewartMarkley Sure, then how do we measure the differences in the dielectric material and how that affects the sound?
It’s hilarious how many people talk directly to the main guy and he never responds to anyone but they keep talking lol
He's too busy banking the money from suckers buying hyped cable.