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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2018 15:48:37 GMT
Been using standard Sound Cords on my headphone system for 4 years. Thinking about moving up the ladder to the super version.
Are they more smoother sounding?
S.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 26, 2018 16:25:34 GMT
Been using standard Sound Cords on my headphone system for 4 years. Thinking about moving up the ladder to the super version. Are they more smoother sounding? S. Just a bit more authority. Not the best VFM in terms of price vs material costs afaic, but not so bad if you re buying used. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2018 16:26:30 GMT
Andrew,
Any other decent interconnects that you can recommend?
S.
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Post by dsjr on Sept 26, 2018 16:38:28 GMT
Depends if you can make your own. I still rate the Klotz MC5000 cable, but you'd need to make a set or get a good solderer to do it for you. the Klotz tales a few months for a kind of 'bloom' to dissipate - I don't know why, but that's what I've found on the sets I have here.The Mark Grant cab'es are slightly brightly lit and again, this took a while to dissipate a bit here to the point that when I could perceive a slight difference between these two when brand new and freshly made, after a few months I thought they sounded identical, especially with a ferrite on each MG cable. Visuals must play a part as well sadly... SSC beats most dealer bought ic's up to a couple of hundred I think and is more fiddly to make up than standard SC - at least for me it was. Apart from getting the correct grade of 316U cable, I've been tempted to double an SSC up onto SSP spec, but it's a pain to terminate two pairs of cable successfully as I don't do this regularly. that's where 'Boy Friday' comes in as he does this in the days he works there (not whom you think it is Rudi  and no, I haven't met him either). The above may not matter to you Shane, as you'll do what you want regardless, but foolishly and having used these wires daily at home for over four years now chopping and changing back and forth on source to amp cables at least, I thought I'd post my thoughts. |
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 26, 2018 16:42:16 GMT
Andrew, Any other decent interconnects that you can recommend? S. TIS mk1 was fab. I know it’s a Goretex cable shotgunned but apparently not available in smaller lengths unless you find some NOS or used. The old NVA Soundpipe and SSP were very good, albeit fragile. Maybe you could pick one of those up at a decent price. I don’t know of anything else I’d say was better than SSC. Klotz LaGrange (Rega Couple mk1) is probably as good (slightly beefier but a bit softer). Not much from Chord, Atlas, Sonic Link, Audioquest, VanDen Hul etc has hit the spot, Only one VdH (D103 mk3) was any good. Even then, it’s a bit like their CS122 speaker cable. A bit too smooth for me. Nordost, DNM and LFD were all too bright tor me. Pretty much all ready made cables are overpriced afaic. But used they can be a better bet. |
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Post by dsjr on Sept 26, 2018 16:47:11 GMT
If Shane still has the Arcam CD player, Audioquest Quartz was imported by Arcam for a while (along with the rest of the range) and this one suited their CD players well, kind of 'finishing off' the sound of them I found at the time. In isolation, a very characterful cable I thought.
I'd have thought SSC rather better than any VDH confection - another coloured and highly priced range. Adding carbon seems to make everything sound the same level...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2018 16:48:38 GMT
I have bad memories of breaking old Soundpipes many years ago. Never again!!
Yes, I was thinking about the Nordost interconnects. Possibly might consider getting some Red Dawns in the next month or two.
You know, I'm quite fond of the Soundcord. Logic is telling me I don't need to change. But the devil gets you sometimes, it's hard to resist temptation.
S.
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 26, 2018 18:09:43 GMT
I have bad memories of breaking old Soundpipes many years ago. Never again!! Yes, I was thinking about the Nordost interconnects. Possibly might consider getting some Red Dawns in the next month or two. You know, I'm quite fond of the Soundcord. Logic is telling me I don't need to change. But the devil gets you sometimes, it's hard to resist temptation. S. I’d be intrigued to hear how they worked for you, they were super, super bright, but very clear. Just too much for me in my system, but you never can tell until you try stuff. |
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Post by dsjr on Sept 26, 2018 19:04:38 GMT
If anyone's interested, the SSPmk2 is more like the TIS I have here. if I had a good enough system, I'd suggest the TIS is slightly more 'flowing,' but these are tiny, tiny differences and blindfolded? Who knows.
The SSC can be successfully used with all manner of stuff out there and it has no obvious 'character' towards NVA amps and so on.
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 26, 2018 20:50:27 GMT
If anyone's interested, the SSPmk2 is more like the TIS I have here. if I had a good enough system, I'd suggest the TIS is slightly more 'flowing,' but these are tiny, tiny differences and blindfolded? Who knows. The SSC can be successfully used with all manner of stuff out there and it has no obvious 'character' towards NVA amps and so on. Have you never fancied making your own SSPmk2, Dave? It’s only 4 lengths of RG316/u. You’ve certainly got the skills to do that easily. I might knock some up before I borrow the Spotfire, which I still want to try in a couple of months. I’d be even more interested in getting some Goretex cable too, if I see something decent at a good price. |
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Post by dsjr on Sept 27, 2018 13:04:15 GMT
I'll need extra cable and ideally, the woven sheathing to hold all four cables together. My current SSC's are not NVA made (although the cable is) and I deliberately covered both conductor pairs with a heat-shrink jacket so they didn't look the same as official articles, which have a woven outer 'jacket.'
Tell you what I made for a giggle and it's very good to me here, and that's the thin 'plasma grade' AV cable from Van Damme (each screened wire is around 3mm diameter and very flexible). I made a 'quad' interconnect with this stuff (two inners per conductor and screens left floating and disconnected). It's surprisingly good.
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 27, 2018 15:41:51 GMT
I'll need extra cable and ideally, the woven sheathing to hold all four cables together. My current SSC's are not NVA made (although the cable is) and I deliberately covered both conductor pairs with a heat-shrink jacket so they didn't look the same as official articles, which have a woven outer 'jacket.'
Tell you what I made for a giggle and it's very good to me here, and that's the thin 'plasma grade' AV cable from Van Damme (each screened wire is around 3mm diameter and very flexible). I made a 'quad' interconnect with this stuff (two inners per conductor and screens left floating and disconnected). It's surprisingly good.
Cables are such fun to make and experiment with. Almost anybody can do it. Even me with a half-wrecked right hand, I fancy having a go at some DIY Anti Cables at some point. I’m impressively lazy so it might be a while away, but I will get round to it. |
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Post by macca on Sept 27, 2018 16:49:57 GMT
Been using standard Sound Cords on my headphone system for 4 years. Thinking about moving up the ladder to the super version. Are they more smoother sounding? S. Fuller sounding I would say, the SC is a bit 'thin'. Not sure you'd notice it with headphones though. Awful things headphones. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 17:45:17 GMT
Had a pair of these. Very good resolution but sounded thin to me. Tonally I Thought they were light on bass. I didn't keep them too long as they were on loan.
I hear the TIS is excellent and I have someone doing a comparison Vs the SPOTFIRE cable very soon.
They are doing a 20% off cables event I think, that might be worth a look if you want NVA cables.
If you want to try a pair of SPOTFIRE, give me a shout.
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Post by nonuffin on Sept 27, 2018 17:54:17 GMT
I bought a pair of sound pipes some years ago out of curiosity and was disappointed to find that they were actually made from semi rigid fire alarm cable.
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Post by macca on Sept 27, 2018 19:27:40 GMT
Did it ring any bells?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 19:42:03 GMT
I bought a pair of sound pipes some years ago out of curiosity and was disappointed to find that they were actually made from semi rigid fire alarm cable. 😆😆😆 |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 19:47:40 GMT
If anyone's interested, the SSPmk2 is more like the TIS I have here. if I had a good enough system, I'd suggest the TIS is slightly more 'flowing,' but these are tiny, tiny differences and blindfolded? Who knows. The SSC can be successfully used with all manner of stuff out there and it has no obvious 'character' towards NVA amps and so on. Have you never fancied making your own SSPmk2, Dave? It’s only 4 lengths of RG316/u. You’ve certainly got the skills to do that easily. I might knock some up before I borrow the Spotfire, which I still want to try in a couple of months. I’d be even more interested in getting some Goretex cable too, if I see something decent at a good price. If you want to DIY some of the SSC type cables, Sommer do a version of the RG316u I think. It's about £3.50 per meter so won't break the bank. www.shop.emsl.de/SOMMER-CABLE/Kabel-Meterware/Video-Kabel/Sommer-Cable-RG316/U-Koaxialkabel-50-Ohm-MIL-C-17::7479.html |
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 28, 2018 2:45:45 GMT
Have you never fancied making your own SSPmk2, Dave? It’s only 4 lengths of RG316/u. You’ve certainly got the skills to do that easily. I might knock some up before I borrow the Spotfire, which I still want to try in a couple of months. I’d be even more interested in getting some Goretex cable too, if I see something decent at a good price. If you want to DIY some of the SSC type cables, Sommer do a version of the RG316u I think. It's about £3.50 per meter so won't break the bank. www.shop.emsl.de/SOMMER-CABLE/Kabel-Meterware/Video-Kabel/Sommer-Cable-RG316/U-Koaxialkabel-50-Ohm-MIL-C-17::7479.html Thanks, for that. I need some more. I got the last stuff from a source listed on AoS as “real deal” 316/u made in the USA. I used the same plugs as SSC and tried it against the real thing. it sounded identical to me. The thing is, I didn’t keep the source so I will have to hunt through AoS or try Sommer. I might wait til I’ve tried the Spotfire against my SSC first. If Spotfire murders it, I won’t be bothering! |
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Post by dsjr on Sept 28, 2018 6:17:05 GMT
Is fire alarm cable the same as microwave frequency cable? not sure it is to be honest. Chord Co used the microwave cable once in their 'solid' interconnect. very directional and a bit too good at transmitting rf muck I remember for audio use (a ferrite on each improved them I remember). Chord used the neutrik pro plugs together with copious sleeving to maintain reliability when handled by the average audiophool numpty like me.
£3.50/m is expensive for coax cable. 'Everyone else' uses stuff costing well under a quid a metre in their sub £100 cables I believe.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2018 7:24:56 GMT
Thanks, for that. I need some more. I got the last stuff from a source listed on AoS as “real deal” 316/u made in the USA. I used the same plugs as SSC and tried it against the real thing. it sounded identical to me. The thing is, I didn’t keep the source so I will have to hunt through AoS or try Sommer. I might wait til I’ve tried the Spotfire against my SSC first. If Spotfire murders it, I won’t be bothering! Well as to whether the SPOTFIRE "murder" anything, that is up to the trialist or owner to judge. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2018 16:16:59 GMT
So, the profit margin slurp on NVA TIS and equivalent level speaker cable appears to be pretty exorbitant then!
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Post by dsjr on Sept 28, 2018 19:01:44 GMT
Around 400% I gather, the same as Rega make to trade prices. I saw my TIS being made up and it does entail more fiddling than the cheaper ones. He now has someone in to do this more fiddly stuff (I swear I have nothing whatever to do with it). Plenty of alternatives if you don't like the man or the stuff he makes for whatever reason, but I couldn't let my TIS sample go so stumped up (my income was a bit higher then, so not such a financial issue as it would be now). SSPmk2 is very much closer to it I thought, but some gripe even at that, so I'm stumped really.
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 28, 2018 19:09:14 GMT
I dunno about TIS because I don’t know what it’s made of now, but SSP mk2 is way too expensive afaic. It gets to piss-take levels when you buy a long length as has already been covered on Wigwam.
Again, I dunno what it costs to make LS6 but it’s not a favourite of mine anyway. My DIY cable easily betters it for me and that runs to about £40 for a 2.5m set iirc. I can’t stand LS1, 3 and 5 as I have said before, but can’t comment on vfm as I don’t know how much the base cable is.
I do like LS2 though and it’s great value.
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 28, 2018 19:14:42 GMT
Around 400% I gather, the same as Rega make to trade prices. I saw my TIS being made up and it does entail more fiddling than the cheaper ones. He now has someone in to do this more fiddly stuff (I swear I have nothing whatever to do with it). Plenty of alternatives if you don't like the man or the stuff he makes for whatever reason, but I couldn't let my TIS sample go so stumped up (my income was a bit higher then, so not such a financial issue as it would be now). SSPmk2 is very much closer to it I thought, but some gripe even at that, so I'm stumped really. I really liked TIS mk1. I can understand it being hard to,part with. A 5m set of SSP mk2 isurelynhas to be a LOT more than 400% profit. You’re only talking 40m of RG316, a bit of braided screen and a fivers worth of plugs. And it’s £1300. But it’s all old news now. |
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Post by macca on Sept 28, 2018 19:43:55 GMT
Why would anyone need 5 metres of interconnects? Just move the god-damn equipment closer together and save a fortune.
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 28, 2018 20:42:20 GMT
I ran 5 m lengths of DIY SSC for a short while when I put the KsA80 between the speakers. I preferred longer speaker runs. I always like the hifi beside me and the speakers on the opposite side of the room, so it’s either long uneven speaker cables or long interconnects. As I use an integrated now, it’s always long speaker cables anyway. I hate the hifi between the speakers, it’s akways sounded worse that way in every place I have tried it. I like nothing between the speakers if I can manage it.
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Post by macca on Sept 28, 2018 20:49:44 GMT
I completely agree with having nothing between the speakers, but failing all else I'd put the kit on little tables low down like the Japs do.
Long interconnect runs with short speaker cable runs never made any sense to me. Aside from the expense you're running a low level signal for a long distance which should always be avoided if possible.
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 28, 2018 21:44:08 GMT
The difference between long speaker cables and long interconnects wasn’t massive but it did seem to lose something subtle with long i/cs. It was kinda like those days when your system just doesn’t seem to be as “on song” as you’d like. Anyway, if you’ve bought a Krell, it’s far better to have it as near to you as possible. It’s like sitting next to a nice open fire or a big radiator!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2018 22:25:53 GMT
I'm currently struggling with this a bit. I have the Krell standing up on its face plate handles as I don't have any cables long enough to drop it between the speakers. The problem is I don't want to have 3m long interconnects and 1m speaker wires. I can't move anything and it can't really stay where it is.
3m interconnects and short speaker cables looks to be my only option.
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and no, I haven't met him either).
