MS Audio / Klotz MC5000 interconnects build offer for all AoS members

[Flanders]

G'day Brian, I'm interested to know, have sent any of your famous IC's to anyone in OZ?

[brian2957]

Not yet Ben , there's always a first time

[WESTLOWER]

HI Brian
could you please quote me 3x 1m sets of your Klotz MC5000 interconnects please
Best Regards

[brian2957]

You have a PM Adam .

[oceanobsession]

Is the insulation on the klotz cable Teflon or ptfe , only it can look messy when its melted , or is there another method to not melt the insulation cheers phil.

[brian2957]

It's not Teflon , it's PVC . Not sure what you're doing to melt the insulation , probably holding the iron on for too long . Maybe your soldering iron isn't powerful enough Phil , or the solder has a very high melting point .

[Qwin]

Is the insulation on the klotz cable Teflon or ptfe , only it can look messy when its melted , or is there another method to not melt the insulation cheers phil.

Teflon/PTFE is the same thing, Teflon is just DuPonts Brand name and is the stuff used on non stick frying pans, so if the insulation was made of this you would have to apply massive amounts of heat to melt it with an iron. Unfortunately, like Brian points out, its made of PVC which melts pretty easy. A fairly powerful iron with a biggish tip allows you to get in and out quick, without transferring too much eat through the wire to the jacket. A smaller less powerful iron increases the contact time and while the initial heat may not be enough to melt the solder it builds up and is more than enough to melt the PVC. You should only have the iron in place for 2 to 3 seconds for the small amount of metal in the lead and tab being joined. Also pre tin the wire and the tab with solder, then apply the solder loaded iron to melt the two together. Your solder should have a flux core, if not apply flux separately to ensure you get a good flow.

TIP if you still have problems:
I use the Klotz cable throughout the signal runs, even inside the amp. In some of my lash ups I end up soldering/de-soldering the leads several times during part changes, it is inevitable that the insulation ends up in a bad way. If I know the connection is going to be made several times, I apply a collar to the end of the lead, 4 to 5mm long, made from heat shrink sleeving. The heat from the iron just pulls it up tighter round the insulation and stops it deforming, as the heat shrink has a higher melting point, it keeps it looking tidy. As a last resort you could try this, but it should not be necessary for a one off joint in the phono plugs, a good soldering technique is what's required.

Hope this helps.

[oceanobsession]

Hi again , I have now purchased the cable and plugs , do you connect the screen at one end only , I'm going to have a go myself at making these , cheers phil.

[CageyH]

Yes.

[Qwin]

Yes, and the end it is attached to, supposedly plugs into the signal source (upstream) so mark this end.

Regardless of whether there is any real science behind it, I always fit my leads the same way round, so I follow the above recommendation.

I read an article some time ago, trying to justify all this, one way sounds better than the other, the theory was based on magnetic lay lines, and whether the twisted pairs were clockwise or anti clockwise wound. If I remember correctly, in the signal direction the spiral should travel clockwise in the Northern hemisphere and anti clockwise in the Southern. The same way that water spirals down the plug hole opposite directions in the two hemispheres.
Or is it the other way round?
All a bit mystic Meg!

I tried both orientations for connecting the shield, connecting it at both ends simultaneously and not connecting it at all.

I couldn't hear a difference as to which way the shield was connected, I did however think it sounded better with the shield not connected at all. I ran into problems this way, with the leads picking up interference, so reverted to using the shield connected at the source end for single ended connections and I'm now using balanced connections where I can.