View Full Version : decent cheap cables for 2nd system
Adrian B
31-07-2009, 22:12
Hi all
I need some reasonable, cheap and aesthetically inoffensive cables for the lounge system (a Denon mini-system feeding Adire 10 speakers). My home brew Cat 5 twisted twins (or whatever) are just too short and I don't fancy all that braiding again. HiFi World last month had an article in which Chord cables at £5.88 a metre were recommended. Is there anything else out there?
Cheers
Adrian
The Grand Wazoo
31-07-2009, 22:27
Hi all
I need some reasonable, cheap and aesthetically inoffensive cables for the lounge system (a Denon mini-system feeding Adire 10 speakers). My home brew Cat 5 twisted twins (or whatever) are just too short and I don't fancy all that braiding again. HiFi World last month had an article in which Chord cables at £5.88 a metre were recommended. Is there anything else out there?
Cheers
Adrian
Easy matey-boy.
Get yourself some twin & earth mains cable, remove the outer insulation & the bare copper earth conductor, twist them together lightly (you can use a power drill set to a low speed for this), plug them in, put some music on, sit back with a glass of wine, forget all about cables.
Job done.
Total cost: Well under £5.88 for the whole lot.
... Or!
http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=46_21&products_id=108
:)
Easy matey-boy.
Get yourself some twin & earth mains cable, remove the outer insulation & the bare copper earth conductor, twist them together lightly (you can use a power drill set to a low speed for this), plug them in, put some music on, sit back with a glass of wine, forget all about cables.
Job done.
Total cost: Well under £5.88 for the whole lot.
Why do you twist them together?
Why do you twist them together?
It makes them sound 'tighter'! :lol:
... or not.
Gives a degree of RF rejection. Allegedly. ;)
Adrian B
31-07-2009, 22:55
Good idea, but T&E is usually rather thick, and twisting only increases this 'problem' in the front room. Solid core or stranded?
Adrian
That Mark Grant cable is VERY reasonably priced, and quite highly thought of by a few around here. Not tried it myself though... Yet! ;)
Oh, hang on a minute... I've got some stuff you can have for nowt! :)
Gimme a minute or ten, and I'll sort out a photo!
The Grand Wazoo
31-07-2009, 23:02
It makes them sound 'tighter'! :lol:
... or not.
Gives a degree of RF rejection. Allegedly. ;)
Nah, bollocks - it just makes 'em neater!
Good idea, but T&E is usually rather thick, and twisting only increases this 'problem' in the front room. Solid core or stranded?
Solid core - get some thin lighting stuff. If you like it, then rewire your speakers with it too. It was good enough for Steen Doessing of SD Acoustics to wire his very exotic speakers with. If you don't like what they look like, then put some braided sleeving from Maplin over the top - but careful now, that'll make them really expensive (about a tenner).
Adrian B
31-07-2009, 23:07
Will give the solid core lighting a try, but alos like the look of the Belden.
SD is a name from the past. Nice bloke - spoke to him once about upgrading my SD1s and he sent some tweeter domes/wires
Look fwd to the photos of th efree stuff!
Adrian
I've got loads of this spare if it's any good?
It's thin and dead easy to hide away... sounds OK in a modest system too! :)
Yours for, hmmm.... bugger all!
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/5954/p1013659.jpg
By shian7 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/shian7), shot with u30D,S410D,u410D (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=u30D%2CS410D%2Cu410D&make=OLYMPUS+CORPORATION) at 2009-07-31
The Grand Wazoo
31-07-2009, 23:16
Will give the solid core lighting a try, but alos like the look of the Belden.
SD is a name from the past. Nice bloke - spoke to him once about upgrading my SD1s and he sent some tweeter domes/wires
Steen is a star. Why his designs never got the acceptance they deserved is way beyond my understanding.
I've got some OBS's - bought them new in about 1992 & had a brief flirtation with SD1's later (preferred the OBS's though - better integrated through the various drivers). I always went back to driving them with twin & earth, despite trying many of 'yer exoticals'.
Give it a go & compare it to Mike's offering. You're hardly going to break the bank - it's so cheap that it would be crazy not to.
Cheers
T&E's OK actually, I'm using it as a stop-gap myself ATM :)
Couldn't be arsed stripping it though... just using it 'as-is'.
The Grand Wazoo
31-07-2009, 23:24
Give it a go & compare it to Mike's offering. You're hardly going to break the bank - it's so cheap that it would be crazy not to.
And we'd all like to hear about what you find..............
Adrian B
31-07-2009, 23:50
Mike
7m of that would be great. Looks like Soniqs a little. Off now and back Sunday. Will get in touch.
No probs... just PM your address.
It's much thinner than the Soniqs stuff though, it's one of those AV installation cables. But its free! ;)
Cheers...
Adrian B
02-08-2009, 20:26
So far so good - I'm very happy with my new solid core twin & earth 1.5mm cables, gently braided by me and the good lady wife to be very soon. The fact that they are reasonably unobtrusive is a bonus. A very clean and tight sound, possibly lacking a little warmth, but for the second system, in the lounge, they are a steal. And the bonus of a second system, based on a Denon mini-system, is that I allow myself the 'luxury' of tone controls, so I can reduce any digital glare and artificially creeate warmth
Thanks for all the advice here
Adrian
Adrian B
03-08-2009, 16:27
Can someone explain why solid core is recommended? I saw somewhere that some use 30A mains cabling - presumably this is stranded. I've had good results from 1.5mm solid and want to experiment further, eg 2.5mm. But it will soon get pretty unworkable (unbendable).
Adrian
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.