Macca's Lash Up 2: Lash Harder

[Barry]

In that case, can you not join the two thick cables together so as to leave a 'pigtail' just large enough in diameter to fit into the sockets?

[Macca]

You mean join the thick and the thin one in a 'pigtail'?

[JohnJo]

Except that the sockets for the speaker cables are just a little wider than a cocktail stick. I can just about fit the 125 strand stuff into them. It might be doable. I was wondering what sort of cable they would have been using at Phillips back in '79? That's almost a decade before I got ensnared in this.

I reckon they’d have been using thin tinned copper. It gives a meaty, natural sound. Lower damping factor than thick cables due to slightly increased resistance and tonally fuller than OFC in my experience if possibly at the loss of some of the hifiy-ness, hyper detail type sound. What length runs do you need? If it’s half reasonable lengths PM me your address and I’ll send you some. I’ve tried a few and this is good stuff.

[Macca]

I reckon they’d have been using thin tinned copper. It gives a meaty, natural sound. Lower damping factor than thick cables due to slightly increased resistance and tonally fuller than OFC in my experience if possibly at the loss of some of the hifiy-ness, hyper detail type sound. What length runs do you need? If it’s half reasonable lengths PM me your address and I’ll send you some. I’ve tried a few and this is good stuff.

That sounds good John, will send you PM.

[Macca]

Two experiments to try today - well three actually

1) Try new incredibly thin speaker cable (very kindly sent to me by John) with the Phillips Black Tulip amp
2) Try XTZ pre-amp with Krell KSA100 Mk2 using Spotfire speaker cable
3) Try new incredibly thin speaker cable with Krell KSA100 mk2 and try both the XTZ and DCB1 pre-amps with that combination.

Might have to go out in a bit so not sure I'll get them all done today.

So onto 1) - this is what John says about the speaker cable:

I reckon they’d (Philips back in 1979) have been using thin tinned copper. It gives a meaty, natural sound. Lower damping factor than thick cables due to slightly increased resistance and tonally fuller than OFC in my experience if possibly at the loss of some of the hifiy-ness, hyper detail type sound.

Yes it is really thin. Bell-wire thin. You could almost use it as a tonearm cable. Hooked it up, put on Neil Young with Crazy Horse - 'Ragged Glory' as that was already sat in the player from last time. Like most of his outings with Crazy Horse it's a bit of a rough and ready production, real live feel to it. Recorded in his barn IIRC.

Well there's no loss of the 'hify-ness hyper detail sound' - good job because I like that! First impressions are it is better than the two previous cables I have tried, no apparent loss of body plus it sounds nice and crisp and cymbals sound like cymbals and not 'shush-shush' sounds. Every detail of the mix is laid out. I'm struggling to fault it so far but you can't base everything on just listening to one recording.

I was worried that there would be no bass with such thin cable but not the case. Got to take into account that I am now used to Krell and their nonsense level grip and weight in the bass, the Black Tulip doesn't have that level of control regardless of the cables used. No slight on the Phillips, not many amplifiers match Krell for that.

More later.

[JohnJo]

For the sake of engineering correctness it’s 24/0.2 gauge or 0.75mm2 cross sectional area.

I do like “Incredibly Thin Speaker Cable” as a brand name though, has a ring to it.

Glad to hear it’s sounding ok. Definitely no tizzyness, good solid, honest sound I think.

[Macca]

John I think you've nailed it. Sounds right with this cable in place. Beautiful clarity, perfect 'shape' to the notes, no loss of the delicacy like there was with the thicker cable.

[Gazjam]

Nowt wrong wi’ thin speaker cable.
No real-world connection between cable gauge and body and bass weight in my experience.

Best sounding cable I’ve used in my system looks like shoelaces and has more body to it than even the “thick as yer wrist” Sterling Black Mamba stuff I used in the past.

This

vs this


Funny old game...

[Made in 1968]

For the sake of engineering correctness it’s 24/0.2 gauge or 0.75mm2 cross sectional area.

I do like “Incredibly Thin Speaker Cable” as a brand name though, has a ring to it.

Glad to hear it’s sounding ok. Definitely no tizzyness, good solid, honest sound I think.

What cable is that then John?

[Macca]

Nowt wrong wi’ thin speaker cable.
No real-world connection between cable gauge and body and bass weight in my experience.

.

In my experience there can be. Sometimes. I'm the sort of person who likes things to make sense and the longer I'm in this game trying to make sense of it the more nothing makes sense.

I mean why does the XTZ pre-amp, which sounds like shit with every amp I've tried it with, even its own matching power amp, sound excellent when partnered with the Black Tulip?

I always thought if I could understand how sound reproduction works it would cut out the need to just try things at random and see what sticks. But now starting to conclude that there's no alternative. Bollocks really as with work the way it is right now I don't have the time or energy to do that much anymore. Who knows what wonderful combos I could be missing out on?

Anyway my trip outside withstanding I've spent the last few hours listening to music. Eagles, Steely Dan and now some Tull. Regular readers will recall I did, completely at random of course, pretty much hit on my exact perfect sound with the DCB1 - Krell KSA50S combo using the Spotfire speaker cable and interconnects. I was all done until the Krell broke.

The Spotfire cable is as literally thick as a hosepipe. And yet with completely different pre-amp, power amp and speaker cable as thin as spider-silk the sound I'm getting is almost identical. Not quite as good but it's marginal. I mean, what's that all about?