The reason I ask is that I know its a sensitive connection and capacitance etc.. has to do with the sound.

I have a grado sonata cart and my arm is wired with cardas cryoed wire.

Any suggestions as to a good set of cables? I am moving the audioquest quartz to the connection from my preamp to my dynacos. I am not sold on them being so great IMO. Realistically, under 100 for the pair is a must!

Evan

The reason I ask is that I know its a sensitive connection and capacitance etc.. has to do with the sound.

I have a grado sonata cart and my arm is wired with cardas cryoed wire.

Any suggestions as to a good set of cables? I am moving the audioquest quartz to the connection from my preamp to my dynacos. I am not sold on them being so great IMO. Realistically, under 100 for the pair is a must!

Evan

Evan, you make no mention of RCA-RCA, or DIN-RCA?
I'm getting the impression you desire the former if you're saying you just moved your Phono Cable to be used as a Cable between your Amp-PreAmp, correct?

It gets tough finding a very good cable like I think you are looking for, for under $100.

Best bet, is perhaps keeping your eyes peeled on Audiogon for a used one?

I use an older, original, bought new AQ Emerald DIN-RCA which is very good, and you might be able to find one of these used in your price range. The other, might be finding a used VPI JMW Cable? Hope this helps, Mark

Thanks for the suggestion mark. I literally have no idea where to start. I have not bought cables before and its overwhelming when dealing with a critial link such as a TT-phono stage.

Rca-Rca

Thanks alot - Evan

BTW, I am willing to go DIY if need be.

Thanks for the suggestion mark. I literally have no idea where to start. I have not bought cables before and its overwhelming when dealing with a critial link such as a TT-phono stage.

Rca-Rca

Thanks alot - Evan

BTW, I am willing to go DIY if need be.

Evan, I had thought of DIY while typing before, and one could build a good quality cable for less than what a manufacturer would charge.

The Cable itself wouldn't be all that expensive, as 1.2m, or 1.25m is usually the industry standard, and perhaps even a 1m cable would be better yet if this doesn't cause any problems with your Turntable being very close to the other equipment. Even if the Cable itself was $10-$20/ft, you'd only need 3ft per channel.

What could possibly cost even more than the Cable itself, would be the Connectors, and high quality connections are just as important, if not more, than the Cable.

There's literal dozens, if not hundreds of RCA Male Terminations you could go to, and I'd assume if you are going to use a fairly high quality Cable, you'd want something a little better than Parts Express-Radio Shack, or the like.

Many of the high end Cables will typically use Eichman Bullets, Cardas. Audioquest. There's a range within each line good, better, best. Cheaper Alternatives might be somebody like Vampire. As for Solder, some will go to the extent of using Solder such as Cardas, or WBT Silver.

Last, but certainly not least will be good, proper Shielding. Otherwise what you will succeed in building yourself will be nothing more than a glamorized Radio Antenna.

A friend 1/2 way around the world, who was using a Clearaudio Table running to a Sutherland PhD Phono Stage was having problems, in that the Auto Sentry on his Battery Powered Sutherland PhD Phono Stage would not shut down and go to sleep, even 24 hours later, with no signal going to the Unit, (or so he thought).

He was using a top of the line Cardas Golden Reference 1M RCA-RCA Cable, which was $600. It was picking up RFI, and keeping the Sutherland from going into Sleep mode.

You'll also need Shrink Wrap for the Terminations, and preferably some PET Braided Nylon Covering to go over the Braided Shielding.

I'm certainly no Cable Building Expert myself, but what I've mentioned will cover the basics of construction of a high quality Cable. You might understand why some just prefer to buy! :-) Mark

Well I do have wbt solder :)

Maybe ill start investigating some nice DIY stuff.

Thanks Mark, any specific suggestions as to wire to use? I hear excellent things about the dayton RCA plugs as far as the cheaper ones go.

Evan

I would love WBT etc... but cost would ramp up fast!

I would recommend Blue Jeans Cable. Their cables are very high quality, and their LC-1 wire is very low capacitance and also well-shielded. That should be perfect for your use.

I second Stuart's suggestion of Blue Jeans LC-1, or use what they consider to be second best, Belden 1505F and make your own. At 17pF/ft, it's still plenty low in capacitance and has the same double copper braided shield as the LC-1. I have made them with generic gold plated connectors (with spring relief) and they sound excellent. For inexpensive name brand connectors, Dayton, as you mentioned, and Neutrik are two that come to mind.

Read the articles on unbalanced circuits and cable on Blue Jeans website and you'll discover that much of the high end stuff is simply hocus pocus. In light of that I'd have to disagree with Mark (sorry Mark) about the suggestion to look for used, high end ICs or even needing to use heat shrink tubing over the connectors in your DIY. It looks nice, but is hardly necessary.

I believe Blue Jeans and Zebra sell the raw cable by the foot, but I got mine even cheaper here:

http://www.sjmediasystem.com/bl-1505f.html

Sources for connectors would be partsexpress, markertek and tecnec. IMO, throwing lots of money at fancy connectors is diminishing returns, if any. Furthermore no connectors I've ever tested (including my cheapos) were higher than 5pF each, so don't believe any nonsense you might read about high capacitance connectors.

Just from experience I can tell you I've had great results with Kimber Kable, from PBJ (shielded) to the Silver Streak. Also have the Kimber Hero, those are quality but a little heavy on the bass. The Silver Streak is not shielded and doesn't work with my Thorens (loud hum), but works fine with my Pro-Ject, and the sound is incredible. Go figure. I also use these between receiver and DVD/CD player with wonderful results, but that's getting a little off-topic.

Anyway, the Silver Streak is pricey, I guess out of your range unless you want to roll the dice and try ebay. Just make sure you get something shielded or you'll have problems with noise.

Audioquest is popular and I have the Copperhead and Diamondback, neither of which has succeeded in knocking my socks off.

Recently got a pair of XLO HTP1 Pro cables for $100 and I'm rather impressed with them. However, they're supposedly well-shielded, but again they make noise with one of my tables and not the other (this time the other way around).

Perhaps this is all useless if you've decided on DIY, which I haven't tried yet. That may be your best option, but whatever you do don't skimp here, I'm a firm believer in the power of good interconnects to enhance and change the sound of your system. At that price point you could get something decent.

Thanks alot guys I must have not hit subscribe to this thread.

DIY is looking good, especially since if they dont work out its not biggie. Plus it keeps me out of trouble.

If i can get kimbers cheap enough, I dont have to worry about losing money selling them either.

Thanks again - Evan

Man for the price, seems like blue jeans stuff is very good. Ill probabally go that way.

Thanks - Evan

Yep, the Kimber is expensive if you get it retail, but you're right, they have good resale value.

I figure if i buy blue jeans, or go DIY and they don't work well for my system I can use them elsewhere without feeling like I lost a bunch of money.

I do love the look and feel of Kimber, but just can't justify the price. Well thats not true, I can justify it I just can't afford it right now! lol.

Evan

I do love the look and feel of Kimber, but just can't justify the price. Well thats not true, I can justify it I just can't afford it right now! lol.


Liking the look and feel of the Kimber cable is a valid reason for buying it.

If you really like the Kimber stuff, can you maybe pick up some real cheapy wire for now and save up for the ones you want?

Rat Shack has some wire that will work, or you can probably get similar stuff from your local appliance store or whatever. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102939&cp=2032058.2032228.2032251&pg=1&searchSort=TRUE&retainProdsInSession=1&y=12&x=17&s=A-StorePrice-RSK&parentPage=family

I personally feel that the Blue Jeans cables are your best bet, but if you like the Kimber ones better then I can't argue with that. :)

Yeah it kinda takes the fun out of it when I pay super high prices for things like cables. Maybe Ill just wait (my current cables work fine I guess LOL) and buy something nice/used.

I do have a local audioquest dealer.

Evan

The Kimbers are beautiful, I particularly like the Silver Streak and the 4TC speaker wire, which is what I'm currently using in my system. They're worth the price! Better than Audioquest IMO, I have those too. They're not bad though, but the improvements are more subtle than with Kimber products, I've noticed.

Just from experience I can tell you I've had great results with Kimber Kable, from PBJ (shielded) to the Silver Streak.
The PBJ on the Kimber site is not shielded. Was yours a special order?

Mr. Lin,

I can say you have totally raised my interest in Kimber cable. Anyone who is willing to continue posting about their cables must really like them.

I am going to hold off until winter, when I have enough money to buy whatever I feel is the right choice. I have some other CC debt that I am wrangling under control first.

Thanks for your input guys, it is really appreciated.

Evan

Mr. Lin,

I can say you have totally raised my interest in Kimber cable. Anyone who is willing to continue posting about their cables must really like them.

I am going to hold off until winter, when I have enough money to buy whatever I feel is the right choice. I have some other CC debt that I am wrangling under control first.

Thanks for your input guys, it is really appreciated.

Evan
Evan, except for their TAK, Kimber cable is normally not shielded, and shielding is necessary for turntables. Make sure it is shielded before you buy any.

The PBJ on the Kimber site is not shielded. Was yours a special order?


That's right, PBJ is not shielded, but the pair that came with my Thorens were shielded by the seller. It's not the prettiest thing in the world, but they work with a phono stage and sound good. I did point out before that he needs to make sure whatever he gets is shielded. It's true that almost no Kimber ICs come shielded, but regardless some do work fine with my Pro-Ject table. I wouldn't recommend taking the risk. I've never heard the TAK cable.

I will point out here that I've tried shielded cables that have not worked with some tables (hum), so it's hard to say for sure that something will work. Right now I'm listening to my Pro-Ject with the un-shielded Silver Streaks between tt and preamp, and it sounds absolutely amazing - just a faint hum in the background when the volume is up very high and there's absolute silence.

Been quite pleased with this cable http://www.wasatchcableworks.com/PD-402.htm.

Looks nice, i like how the prices vary by a decimal between the two series LOL.

Thanks for the tip!

Evan

Been quite pleased with this cable http://www.wasatchcableworks.com/PD-402.htm.

Which ones are you using? What differences did you notice?

Used a set with the RCAs on both ends with my PS-8750 and a set with bare ends soldered into a PF-1000. They simply transfer more music and provided a better balanced picture of same than did the stock cables on the PF-1000. The PS-8750 uses whatever one wishes to throw in the mix, as has RCA outs. Been using their 105-U recently with my MM cartridges and are excellent. But are not shielded, so might be a problem if I switch back to MC. But, am wiring the YP-D10 with silver wire for the LOMCs.

I bought a din to rca cable form this guy. RCA TO RCA (http://cgi.ebay.com/ULTIMATE-SILVER-SERIES-C4-TONEARM-CABLE-1-2M-RCA-RCA_W0QQitemZ270174200427QQihZ017QQcategoryZ64591Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
Very nice quality. I was looking for a bargain set but, at the time, there weren't any. The link is for rca ro rca.

Yeah......I bought one from him and it had a short. When I ask him how to handle a return/repair he suddenly no longer would respond to e-mails. :thumbsdn:

G'day Even'
I'm using an Incognito cable kit for my rega, it came with a 14 day money back guarantee.
Its features are,
One piece pure copper wiring from headshell to RCA output connector.
Fully balanced twisted pair design with "faraday Cage" shield.
Star grouding scheme.
Gold plated non-magnetic RCA and cartridge pin clips.
33 AWG litz wire.
It sounds good to me, but it's only the second set I've used so I'm no expert.
If you would like more info there is an email address,
Email:info@britishaudio.co.uk

I hope this info is of some use to you.

snow

Thanks!

I second the Belden Wire DYI project. Go to a marine hardware or electronics store if you have one around and look up high quality SONAR cable. It's for higher than audio frequency transmission, but not that much higher (100 to 150 KHz).

Point is the cable has to be able to support send and receive to the transducer. The send signal is big, the receive signal is less than the cartridges you are using.

Belden makes cable to Mil-Spec for the Navy. It's great low capacitance stuff. Easy to work with, bends around corners nicely, is available as single tinned shield, double shield and even tripple shield for use in noisy RF environments. It'll last for years in the bowls of ships in constant wet environments. Best source for home DIY projects :)