What are you using for Cables?

[Lee]

I use Kimber's Iluminations D60 for digtal

For $123 you can get the Black Cat Veloce which is a nice step up and designed by the same guy the DV60 was partly based on.

 

[garylkoh]

+1

The Black Cat Veloce and the Sonicwave digital coax cables are the two best value for money cables of any type I have. Whenever anybody asks me whether I make digital cables, I point them towards those two.

 

[NorthStar]

Any copper speaker wires that don't oxidize with time?

I live right by the ocean.

 

[Ronm1]

Stealth for mains, center
Handmade for surround
Argent from analog out DAC
Stealth digi's for spdif to DAC & receiver
Revelation I2s to DAC from Xport
Revelation Aes/Ebu from other xport to DAC
Stealth from line out to headphone amp
Audio art on HD600's

 

[LL21]

Transparent Reference and Ref XL IC/SC
Nordost Valhalla Digital Cable (BNC)
Purist Audio Dominus Ferox/Ann Contego PC (DAC, Pre)
Sablon Audio PC (Transport and Sub)

No desire to change (for now!)...hey. its been at least 5 years so far. not bad!

 

[microstrip]

Any copper speaker wires that don't oxidise with time?

I live right by the ocean.

Although I can not speak about other brands, I have noticed that metal cables from van den Hul are very stable - I have some more then twenty old years silver coated copper cables that have bare metal exposed and they still look as new, shiny and looking as if they were prepared yesterday. Some othe cables I have from this period look terrible, brownish and oxided. Some time ago I helped a friend to re-terminate a similar age, but lower cost van den Hul cable and it also looked as new.

 

[NorthStar]

Although I can not speak about other brands, I have noticed that metal cables from van den Hul are very stable - I have some more then twenty old years silver coated copper cables that have bare metal exposed and they still look as new, shiny and looking as if they were prepared yesterday. Some othe cables I have from this period look terrible, brownish and oxided. Some time ago I helped a friend to re-terminate a similar age, but lower cost van den Hul cable and it also looked as new.

Thanks mate! ...It is important to have cables (interconnects & speaker wires) that can last.
And for that you need special attention to the copper and how it is protected.
So silver coated copper seems the way to do it right!
Van Den Hul is the one I should look for.

I believe that my KimberKable are still OK, but ALL my other speaker wires are heavily oxidized (green copper)!

* I suggest that people who own speaker wires for a long time and still use them, should have a look at them!
Copper simply don't last!

But then, silver can oxidize as well!

 

[microstrip]

From the van den Hul cable FAQ:

"6-11 Q: Why are all your cables’ conductors silver coated ?
A: The electrical conductivity of silver and copper is about equal. Silver is from this point of view just a bit better, but above all it’s a more noble metal.
The main reason for our company to apply silver to all our electrical conductors is that it acts as an extra protection layer against chemical attack from the outside world. Especially in chemically polluted environments like big cities, the effect of the extra silver coating is a substantial extension of the lifespan of our products. There must of course be a serious quantity of silver on the copper conductors to maintain this extra protection over the years.
A thin layer a few atoms thick does not provide enough protection. It only makes a visible impression. The protective silver layer must be 10 - 50 micron thick anyhow. That is what produces real and durable protection!
And that’s what it’s all concerned about.

 

[FrantzM]

From the van den Hul cable FAQ:

"6-11 Q: Why are all your cables’ conductors silver coated ?
A: The electrical conductivity of silver and copper is about equal. Silver is from this point of view just a bit better, but above all it’s a more noble metal.
The main reason for our company to apply silver to all our electrical conductors is that it acts as an extra protection layer against chemical attack from the outside world. Especially in chemically polluted environments like big cities, the effect of the extra silver coating is a substantial extension of the lifespan of our products. There must of course be a serious quantity of silver on the copper conductors to maintain this extra protection over the years.
A thin layer a few atoms thick does not provide enough protection. It only makes a visible impression. The protective silver layer must be 10 - 50 micron thick anyhow. That is what produces real and durable protection!
And that’s what it’s all concerned about.

Hi

Chemistry and metallurgy are definitely not my areas of expertise. From what I remember from my Terminales (High School) Silver is one of the most permeable metal to oxygen more so than copper ,,So it can oxidize almost entirely..OTOH Copper oxide is a non permeable oxide... It protects the underlying metal extremely well, thus its use in rooftiles they'll become green but will not oxydize much more . I don't know if on this particular characteristics it is not superior to silver oxide ... Regardless this particular rationale from Van den Hul, is closer to marketing than Science .. I'll leave it at that ...

 

[microstrip]

Hi

Chemistry and metallurgy are definitely not my areas of expertise. From what I remember from my Terminales (High School) Silver is one of the most permeable metal to oxygen more so than copper ,,So it can oxidize almost entirely..OTOH Copper oxide is a non permeable oxide... It protects the underlying metal extremely well, thus its use in rooftiles they'll become green but will not oxydize much more . I don't know if on this particular characteristics it is not superior to silver oxide ... Regardless this particular rationale from Van den Hul, is closer to marketing than Science .. I'll leave it at that ...

Frantz,

I am no chemist also, but many professional connectors we use at our laboratory, made by manufacturers unsuspected of having the audiophilia virus are protected with a thin layer of silver. A quick search at google finds many papers full of references on this subject, a few discussing the optimal thickness of silver for this purpose. Why should we doubt about the van den Hul words? Just because he is a cable manufacturer, although he has a PhD in science ?

Just one personal detail. I have met van den Hul once and he is a true scientist, his knowledge of metallurgy and physics is noticeable. But he is also a very nice and serious person, enjoying a good talk, enthusiast, but never imposing his views. I quote from his cable FAQ the end of the section about cables with networks ( that he does not use) .

"So, accept the differences and understand that everyone is happy with his own habits. This makes live even more interesting. "

 

[Dr_jitsu]

I am looking to upgrade the rca connection from my Onkyo TXNR 3008 to my Emotiva XPA-5 are these a good choice: http://www.ramelectronics.net/audio...rgbhv-cable-rca-to-rca-rgbhvr/prodRGBHVR.html

Advice is appreciated.

 

[JackD201]

I'm slowly migrating to Adelphi Master-built cables (distributed as Von Schweikert)

 

[MylesBAstor]

I'm slowly migrating to Adelphi Master-built cables (distributed as Von Schweikert)

What do you like about Albert's snakes Jack?

 

[JackD201]

They let a lot through, full spectrum. They're very colorless. Other owners say they take a very long time to burn in. I don't now, my cables were supposedly pre-cooked at the factory. In any case I've found no changes since they went in, none that I can definitively say anyway. Not tweaker cables for sure. They don't really sound like anything.

 

[NorthStar]

They let a lot through, full spectrum. They're very colorless. Other owners say they take a very long time to burn in. I don't now, my cables were supposedly pre-cooked at the factory. In any case I've found no changes since they went in, none that I can definitively say anyway. Not tweaker cables for sure. They don't really sound like anything.

Sounds like somethin' good!

 

[garylkoh]

I am looking to upgrade the rca connection from my Onkyo TXNR 3008 to my Emotiva XPA-5 are these a good choice: http://www.ramelectronics.net/audio...rgbhv-cable-rca-to-rca-rgbhvr/prodRGBHVR.html

Advice is appreciated.

At the lowest price level, and for those who do not believe in cables making a difference, I generally recommend Mogami for interconnects. In Canada, Take5 Audio and in USA, Blue Jeans Cables make good, reliable cables.

 

[garylkoh]

Not tweaker cables for sure. They don't really sound like anything.

That's what all good cables should be. IMHO.

 

[Dr_jitsu]

At the lowest price level, and for those who do not believe in cables making a difference, I generally recommend Mogami for interconnects. In Canada, Take5 Audio and in USA, Blue Jeans Cables make good, reliable cables.

So I would buy 5 of these: http://www.music123.com/Accessories...efinition-Patch-Cable.site7prod339032.product

 

[NorthStar]

So I would buy 5 of these: http://www.music123.com/Accessories...efinition-Patch-Cable.site7prod339032.product

If I was you I would get solid brass RCA ends or all-metal gold-plated RCA connectors instead of plastic. Plastic do break up eventually when bend.
* Check Blue Jeans Cable as suggested by Gary just above.
=> http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/

 

[Dr_jitsu]

Interestingly, Blue Jeans seems to favor raw cable connections, although that is not really an option w/ my amp/receiver connection.