[applebook]

Well, since the Equinox hardwire cable is $300 and the extension $310, with a wait time of over a month, I finally decided to re-cable my K1000 instead of waiting endlessly for a used Equinox to show up on the sales forum. So far, I've seen only one hardwire K1000 cable for sale, and it was on Audiogon.

I chose the cheap but very well made Canare Star Quad and have thus renamed my cans to the "K1000 Canare."

Here is the 5ft. extension cable terminated with banana plugs for the K1000:

Click here to see the whole process.

 

[flecom]

if the canare is like the mogami arnt the pairs blue/white? you are splitting the pairs which means your left+ and right+ are twisted together instead of left+ left- twisted together... you want the latter i believe to reduce noise

 

[bperboy]

Doesn't really matter which wires he used, they're just wires. Most of the time they are paired white/blue, but there is no reason he couldn't pair them blue/blue and white/white.

 

[makasin]

yeah but doesnt the DIY interconnect thread say something about using the white one for the signal because the coloring on the housing messes a little with the SQ?
Is it for the star quad or something else? I dunno

 

[FallenAngel]

The colouring of the wire doesn't matter since the white wire is also coloured. As for using the 2 whites and 2 blues together, that's a little different. Usually, the pairs are twisted as blue/white and blue/white inside the shielded cable, so by having them as two ground/signal pairs ensures that interference is kept to a minimal. This of course gets more a little more subjective in terms of true necesity, but technically, it would be better to have them that way.

 

[applebook]

FallenAngel is correct. Canare's diagram shows - http://www.canare.com/files/Cat11_p35.pdf - that using the same colored wires to carry a signal is fine.

So far I don't notice any unwanted noise.

 

[oicdn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by makasin /img/forum/go_quote.gif yeah but doesnt the DIY interconnect thread say something about using the white one for the signal because the coloring on the housing messes a little with the SQ? Is it for the star quad or something else? I dunno

Seriously? Does the color of the wire honestly affect the SQ??? What?

 

[applebook]

The wires themselves don't affect anything because they're all technically the same material, but the reasoning for using the whites for the signal is that they are braided together and will cause less noise.

I personally believe that wires make only so much noticeable difference. If the wire is insulated and well shielded, is pure copper/silver, and has a solid thread count, then that's good enough for me. One day I might try the Valhalla or some zCable stuff, but I'm not too piqued at the moment.

 

[Jam_Master_J]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oicdn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Seriously? Does the color of the wire honestly affect the SQ??? What?

Someone pointed out that dyeing the insulating material can have an effect on it's dielectric properties. However, white(like blue) is a colour that must be achieved through dyeing.

 

[Sovkiller]

The starquad configuration work in away that the blue and the white are in opposite possition geometrically along the conductor, though reducing the noise by cancelling using the twisted pair configuaration, in which one signal flows in opposite direction to the other, but of course that is only to reduce noise in long lenghs for mic cables, but if noise is not an issue you can use it either way, I would use it white and blue in each channel, but that is just me....

 

[J-Pak]

Regarding the extension adapter did you just wire it according to the manual?

IE

1- left+
2- left-
3- right+
4- right-

Any reason you chose banana plugs over bare termination?

 

[applebook]

I actually just copied the stock cable instead of following the manual. The bananas work the best for my amp, and I'd rather have them than tinned ends.

 

[randytsuch]

Ok, while I must admit this white vs blue is interesting

, my question is, how does it sound?

One of these days, I want to rewire my 1000's. I can't decide which wire to use.

Randy

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by randytsuch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, while I must admit this white vs blue is interesting , my question is, how does it sound? One of these days, I want to rewire my 1000's. I can't decide which wire to use. Randy

The Canare is an overall very very good cable, well done, and very transparent, I have still an extension made out of it, and even while it is 25' I do not hear any degradation while listening in my bedroom, that will be a good starting point, and it is very cheap as well...you can do better (or at least will find a lot of people that will claim that) but listen first OK?

 

[applebook]

Quote:

Originally Posted by randytsuch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, while I must admit this white vs blue is interesting , my question is, how does it sound? One of these days, I want to rewire my 1000's. I can't decide which wire to use. Randy

Here is what I think of the cable (so far):

"7. Here is the new and vastly improved K1000. Aside from clearing up some HF distortion and grain, the mid-range is now smoother yet more detailed and has better separation; vocals are clearer, deep bass better defined, and everything is more transparent. The soundstage is now also much deeper and gives a greater sensation of dimensionality with more air and sharper imaging. Even an amp upgrade, in my experience, does not improve the K1000's performance as much as a quality re-cabling job.

Also, the biggest benefit of all is that the "buzzing" sound artifact that emitted out of the left speaker when the recording has really low frequency bass (under 100Hz), and when the rest of the music passage is quiet --viz. at the beginnings of Radiohead's "No Surprises" and "The Gloaming" and U2's "With or Without You" and even during the heartbeat opening of Dark Side of the Moon.

For those AKG K1000 fans who have the means, I wholeheartedly recommend the Equinox cable upgrade, and for those on a buget, a DIY quality cable rewiring. Stefan AudioArt does not publish detailed specs of its cable, but its vague description sounds similar to the Canare that I have used for my hardwire. Any well-shielded and decently insulated pure 4 conductor copper wire should do, but I personally do not recommend silver wires for the K1000."