[Oepsie]

Got my OXCO clock a couple of weeks ago and have experimented with it a bit. Annoyingly, the 12 volt LPS has a big impact on the sound and performance of the clock.. was hoping that it was not affected as much by the LPS running the clock.

Brought my Paul Hynes SR4T LPS to my friends system (not possible to compare at home because it is used for my streamer ), and the difference to his 100$ LPS was irritatingly big (same DI-20 and same clock) Sound was more natural, more smooth, more life-like. Actually, exactly the same difference, the LPS provides through the streamer.

Had hoped that the impact of the LPS on the external clock was smaller and that I could get away with buying a cheaper one..

 

[JaMo]

The LPS is equal important as the XO itself. Buy an ultra silent LPS from ebay or ali
/J

 

[PLGA]

Hi guys
It seems that some of you are fan of Nimak USB cables.

What other cables have you compared the Nimak with? What about brands more known like Audioquest, Wireworld, Cardas, Kimber, etc? I know sometimes these can be overpriced, but have you compared them to Nimak cables?

 

[FredA]

Hi guys
It seems that some of you are fan of Nimak USB cables.

What other cables have you compared the Nimak with? What about brands more known like Audioquest, Wireworld, Cardas, Kimber, etc? I know sometimes these can be overpriced, but have you compared them to Nimak cables?

No high-end cable, except the valab, which is a value item

Supra
Valab/ms audio silver (150$), most expensive
Ebay silver (80$)
Audio sensibility impact se
Excelsior two-trunk assembled by a-b system.hk
Oyaide Elec d

The Nimak is so much above, it's the only one to make a big difference in my setup.

 

[ToddRaymond]

I like my (cryo'd) Oyaide d+ Class S v2 more than the Audioquest Carbon it replaced. A really great value, as far as I can tell.

I got a great price on a Wireworld Platinum 7 HDMI, and would've liked to have eventually grabbed the now-discontinued USB version. Sadly, instead of having 23 awg conductors, the new '8 series' top Wireworld OCC silver USB uses 28 awg conductors. Audio Sensibility has Neotech OCC silver 22 awg rectangular (PTFE insulated) wire. I'm considering making my own using those conductors for the signal (and likely round OCC copper for the the power).

 

[FredA]

The Nimak Black uses 18awg occ silver for data.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Hi guys
It seems that some of you are fan of Nimak USB cables.

What other cables have you compared the Nimak with? What about brands more known like Audioquest, Wireworld, Cardas, Kimber, etc? I know sometimes these can be overpriced, but have you compared them to Nimak cables?

There is a massive thread on USB cable comparisons over at Audiophilestyle

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/14124-usb-cable-comparisons/?tab=comments#comment-192964

They went through all the high end & boutique brands & a lot of the talk at the end was for the cheaper more affordable stuff.

 

[Toni-Mang]

@Thenewguy007, thank you for the link.
It is always the same game...
I have a AQ Coffee USB Cable, and i am happy with it. Now my first view in the link leads me to a new cable desire...
I think i will give the Nimak black a try, or i will build one myselve...

 

[marcelnl]

Nimak is using 18AWG for USB? WOW that seems serious overkill, are you sure they did not measure the strand with insulation on it? Having made loads of interlinks and having done lots of 'research' reading that someone is using 18Awg for digital audio is a surprise to me (well in a USB cable that apparently sounds good). For analog interlinks 18Awg is far too thick IMO (unless you need very very long runs), the optimum is a lot closer to 20, for digital 22-26.

DIYing is perfectly possible for interlinks, get some good connectors, good solder (prefer screw fastener connectors) and some decent wire, play a lot with cable geometry and insulation and listen and then play some more with dampening vibration and shielding. I can guarantee that many high end cables are made the same way, or even simply use pre made cable (in a custom outer layer) that was auditioned.
Interlink prices seemingly go through the roof but you have to keep in mind that distributors and resellers take a nice percentage (needed to stay in business), and there is taxes etc.Way back when we sold our interlinks commercially the cost of goods was close to 200 euro/meter retail price was close to 1000, factoring in all the auditioning and testing the retail price should have been like three to four times higher.

 

[FredA]

Nimak is using 18AWG for USB? WOW that seems serious overkill, are you sure they did not measure the strand with insulation on it? Having made loads of interlinks and having done lots of 'research' reading that someone is using 18Awg for digital audio is a surprise to me (well in a USB cable that apparently sounds good). For analog interlinks 18Awg is far too thick IMO (unless you need very very long runs), the optimum is a lot closer to 20, for digital 22-26.

DIYing is perfectly possible for interlinks, get some good connectors, good solder (prefer screw fastener connectors) and some decent wire, play a lot with cable geometry and insulation and listen and then play some more with dampening vibration and shielding. I can guarantee that many high end cables are made the same way, or even simply use pre made cable (in a custom outer layer) that was auditioned.
Interlink prices seemingly go through the roof but you have to keep in mind that distributors and resellers take a nice percentage (needed to stay in business), and there is taxes etc.Way back when we sold our interlinks commercially the cost of goods was close to 200 euro/meter retail price was close to 1000, factoring in all the auditioning and testing the retail price should have been like three to four times higher.

The Nimak seems totally hand-made and the price is well justified considering the silver contents. 18awg is what is claimed and is consitent with the claimed resistance of 0.0124ohm/m (could be a bit bigger than 18awg). And he states 48pF/m.

Geometry is very important and has to be very uniform. Shielding too of course. The guy is assembling the cable from bulk wire as far as i can tell.

 

[marcelnl]

I won't argue price, if anything it's far too cheap for the work going into developing a cable, the materials and making it! Thanks for confirming sizes! There are several ways to reach low impedance and capacitance so those numbers do not necessarily mean anything for cable geometry.

 

[FredA]

Yes, there are many design approaches. Minimizing resistance is a good idea. But not mandatory if capacitance and inductance can be relatively lower with another design. The guy has a patent pending for his geometry, he states.SO he may have found a superior recipe.

 

[rsbrsvp]

Nimak is using 18AWG for USB? WOW that seems serious overkill, are you sure they did not measure the strand with insulation on it? Having made loads of interlinks and having done lots of 'research' reading that someone is using 18Awg for digital audio is a surprise to me (well in a USB cable that apparently sounds good). For analog interlinks 18Awg is far too thick IMO (unless you need very very long runs), the optimum is a lot closer to 20, for digital 22-26.

I think my Nimak Purple uses 16awg. Could be 18awg and I am just not remembering.

 

[Toni-Mang]

Off topic, but after this discussion I ordered the Nimak USB BLACK Mk2:
...with additional mylar shield, 18 AWG guides in pure soft silver 6N, 3 x shielded, Signal and power leads are shielded separately with high alu mylar foil and then finally shielded with a thick pure copper braid...
we will see (hear), but i will not touch the vodka HDMI cable for now...

 

[FredA]

Off topic, but after this discussion I ordered the Nimak USB BLACK Mk2:
...with additional mylar shield, 18 AWG guides in pure soft silver 6N, 3 x shielded, Signal and power leads are shielded separately with high alu mylar foil and then finally shielded with a thick pure copper braid...
we will see (hear), but i will not touch the vodka HDMI cable for now...

I am look forward to your comments. With mine (0.65m), the first 5-10 hours were so so, the next 20 were great, then i lost some bass, than it can back 20-30 hours later. I don't think you will regret it.