[Bosk]

It's been rainy here so finally I can bring them to the roof for some poor photoshots.

Silver Inner Core + Alloy Shielding (I will experiment with some better plugs later)	Palladium-Silver Alloy Inner Core + Copper Shielding
Hakugei Grey Dragon	Hakugei Golden Phoenix
Hakugei Gaea	PWAudio 1960s Clone 4 wire 8 core
"Premium" Copper Alloy

Was that Cardas Clear Light wire you used to build the 1960s clone?

 

[saldsald]

Was that Cardas Clear Light wire you used to build the 1960s clone?

Yes it was.

 

[saldsald]

Yea, hmmmm, ok let me reactivate that thread and hope it won't be removed, lol.
And let me post my new wire and a finished cable here before moving to the new thread.

Bare wire also in the photo. Look how thin it is without the sleeve.

Just want to talk a bit more about the experimental results with this wire. It's one of the cheapest yet still very resolving wire and well tuend wire that I bought.
I began with a Bispa silver plate plug and the sound was a bit 'silent' like super dark and not very musical as the decay was all gone.

Then I replaced the plug with the rhodium plated non-alpha copper version Furutech. The sound was much livelier as the decay was back. However the sound was a little too 'generic' to my ears, like there was a thin layer of fog dragging the wave envelope making it a little slower than desired. It is still a nice combination nonetheless but I felt that there could be better clarity, better focus in the sound.

So I finally tested the wire with the Furutech Alpha Copper and the improvement was greater than I expected. The layer of fog is gone as expected. There's more bass as expected due to the lower impedance as the effect on the perception of the range of frequencies is non-linear. It is always the bass got affected first. Some Extreme treble is always attenuated with higher impedance but you likely cannot measure with a coupler. Stage is larger and there's more background detail like the transmission of the signal was not confined only to the surface. However the plug is not without its downside. It is still a little 'coloured' in a way or there's quite some 'characters' of the plug injected into the sound. That being said, if you are unsure which plug to get for your first project this one should be hard to go wrong with.

 

[saldsald]

Just want to talk a bit more about the experimental results with this wire. It's one of the cheapest yet still very resolving wire and well tuend wire that I bought.
I began with a Bispa silver plate plug and the sound was a bit 'silent' like super dark and not very musical as the decay was all gone.

Then I replaced the plug with the rhodium plated non-alpha copper version Furutech. The sound was much livelier as the decay was back. However the sound was a little too 'generic' to my ears, like there was a thin layer of fog dragging the wave envelope making it a little slower than desired. It is still a nice combination nonetheless but I felt that there could be better clarity, better focus in the sound.

So I finally tested the wire with the Furutech Alpha Copper and the improvement was greater than I expected. The layer of fog is gone as expected. There's more bass as expected due to the lower impedance as the effect on the perception of the range of frequencies is non-linear. It is always the bass got affected first. Some Extreme treble is always attenuated with higher impedance but you likely cannot measure with a coupler. Stage is larger and there's more background detail like the transmission of the signal was not confined only to the surface. However the plug is not without its downside. It is still a little 'coloured' in a way or there's quite some 'characters' of the plug injected into the sound. That being said, if you are unsure which plug to get for your first project this one should be hard to go wrong with.

And a little more about these Furutech Alpha Copper plugs I want to talk about. They are as I said, quite coloured but in a good way. However, they are not totally suitable for all wires. Wires with medium to slow speed you definitely should avoid these plugs, including the 1960s. I cannot agree on the choice of plug with PWAudio although it's a premium option at a rather high price (and yes, these plugs are hard to solder to, so probably that's why they want to charge you that much more). Excess energy tends to build up in the mids due to the slower dissipation resulting in graininess with metallic timbre.

They sound good with silver wires thou but the colouration will always be there. Also, the PLA insulation I showed earlier is very insuitable for this plug due to the very low melting point. The suggested soldering temperature is 350 degree Celsius and in reality you may need to dial up to 480 for the R- connection if your soldering iron is just a random hobby grade like mine. But then the melting point of PLA is just around 200 degree Celsius. The insulations just disintergrate if you try to solder some thick wires to the plug.

 

[saldsald]

So I just made 'a cable' from the above: (thanks @orys for introducing me the original cable)

The purple titanium splitter really pops and I am loving it. Minimalistic and doesn't get in the way when you try to put the cable inside a pouch or sth. Will just keep using it as my signature, haha.

Anyway it's a Cardas Clear Light aka PWAudio 1960s clone 4 wire 8 core. Quite a nightmare to insulate...

And a little more about this Cardas Clear Light:

I have experimented with some higher end plugs than the Furutech Alpha Copper and I still haven't found a good plug for it. The problem with the wire is it is only resolving below a certain frequency in the mids and then above that point it lack extension, energy and resolution. There is also an accumulation of energy right at that point making some sort of energy burst like a tube amp. I like that character/colouration but I wish the Furutech isn't that coloured or it would be a perfect match.

Basically I do not recommend getting the cable for DIY.

 

[saldsald]

Bought myself some new interesteing wires again for my experiments, the brownish one is cryo-alloy plus one single thicker core wire of rhodium plated cryo-alloy. This one is supposed to be very resolving so it's not cheap. And the silver one is even more interesting but really cheap, it's made of silver plated graphene copper based alloy (I don't think you can have a pure graphene wire, it's always in the form of copper alloy) with silver plated foil wrapped around. Skin is a bit thick for the graphene so there isn't really too many wires per wire.

 

[saldsald]

Bought myself some new interesteing wires again for my experiments, the brownish one is cryo-alloy plus one single thicker core wire of rhodium plated cryo-alloy. This one is supposed to be very resolving so it's not cheap. And the silver one is even more interesting but really cheap, it's made of silver plated graphene copper based alloy (I don't think you can have a pure graphene wire, it's always in the form of copper alloy) with silver plated foil wrapped around. Skin is a bit thick for the graphene so there isn't really too many wires per wire.

I Shouldn't be posting this but it's done. Probably one of the best looking cables I have. Also it's very easy to solder due to the small guage and non-litz coating.

Edit: I mean it's really nice looking in person, the flexibility of the skin of the wire is so on point so when braided it forms a very nice structure that will never form any unwanted shape memory. Sound wise it's quite resolving and balanced. The bass is one of the best on the other hand in terms of its excellent elasticity but not quantity. And overall the sound is always in good harmony with great overtones and air.

 

[adgun]

Just want to talk a bit more about the experimental results with this wire. It's one of the cheapest yet still very resolving wire and well tuend wire that I bought.
I began with a Bispa silver plate plug and the sound was a bit 'silent' like super dark and not very musical as the decay was all gone.

Then I replaced the plug with the rhodium plated non-alpha copper version Furutech. The sound was much livelier as the decay was back. However the sound was a little too 'generic' to my ears, like there was a thin layer of fog dragging the wave envelope making it a little slower than desired. It is still a nice combination nonetheless but I felt that there could be better clarity, better focus in the sound.

So I finally tested the wire with the Furutech Alpha Copper and the improvement was greater than I expected. The layer of fog is gone as expected. There's more bass as expected due to the lower impedance as the effect on the perception of the range of frequencies is non-linear. It is always the bass got affected first. Some Extreme treble is always attenuated with higher impedance but you likely cannot measure with a coupler. Stage is larger and there's more background detail like the transmission of the signal was not confined only to the surface. However the plug is not without its downside. It is still a little 'coloured' in a way or there's quite some 'characters' of the plug injected into the sound. That being said, if you are unsure which plug to get for your first project this one should be hard to go wrong with.

try to get bispa cinqbes unplated, that was the most uncolored plugs that i have tested.
solder is also give them a coloration as well, you might try to get some solder that wasnt colored much.
mundorf msolder = warm coloration
mundorf ssg = warm neutral with bright tendencies

 

[saldsald]

try to get bispa cinqbes unplated, that was the most uncolored plugs that i have tested.
solder is also give them a coloration as well, you might try to get some solder that wasnt colored much.
mundorf msolder = warm coloration
mundorf ssg = warm neutral with bright tendencies

Thanks! I might get that later but I have tested the P445 unplated which is just pure brass. And from my experience I actually find the brass version a little more natural sounding than their SHC plugs due to the more averaged speed of the sound. SHC plugs are a little fast in terms of the impact. What other plugs have you tested?

For solder I am not very sure TBH, I use very little solder to allow a more direct contact between the wire and the plug and I couldn't tell a sound difference in my solder experiment between MSol and Mundorf Supreme so I just use Supreme for everything. I probably should have tried some Japanese solder as well. Again do you have any favourite solder to recommend?

Actually colouration is necessary I believe it is just that we need to make use of good colouration and get rid of bad colouration to "tune" a cable.

 

[Bosk]

For anyone interested, I've included a section on Cable DIY in my 2023 Cable Shootout which has some information you may find useful.

 

[adgun]

Thanks! I might get that later but I have tested the P445 unplated which is just pure brass. And from my experience I actually find the brass version a little more natural sounding than their SHC plugs due to the more averaged speed of the sound. SHC plugs are a little fast in terms of the impact. What other plugs have you tested?

For solder I am not very sure TBH, I use very little solder to allow a more direct contact between the wire and the plug and I couldn't tell a sound difference in my solder experiment between MSol and Mundorf Supreme so I just use Supreme for everything. I probably should have tried some Japanese solder as well. Again do you have any favourite solder to recommend?

Actually colouration is necessary I believe it is just that we need to make use of good colouration and get rid of bad colouration to "tune" a cable.

for the solder, you will be able to tell the difference once you accustomed on 1 cables but with different solder.
it changes the sound slightly, maybe around 5-15%.
i also love their pure brass plugs, sounds very natural and kinda energic in some way

my recommended solder to check the quality of cable and plugs is nihon superior, its pretty cheap solder, but quite transparent.

agree with u, colouration is necessary of course, we need it to tune specific sounding cables

 

[saldsald]

for the solder, you will be able to tell the difference once you accustomed on 1 cables but with different solder.
it changes the sound slightly, maybe around 5-15%.
i also love their pure brass plugs, sounds very natural and kinda energic in some way

Thing is the seller warned me not to use Mundorf Supreme as it would make the sound overly bright for some wires but I found it not even bright enough, lol. I wonder if I just used too little solder or maybe my plugs were warmer.

my recommended solder to check the quality of cable and plugs is nihon superior, its pretty cheap solder, but quite transparent.

Thanks, I will get some to try it out!

agree with u, colouration is necessary of course, we need it to tune specific sounding cables

Yes, you know I have so much more fun listening to different cables for the colouration than rolling IEMs. Maybe I am just odd in a way, lol.

 

[saldsald]

Bought myself some new interesteing wires again for my experiments, the brownish one is cryo-alloy plus one single thicker core wire of rhodium plated cryo-alloy. This one is supposed to be very resolving so it's not cheap. And the silver one is even more interesting but really cheap, it's made of silver plated graphene copper based alloy (I don't think you can have a pure graphene wire, it's always in the form of copper alloy) with silver plated foil wrapped around. Skin is a bit thick for the graphene so there isn't really too many wires per wire.

Cryo-alloy+Single Rhodium Plated cryo-alloy wires with a CINQBES silver plated SHC plug and gold plated SHC 2pin plugs. BTW, this is real gold plating, unlike 99% of the plugs out there with a gold coloured compound plating, likely gold infused palladium alloy. Real gold plating is much cleaner vs the warmer tone of chemical gold plating.

 

[saldsald]

Cryo-alloy+Single Rhodium Plated cryo-alloy wires with a CINQBES silver plated SHC plug and gold plated SHC 2pin plugs. BTW, this is real gold plating, unlike 99% of the plugs out there with a gold coloured compound plating, likely gold infused palladium alloy. Real gold plating is much cleaner vs the warmer tone of chemical gold plating.

And the same cable with a real gold plated SHC plug. Silver plated plugs should really be used with caution...in terms of how they change the sound. Just another great example that the plug can change the overall sound by over 50%.
And the silver plated SHC plug (3 times plating) is soldered to a much more suitable wire in my collection.

 

[saldsald]

@adgun I just wonder if you have tried the nickle plated SHC bispa plug and do you know how does it sound?