[PinkFloyd]

I saw these DIY interconnects on ebay last week and decided to order a Broadcast 3 kit as it looked particularly good and very reasonably priced (from £10 to £20 per kit)

I phoned the supplier of the kits (The Missing Link) to get more info on the cables as I wanted to make sure they were genuine Cable Talk interconnects and not replicas.... no need to worry, when Cable Talk ceased trading The Missing Link bought up reels of cable and phono plugs from Cable Talk so these kits are the genuine Cable Talk article. Cable Talk were a very well known UK cable manufacturer and their products were very highly praised by the the Hi-Fi press a few years back so It's good to know that you can snag one of their very highly acclaimed interconnects for a fraction of the retail cost.

My kit of choice was the Cable Talk "Broadcast 3" costing £20. The kit comprises 2 lengths of broadcast 3 cable (Price depends on length but my £20 bought me two 0.5M lengths) and four Cable Talk Reference RCA connectors..... It also includes a construction diagram and a metre of silver bearing solder.

The cable itself has a very robust feel to it.. there are 3 conductors made from 6N pure copper, a solid copper foil shield and a drain wire. The 3 conductors are comprised of 7 pretty thick strands (don't know what guage but let's say they're pretty substantial in girth!)

I don't have all the facts and figures of the cable to hand as I only had a brief chat with Mark, from the missing link, but I'm sure he will furnish them on his ebay pages in due course......

A few pics: (excuse the quality the light was poor)

Outer sheath

Outer sheath stripped to reveal the solid copper foil shield and drain wire

Solid copper foil shield stripped back to reveal the ground, 2 centre pin conductors and drain wire.

It took me about an hour and a half to put the interconnects together (I wasn't rushing) and they were pretty easy to assemble.... as long as you remember to connect the drain wire to the source end only you really can't mess up. The phono sockets are first class and accept solder easily, they are also are a "perfect" fit for the cable and clamp down tightly ensuring a robust, mechanically sound, end to end connection.

Well, an hour and a half later I had made myself a pair of "what Hi-Fi 5 star award" interconnects (that used to retail for £99) for the reasonable sum of £20

Completed cables (again. excuse the picture quality I'll take more detailed pics in better light)

Now to the part I've been dreading! I have always maintaned that "copper is copper" and that custom cables are a waste of money....... I've always felt that the difference between a £5 interconnect and a £500 interconnect is "minimal" (if anything at all) I'm a great exponent of the law of diminishing returns and have been vehemently reluctant to buy into the boutique cable market (especially the Uber expensive varieties in excess of £500) I was bitten back in the 90's by the Monster cable hype and I suppose that's what put me off the idea that "interconnects make a difference"

I'm very self critical of my own workmanship and was expecting nothing from this Broadcast 3 interconnect but, you know what?, I think I'm about to change my views on interconnects thanks to this cable. I don't know how It's possible but this interconnect has seriously brought out an extra 40% of the mix into my ears..... when I first fired up the WNA I immediately noticed the bass was fuller, to the detriment of the rest of the spectrum, but after about an hour....... WOW! I am so amazed at the improvement (across the board) I'll have to come back tomorrow and put it into words......

I never use clichés but until I have time to fully explain the improvement the introduction of this cable has brought about I'll simply say "more air, better bass definition, more balanced, increased clarity....... in a Nutshell, best £20 I've spent on an upgrade this year.

Mike.

 

[RnB180]

that little pic you linked is a good diagram explaining how to make a cable directional.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180 that little pic you linked is a good diagram explaining how to make a cable directional.

Yeh, suppose it is, didn't think of that

I'll do a step by step construction guide at my website as soon as I upgrade to 100MB storage...... my 50MB storage capacity is full which is why there hasn't been any new DIY stuff on my hobby page recently..... In fact, I may bin that site as It's nothing short of "pants" and start over again with a new site dedicated purely to Hi-Fi. I've been uploading tons of stuff to "freespace" accounts and am starting to lose track of it all...... there's nothing "DIY" as such but quite a few painting by numbers tutorials to go up and I'd like all those eggs to be in the same basket.

Anyways, I'm going off on a tangent, the purpose of this thread is to introduce you to a killer interconnect at a bargain basement price...... Listening to Genesis "foxtrot" at the moment and have never heard it so good ......

This is my find of the month and IMO represents great bang for the buck.

Mike.

 

[Edwood]

Copper foil shield? Nice.

-Ed

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Copper foil shield? Nice. -Ed

Hi Ed,

Yup, and It's "solid" copper foil shield meaning if you use your fingers to strip it back you risk a deep cut........ It's pretty damn thick copper (yet flexible) and It's best to use a pair of long nosers on it instead of your fingers...... I'ts not your usual "wafer thin shield" this stuff is quality.

Mike.

SOLID copper 6N shielding

 

[Oink1]

Can we have a linky to the auction please Mike?

*edit* - Doh!, Just found it 'Find of the Month'

 

[deadlierchair]

I am thinking of ordering a kit, it looks really cool, but is there any compelling reason to buy this and incur the overseas shipping as opposed to normal Canare Star Quad? Maybe RnB180 can answer this with his infinite cable DIY wisdom? I am thinking the pure copper shielding would be pretty cool, but it is the quality that much different than the Star Quad?

 

[RnB180]

I dont know, havent heard the cables before and the first time Ive ever seen cable talk.

I dont even know if Id be able to hear the difference between 6n copper and star quad copper, how much interference are you expecting the cables to be exposed to that would require more shielding than whats found canare star quad?

Mike, regarding your impressions, which cables were you using before the cable talk? with you comparison?

thanks

 

[JWFokker]

It looks like it's very good quality cable, but like RnB180 said, while it does look better than Star Quad, I wouldn't expect the difference to be audible. They're pretty similar cables. I'd put Cat5e in the same class. Yes, this stuff looks great, but it's unlikely you'll reap any benefit from such heavy duty shielding vs Star Quad or Cat5e.

 

[deadlierchair]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180 I dont even know if Id be able to hear the difference between 6n copper and star quad copper, how much interference are you expecting the cables to be exposed to that would require more shielding than whats found canare star quad?

I don't really know cabling that well, but there shouldn't be a huge amount of interference, but since I didn't know I thought it might be better to ask specifically. I will probably end up going the Star Quad route, it'd come faster, probably be a tad cheaper, and such...

 

[Jon L]

This cable has so much potential due to the solid copper foil. Some believe thin circular tubing has almost ideal conductor properties, a concept Analysis Plus has run with, except they compromise on the ideal concept by making things oval and stranded(!) for the sake of convenience.

I'll bet this cable would make great speaker cables. One would not use the center 3 conductors at all, as they appear to have PVC dielectric. I would strip off the outer jacket to the copper foil, wrap the entire thing in teflon plumber's tape, then use only the copper foil as conductor. You would need one cable per leg of speaker lead. Wish I could buy this stuff cut to length here in U.S..

 

[RnB180]

I dont know about using the shield as a signal conductor, its not 6n like the insulated wires, I would guess has significantly less purity then the conductors and overall mass of the shield may not be adequate for speaker cable use.

 

[PinkFloyd]

The sun was shining earlier on so I decided to dissect 1 inch of the cable so you could all see what It's comprised of in greater detail:

The drain wire runs along the inner edge of the outer sheathing.

Cable dissected showing drain wire, conductors, outer sheath and solid copper foil shield.

One of the conductors dissected showing the 7 strands of 6N copper per conductor.

Cable Talk Reference RCA connectors, gold plated with metal housings.

When I was speaking to Mark at The Missing Link I mentioned the starquad cable (which he also sells) and he reckons the Broadcast 3 is a better sounding cable. He doesn't have a lot of the Broadcast 3 left so when It's gone It's gone (last stock of the UK designed cable made by Cable Talk) He has plenty of other types of exotic cable and will send small samples on request.

I believe these guys are pretty new to e-bay selling but they have been established for quite some time and have quite a following in the UK... their actual website is here As you can see, they do some Uber cool cables

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180 I dont know, havent heard the cables before and the first time Ive ever seen cable talk.

Hi RnB180,

Cable Talk were a very well known UK cable manufacturer and their range of cables were very well reviewed in the Hi-Fi press a few years back (most of them achieving 5 star awards) I'm sure the UK guys here will remember them very well. All their cables were not only designed in house but they were also manufactured in the UK.... IIRC the Broadcast 3 retailed at around the 100 quid mark.


Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180 Mike, regarding your impressions, which cables were you using before the cable talk? with you comparison?

These which I made up myself, the Cable Talk Broadcast 3 IMO allows more of the music to flow through though the Cuga is a damned good cable but at 20 quid the Broadcast 3 not only beats it pricewise it also beats it sonically. I must admit I was a bit taken aback when I heard the Broadcast 3 as I haven't heard a commercial cable in the £100 price range which could come close to the DIY Cuga (I tried a few on home audition and time and again the Cuga suited my ears the best)

I may also try The Missing Link's "Silver Surfer" cable that kit also looks pretty good for 20 quid.

Mike.

 

[JWFokker]

If the Broadcast 3 actually does sound better than that Cuga, it's likely because it has much more conductive material than the Cuga cables. While the Cuga is well insulated and shielded, it looks pretty thin to me, which can definitely cause problems with treble. I'll stick with braided Cat5e, personally.