Nice, how's the plug and where did you get the wires from?My first custom cable (IEM) is on its way from "Down-under" to Germany:
- 1.25m
- 22awg silver plated 6n OCC and hybrid alloy mix (Cu-Ag) - 60/40. The wire ø is 1.65mm and the jacket is medical PVC.
- 4-cores, hand braided
- Aeco 4.4mm full copper rhodium plated connector at source
- 2x tellerium copper mmcx connctors
- Splitter
Torben
I've been following your posts with great interest. Have you experimented with sheathing your cables for potentially improved performance? Not only with copper sheathing, but you could also add layers of cotton, nylon or silk.After listening to all these cables I made each with a cherry-picked plug, I realise that some of my good cables' milage are likely limited by the plugs so here is the Hunting Hwak (Sorry it's actually called the Hunting Hwak not Night Hwak) with a better plug.
21.5 AWG is thinner than I anticipated. Or maybe it's actually less than that?
A bit disappointed with the soldering at the R- of the original plug here. It is usually the hardest to solder as this is connected to the thickest part of the plug and so the heat sink is the largest. This is a cold joint.
Anyway, with this new plug the stage is wider and the bass surprisingly now has a stronger and more powerful presence. Piano music has a much much nicer tone now compared to the original plug. Top end is smoother and wetter but due to the characters of the wire it is still not very airy and wet at the extreme. Definitely a significant upgrade to me although the techanicalites are still limited by the wire when compared to my DIY cables.
Edit: I take my words back, it's really awesome now. The tone is so euphonic, reaches deep and has a good height. The default Hunting Hwak was a good cable but this is a few times better now.
No not yet, but I happen to have asked a cable wire factory a few days ago the effect of their nylon sheath (shield) and the guy told me it's only for asthetic purpose and to volumize the wire in terms of thickness. I would not rule of the possibility of the effect of sheathing thou as they are supposed to absorb vibrations. A forum member here introduced me some vibration absorption tapes and I put them on some IEMs I could hear a significant difference in sound with the tape. Loosely speaking the tape turned the plastic shell into a plastic shell with metallic properties. I also taped the plug and the splitter, and believe it or not there was a sonic difference as well but in a negative way by making the sound way too mid-centric.
Looks very nice that braiding, I probably should try braiding my cable like this! Ar ok, BS Sheet and Cabon Nano Tube whatever those are. I probably can try this out at one of the local shops, just need some thick skins.
This is another thing I asked some factories long ago. They told me it shouldn't matter and I think so as the term "balanced" cable is very misleading here. But who knows, it may have an effect. I actually tried no braiding vs braided and I think the difference was too small I could not hear the difference at all.
Thanks, I really appreciate your input.No not yet, but I happen to have asked a cable wire factory a few days ago the effect of their nylon sheath (shield) and the guy told me it's only for asthetic purpose and to volumize the wire in terms of thickness. I would not rule of the possibility of the effect of sheathing thou as they are supposed to absorb vibrations. A forum member here introduced me some vibration absorption tapes and I put them on some IEMs I could hear a significant difference in sound with the tape. Loosely speaking the tape turned the plastic shell into a plastic shell with metallic properties. I also taped the plug and the splitter, and believe it or not there was a sonic difference as well but in a negative way by making the sound way too mid-centric.
However, since these sheathing are not actually designed with a scientific goal to absorb vibrations so I would not prefer it as a mean to tune the cable.
Just received this (and I am really not a fan of nylon / cotton sheat) as it's pretty budget friendly I couldn't resist buying and has a silver inner core. Let's see if I can pick up some characters in the sound due to the sheath. And look at the volumization, it's probably a 24 awg coaxial wire wanting to look like a 18 awg.
Looks very nice that braiding, I probably should try braiding my cable like this! Ar ok, BS Sheet and Cabon Nano Tube whatever those are. I probably can try this out at one of the local shops, just need some thick skins.
This is another thing I asked some factories long ago. They told me it shouldn't matter and I think so as the term "balanced" cable is very misleading here. But who knows, it may have an effect. I actually tried no braiding vs braided and I think the difference was too small I could not hear the difference at all.
Yes I beleive so, but I just don't see why the extra cotton sheath should cost a few hundre more, lol.
Yes, @Lothar16 mentioned this cable so these layers are all made to filter EM waves. I really would love to take a listen to this Yatano and you know there is a reason I keep buying (mostly) coaxial wires. They do sound more 3D by default, but I guess partially due to the asymmetrical wiring.
Hey please share your results if you hear any difference. I am sure the effect of copper shielding is audible, but not so sure with cotton. You should try to get plugs of the same brand if you want to hear the plating difference as I think the core makes more impact, and maybe get a cheap generic plug to hear the SQ difference. I am sure you won't want cheap plugs anymore.
There was already a thread for DIY cables, I thought I had read you there...
I worried that I made a duplicated thread and searched with "DIY cable" keywords but with no results and then I really forgot I posted there too, lol. Damn, I will close that thread for good and move the posts there. Thanks for the heads-up, will copy some posts there when I have the time.
. Anyway, thanks for sharing your work! I have always had the curiosity to get to it, but very little time now. That, and that my three-year-old girl's toys and things prevent me from having a small space for a workshop
Yea I think it's better to keep things there, lol. Hey you don't need a lot of space, I just need around 50x50cm to do all these dirty works. As long as you have the right tools you would be fine!Well... yours is only for IEM and headphones cables, while the other one seems to be for all types of cables, and the truth is that I have been reading and it is good to have everything gathered there, but I do not know if the administrators will think the same
Tempted by this one too, it is available in 3 colors
Pulled the trigger myself and the cable arrived today. Good first impression - nice and solid hardware/plugs. Seems to match well with my Penon 10th for which it was intended... Worth the 78 Euro I paid for it...
Hello saldsald.
