DIY Hi-Fi

[Dave_S]

Now I KNOW some of you work in the business, but does anyone make their own cabling?? Mains / Speaker cable / ICs??

Dave

[Jezz_S13]

I nearly did this, but really couldn't be arsed in the end as I needed abotu 40 meters of it.

http://www.venhaus1.com/diycatfivecables.html

[Dave_S]

Hmm, yeah that one is mega nutty complex.

I've made some CAT5 speaker cable and it sounds great. Unfortunately, better than the 12 metres of QED Silver Anniversary I had bought a week beforehand :(

I used this recipe ... http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/ffrc_e.html

It took me around 5 hours to braid them and I had blisters by the end of it. But it was worth it :)

These are the cables. Still need to heatshrink the ends as they look a little messy with the tape on them.
http://www.avforums.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=254542

I'm currently in the process of getting the bits for 2 of these http://www.venhaus1.com/diymains.html

:)

Dave

[Jezz_S13]

Mmm interesting.

I really wish I could be bothered, I reckon the stripped hype-rcolourful cat 5 ones look superb. :)

Do you not find some (most) of the people on avforums to be so far up there arse they don't need satellite TV?

[AshT_200]

If you want decent Cat 5 Cable, go for Krone Tru-net. For Networking, they guarantee a zero bit error rate.

Expensive tho.... £10 for a 2m patch cable. But you pay for what is regarded as the best Cat 5 you can get. :)

Complements our Cisco kit nicely tho :D

[vega]

You guys have far too much time on your hands :rolleyes:

:D

[Dave_S]

Originally posted by Jezz_S13
Mmm interesting.

I really wish I could be bothered, I reckon the stripped hype-rcolourful cat 5 ones look superb. :)

Do you not find some (most) of the people on avforums to be so far up there arse they don't need satellite TV?

The mult-coloured ones do look great, I'm tempted to make some just for the hell of it, and to compare against the TNT recipe ones :)

Yes, LOADS of people on there are up their own arses!!! lol, I just tend to ignore them. Whats your handle on there btw? (I'm CodeThief )


By Ash
If you want decent Cat 5 Cable, go for Krone Tru-net. For Networking, they guarantee a zero bit error rate.

Expensive tho.... £10 for a 2m patch cable. But you pay for what is regarded as the best Cat 5 you can get.

Complements our Cisco kit nicely tho

Sounds great mate, only problem is, I don't think you realise how much cable I used to get 2 x 8m runs :eek:

It took around 72 metres of CAT5e to make those cables :eek: Imagine that at your prices ;)

Vega:

Yeah I did have, I was waiting for my speakers to arrive :D

Dave

[Jezz_S13]

handle imaginative, jezzpalmer. :)

Haven't posted for ages, infact i asked a question about speakers and non of the bast's replied so thought fcuk it.

However i got good feedback from another question RE my TV,
seek and ye shall find, probably. :)

We use krone at work, not sure which but we got reels and reels of it, so even if I had to pay it'd be cheap, BUT I really can't see me making any it. Maybe some small interconnects LOL.

[Dave_S]

I've made some interconnects as well, not based on CAT5 though. I'm skint at the mo so might make some CAT5 ones and see what they sound like :D

Heres my "lovely" interconnects :D

http://www.avforums.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=252888

Dave

[Dave_S]

Just thought I'd dig this back up again.

Anyone made any Mains cables?

Dave

[vega]

What would you want to make mains cable for?

[Dave_S]

For Hi-Fi seperates mate.

Like these (http://www.russandrews.com/category.asp?lookup=1&region=UK&currency=GBP&cat_id=PMAINCABL&customer_id=PAA0739080403272MIFLLWFNINFMDLNF)(but not at these prices)

Dave

[vega]

I reckon that is a load of bollox mate :indiff:

Can you really get that much interference through such a short run of cable? I doubt it, unless your system is sat on a load of fluroescent lights or something. I would be more concerned about smoothing out the mains that comes into your house rather than stopping RFI.


Anyway, to stop RFI getting onto a cable, just go to an electrical wholesaler and get some braded 0.75mm flex, connect the braiding to earth, and leave the other end disconnected where you plug into the system.

Interconnects are a con aswell. I have a friend who works for Electronic Arts, sound engineering. He has worked in top notch studios where the RCA's are bronze and corroding, and the sound is still second to none :)

[Dave_S]

Yes mate there is a lot of "sales" stuff shoved in there but I DO believe it makes a difference.

Same with the interconnects / speaker cable etc. The ones I made sound shite loads better than the £5/metre stuff I bought :( and :D

Dave

[vega]

Interconnects and speaker cable will make a difference depending on the grade of cable.

Stick a bit of metal sheath around a mains cable, and I reckon you won't notice a thing :confused:

Maybe I'm wrong, but money would be better off being spent on smoothing the mains signal I reckon :)

[Dave_S]

Originally posted by vega
Interconnects and speaker cable will make a difference depending on the grade of cable.

Stick a bit of metal sheath around a mains cable, and I reckon you won't notice a thing :confused:

Maybe I'm wrong, but money would be better off being spent on smoothing the mains signal I reckon :)

No no, you're quite right. But sorting out the mains in the house costs a fortune to be re-done / have a dedicated spike for Hifi.

It's not just sticking a metal sheath around a cable though. Theres a complex geometry to the cable design and the quality of the copper / silver and the insulation all make a difference :)

Dave