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DIY Speaker cable using RG/213


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Hi All,

 

Based on various discussions around SNA, I decided to have a go at some speaker cables using RG/213.  Disclaimer: I don't actually know what I'm doing and made it up as I went along.  On this basis I would welcome any comments from those in the know if there is anything I should have done differently

 

1.Firstly, I have no special tools, only a stanely knife, pliers, and a little screwdriver.

 

2. Secondly, this cable is thick and not that flexible, so please keep that in mind if you need the cable to bend around any sharp corners.

post-145233-0-36199700-1439953107_thumb.

 

3. A shallow cut down the length of the black outer sheath (about 100mm) will enable the plastic to be peeled back revealing the copper braiding. Be careful not to cut too deep and damage the copper.  Its then simply a matter of unpicking the braid (i used the little screwdriver for this) and then twisting the copper.

post-145233-0-90552100-1439953433_thumb.

post-145233-0-63271800-1439953466_thumb.  

 
4. Now its time to free the inner copper strands from the thick plastic coating. Without any special tools, I had to use the stanley knife to pare away the plastic until I could get a decent grip with the pliers and peel the remainder off.
post-145233-0-56972700-1439953646_thumb.
 
5. Use some heat shrink around both conductors and then another one over the join to make it nice and neat.
post-145233-0-07442400-1439953949_thumb.
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6. Finished cables
post-145233-0-82673800-1439953863_thumb.
 
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Guest myrantz

Looks good :thumb:..  Why not use red heat shrink tubing on one conductor? That way easier to visually identify connections are correct.
 

Edited by myrantz
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Looks good :thumb:.. Why not use red heat shrink tubing on one end? That way easier to visually identify connections are correct.

Yes that was the plan........until I realised that I didnt have any [emoji39]

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

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I know this can be subjective ,did you notice any difference / improvement in sound?

I havent had the opportunity to do any critical comparison. Initial impression is that the difference is subtle if any. Maybe a bit more presence in the bottom end.

I noticed a far bigger difference when introducing better (solid core) interconnects to my system.

To be honest I wasnt expecting a huge difference. It was more about eliminating any weakness.

For $35 and an hour or so of my time, its a worthwhile exercise.

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Well done young man !

 

When I initially installed these into my system, I did think the bass had dropped off a tad. Same as found by another member when used with ESL's.

 

But hang in there for a week or so and all will be revealed, they will show to be a really great conduit for you music.

 

For the cost associated , I would easily recommend their benefits to everyone to try, a really cheap "tweak"

 

"Benefits".... I would say are completely colour free...they lay bare all, nothing added and nothing taken away.

Edited by Mr. 57
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Guest myrantz

Now you'll have burn them in, what ever that is....apparently.

And then you'd have to DBT and ABX them too, whatever those are....apparently.. :party

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Hi All,

 

Based on various discussions around SNA, I decided to have a go at some speaker cables using RG/213.  Disclaimer: I don't actually know what I'm doing and made it up as I went along.  On this basis I would welcome any comments from those in the know if there is anything I should have done differently

Fantastic effort. Except for the previously mentioned red & back heatshrink thing, the job is great.

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Yes that would do it.

There is actually no problem telling them apart as they are both very different copper. The copper braiding is very different to the central core copper.

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It's very hard to work out, plus would need to know the output impedance of the amplifier.

but if this peice of copper sounds different to another peice of copper, it could be filtering.

 

if it was treated as say just the cable at 100pf and an 8ohm speaker, @1m that would be an RC filter with around 200hz (bass has more presence you said?) RC filter at 200hz could do that.

but then if you used an approximate valve for your amp of say 47kohm your cut off would be somewhere in the 0.03hz range.

 

To be honest I am not sure how to calculate it correctly in these circumstances.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is just be cautious using RF or data cables for audio as a lot of them in there design are made to shield or filter out audio frequency ranges.

RG213 is designed to run signals from 500Mhz to round 5Ghz, so as per design anything outside those ranges are unwanted, or not worried about conducting effectively.

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It's very hard to work out, plus would need to know the output impedance of the amplifier.

but if this peice of copper sounds different to another peice of copper, it could be filtering.

 

if it was treated as say just the cable at 100pf and an 8ohm speaker, @1m that would be an RC filter with around 200hz (bass has more presence you said?) RC filter at 200hz could do that.

but then if you used an approximate valve for your amp of say 47kohm your cut off would be somewhere in the 0.03hz range.

 

To be honest I am not sure how to calculate it correctly in these circumstances.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is just be cautious using RF or data cables for audio as a lot of them in there design are made to shield or filter out audio frequency ranges.

RG213 is designed to run signals from 500Mhz to round 5Ghz, so as per design anything outside those ranges are unwanted, or not worried about conducting effectively.

Could you post your maths wrt "if it was treated as say just the cable at 100pf and an 8ohm speaker, @1m that would be an RC filter with around 200hz"

 

An Extra 100pF on a speaker cable is insignificant, but may be very significant for a MM phono interconnect.

 

Please qualify "RG213 is designed to run signals from 500Mhz to round 5Ghz,", I suggest it is capable of DC- Maximum Freq, whitch i can't be bothered looking up, so won't dispute to round 5GHz.

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Just remember that these more, high frequency designed cables, can have rather high capacitances, So if your cables are long enough you are essentially making a filter.

 

Rg213 is about 100-120pF per meter

Irrelevant. It is the series INDUCTANCE of a cable which causes a loss of HF, not parallel capacitance. And that is the strength of RG213/U cable. It has very low inductance. The capacitance could be 1uF/M and it still wouldn't matter. HF loss for good quality amplifiers would be unchanged.

So, it is actually 'normal' speaker cable, with it's very high series inductance, which acts as a filter, NOT RG213/U.

Edited by Zaphod Beeblebrox
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Does twisting (as in twisted pairs) the cable increase inductance?

No. It LOWERS inductance. Close coupling is the key to reducing inductance. Naim speaker cable is widely spaced and has very high inductance. Regular figure 8 is somewhat closer spaced and has somewhat lower inductance as a result. Goertz and similar cables are VERY closely spaced, with wide conductors. As a consequence, their inductance can be extremely low.

Twisted pairs have reasonably close coupling and, as a result, reasonably low inductance figures. It's why, PROPERLY configured CAT5/6 speaker cables exhibit low(ish) inductance figures. Coax cables have VERY good coupling, despite the insulation thickness, due their particular construction and they offer very low inductance.

Edited by Zaphod Beeblebrox
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Could you post your maths wrt "if it was treated as say just the cable at 100pf and an 8ohm speaker, @1m that would be an RC filter with around 200hz"

 

An Extra 100pF on a speaker cable is insignificant, but may be very significant for a MM phono interconnect.

 

Please qualify "RG213 is designed to run signals from 500Mhz to round 5Ghz,", I suggest it is capable of DC- Maximum Freq, whitch i can't be bothered looking up, so won't dispute to round 5GHz.

 

F=(1/2PiRC)

 

It is capable of DC-max freq, I said designed to. kinda different things. Cable screen type will play a factor in this.

and personally have never been a fan of using cable screens as conductors as all screens are not created equal.

 

 

http://audiosystemsgroup.com/CableCapacitance.pdf

https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scots_Guide/audio/skincoax/page8.html

 

http://eeeic.eu/proc/papers/55.pdf

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitic_capacitance

 

 

 

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To be honest when it comes to cabling for Audio I am failry limited, I have more dealth with high frequency cabling where input capacitance is an issue in audio it is really a non issue.

 

But, I started these replies because the OP said he replaced one peice of copper with another peice of copper and now his music sounds different.

So either the new peice of copper is having some effect on the signal, or it's all in his head.

 

I was just throwing out ideas for why it suddenly sounds different with a new cable.

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