Interconnects - working on a kit

[Doc B.]

We've been doing a lot of experimentation over the past couple of weeks with various interconnect formulas. Our reference cable at this point is our homebrew concoction of some Ohno wire, some other wire, some braided shield and Neutrik Profi connectors. I've used this cable when multi thousand dollar cables at trade shows were not doing the job, and I have a good deal of confidence in its abilities. But it's kind of a PITA to make and so we have been trying to come up with something that is easier to assemble and as close as possible to the sound of those cables.

Today on test cable number five or so we seem to have hit it. Not ready to share too many details yet beyond the fact that we used the Profis and found a coax cable that sounds quite similar to the Ohno wire.

[Jim R.]

Cool beans!  Ae the profis available in straight and 90 degree versions?  I seem to recall that they were.  Don't  they also have a set screw termination option?

Just curious, did you try stripping off the outer jacket over the braid and replacing it with cotton?  In my limited experience this has almost always seemed to improve coax.

-- Jim

[Doc B.]

As far as I know Profis only come in a straight version. It would be nice to use a right angle connector and we will be trying one or two. The plugs seem to have some influence on the sound, and if the right angle plugs we try do not stand up sonically we will do without.

We did not strip off the outer jacket, but we might give that a try. That sounds maybe like something for the end user to experiment with.

[Jim R.]

Fair enough :-).

[denti alligator]

Cool. I was just thinking about needing to upgrade my cables. About when do you expect a kit to be ready? Ballpark price?

[Doc B.]

Should be able to put them out them fairly soon. Price might be in the $125 range for a 1M pair.

7/5 - I have found some RCA plugs that, if they are acceptable both machanically and sonically, might reduce the price of the kit considerably.

Stay tuned...

[Noskipallwd]

Hey Doc, just wondering if you are planning on offering just one cable length for this kit. I realize offering multiple lengths complicates things, it would be nice to have a choice though.
Oh, I have had good results with the Cardas right angle RCAs, they are no cheaper than the Profis though.

Cheers,
Shawn

[Frank Breech]

I'm looking forward to this kit.  Keep us updated please.

[denti alligator]

With the Quickie I now need a longer cable for analog output from my PC, so now's the time! Bring 'em on!  (Length options would be excellent! Between my SEX and Seduction and Quickie I'd only need 2-3 feet max.)

[earwaxxer]

Sounds interesting! I may have to get a pair and do a 'shootout', between 4 interconnect technologies: 1). Pure silver - Silver Audio - Silver Bullet 4.0. 2). Silver coated copper - Better Cables - Silver Serpent Anniversary Edition. 3). Aluminata - JPS Labs Ultraconductor ll. 4). Bottlehead interconnect SE Mk ll ultra Millennial edition (emphasis mine - you have to have a flashy name to impress the peanut gallery). All my interconnects are .5 meter so I will have to cut them in half. No biggie. I will say, that the Silver Bullets are the most expensive wires I own and have the 'best' WBT connectors, but they dont sound the best IMO.

later dudes - Eric

[Doc B.]

I think we're going to pull the trigger on this idea. The coax is really expensive, but we haven't found anything else that stands up sonically to our homebrew Ohno/Alpha/Belden Shield Braid/Pro-Fi combo. And that cable is not only expensive but a bit fragile and a b***h to build. The coax cable is a snap to build, rugged yet reasonably flexible, and I have found a very clean and elegantly simple right angle RCA plug. It also sounds very good with a few hours of break in.

Kit price works out to $149 the pair (like I said the coax is really spendy). But I think we will offer an intro pricing of $129. This will be a 1 meter pair kit, that you can make shorter if you wish. After some discussion about how screwed up orders get when we start trying to fill special requests we have determined that there will be no custom lengths. Maybe a 2M pair kit down the road, but at first just a 1M kit, as that will cover 90% of the demand.

I'm running this coax from my Nagra T to the 300B preamp in our reference system and plan to replace our homebrew stuff with these cables as we can afford to (we use about 16 pairs of cables to wire the system together).

[denti alligator]

Looks nice.
Variable lengths? Approximate price?
I held off on a Blue Jeans interconnect order with the hope this would come through sooner than later. Glad I did.

[Hank Murrow]

I think we will offer an intro pricing of $129. This will be a 1 meter pair kit, that you can make shorter if you wish. After some discussion about how screwed up orders get when we start trying to fill special requests we have determined that there will be no custom lengths. Maybe a 2M pair kit down the road, but at first just a 1M kit, as that will cover 90% of the demand.

Hey Dan; Folks could make shorter interconnects if you had a button on the buy page to add an extra pair of connectors or two.

I hope something like this works out for folks that use shorter cables. Shame to waste or store expensive un-needed cable.

Cheers, Hank in Eugene

[denti alligator]

Yeah, if I could get two 1/2-meter interconnects for $149 + the extra $ for a couple more connectors that would be sweet!

Even better would be if 2x an order shipped as one strand of 2 meters (and 3x one strand of 3 m, etc.), so that one could divide up the cable as one wished. That would be ideal!

[johnsonad]

Dan, is this a custom made coax cable or something available commercially? I like the idea of a great sounding IC but personally need custom lengths and I've got a large stash of Profi connectors already.