DIY Interconnects
Posted by: Rockingdoc on 11 November 2000
I have been making my own cables for years as I'm afraid I don't accept the Naim party-line about their feeble bits of wire.
After much experimenting I feel the best cable available is Shark twin-core screened, with 130 x 0.07mm conductors in each insulated core. I run this pseudo- balanced; that is with one internal cable each for signal positive and negative, and the screen attached to signal negative at the source-end only. Available from Maplins recently, part no.EL12N at £3.49 per metre.
To my amusement I discovered that Audio Salon are selling EXACTLY this cable for £125 per 1 metre terminated pair. Now that's what I call a mark-up.
Malcolm
Posted on: 11 November 2000 by Former member
As is well known, by far the highest margin restaurants and cafes can achieve in their business is by selling a cup of tea (I think mineral water comes second). It costs virtually nothing and is sold, at least here in Chelsea, London, for around 2 to 3 pounds a cup.
Margins in the cable industry seem, at least to some extent, similarly, conceived, and thus at times difficult to understand for the consumer, as Jim Levitt has pointed out a couple of times here.
I would love to understand why a cable like Chord's Anthem sells for 275 pounds and how this is related to the costs of the material used. As far as time and work involved in its production are concerned, there can barely be a huge difference to, say the Cord Cobra 2 cable or any other, which costs but a fraction. Am I totally mistaken?
Maybe a seriously set up, blind A/B comparison between do-it-yourself cables, as those made by Malcolm, and really expensive ones (Chords for 250 and Kimber for 2000 pounds) would well be worth the effort.
Posted on: 11 November 2000 by BrianD
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After much experimenting I feel the best cable available is Shark twin-core screened, with 130 x 0.07mm conductors in each insulated core.
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Malcolm
Can you describe the qualities of your cable please as compared to that provided by Naim? I'm asking because I'm using the standard Naim interconnect.
How about sending me some to try since I wouldn't have a clue how to do this myself? 
Brian
Posted on: 13 November 2000 by Former member
Have you ever noticed that the screen isn't even connected on either side of the cable (SNAIC 4 and 5)?
This holds true at least for the grey SNAIC.
I wonder if they have some mysterial info on what's the good of having an unconnected screen at all ...
BTW: When making my own cable for my extremely cheap cd player, I decided to not connect the screen as well. For no good reason, of course, I was just following Naim.
Posted on: 13 November 2000 by Former member
The screen in SNAIC 4 and 5 is connected, the earth connection goes throught it.
Posted on: 13 November 2000 by Former member
quote:
I don't accept the Naim party-line
I take it by this that you don't believe that we think they sound better than anything else we've tried and that we're lying?
Posted on: 13 November 2000 by Tony L
quote:
After much experimenting I feel the best cable available is Shark twin-core screened, with 130 x 0.07mm conductors in each insulated core.
Been there, done that. I tried the Shark (Maplins) stuff between my HiCap and 135s, initially it sounded a little more transparent and clearer, though it only took a couple of bars to realise it had killed the groove almost beyond recognition.
I only really discovered how to listen to cables relatively recently, as the difference between most is just tonal (i.e. low grade eq). The key discovery to me was learning just how fundamentally badly some (especially silver) cables time - the Shark stuff is no exception here.
With a good length of cable (the supplied Naim ones, and Aro for home made leads), the rhythm section of a band plays properly in time - it gets the foot tapping and makes me wish I could play that well. With a crap cable (virtually everything else regardless of price) the groove goes, its often like replacing a top jazz drummer with some pissed fat bloke from a cabaret band. Assuming the system is able to time remotely well in the first place, the difference is absolutely enormous.
Tony.
Posted on: 13 November 2000 by Former member
Interesting, Mark.
At least with my SNAIC4 (as supplied with the power amp, I believe) and my SNAIC5 (as it came with the FlatCap) there is definitely a seperate wire used for earth connection and the screen is cut off where the sheathing (is this the right word?) ends at both ends.
Are you going to exchange these (at no charge) for well made black SNAICs if it should be any other way?? 
I had a look at both just a few days ago to try and find a cable that is at least similar in design for my home-made cd player interconnect. However, I didn't even touch the soldering nor did I remove the heat shrink tubing. The only explanation I could think of is that the screen is soldered to a wire first and this wire is then connected to earth. Still this should be visible through the tubing....
What's going on? 
Posted on: 13 November 2000 by Former member
quote:
The only explanation I could think of is that the screen is soldered to a wire first and this wire is then connected to earth.
Yes, this is the way it is done!
Posted on: 13 November 2000 by Former member
Have to agree completely with Tony, I tried some of the Shark stuff to my 250 doubting that it could not improve on the mains flex that is used here, oh ye of little faith I here you cry and you would be right, yes at first the shark seemed better, more percieved detail higher highs etc. but after one or two tracks I was bored! Change back to the supplied cable and lo and behold MUSIC returned. I really have not heard a better signal cable in a Naim system than Naims own, power cables ... ah now thats differnt!
Jason
Posted on: 13 November 2000 by rohit
to Mark/users who have looked inside the SNAIC etc. (since i have not)
- is the shield grounded on both ends or only one? if one, which end ?
thanks.
Posted on: 13 November 2000 by Former member
... (which I assume) it must be conncted at both ends (following logics and my observation). And that's the correct way to do it. A lot of people claim that only the end pointing to the source should be connected, but that's only half of the truth.
If you care about avoiding grounding loops, this issure should be handled by each device indiviually, not by the cable. Even if you striclty keep the correct direction of the cable, this is the "clean" way to do it.
