The true experimental tweak thread

[mansr]

No, I have just tried shielding at one end on USB cables and on copper Ethernet cables. On ac power cables I have tried with disconnected shields in both ends (actually conductive GND wire with unconnected shielding foil). On all these cables it sounds best with unshielded cables in my setup...but still think that shielded plugs is beneficial to the SQ.

 

Where are you getting shielded power cables? I don't recall that I've ever seen one, at least not in a domestic environment.

[Cornan]

Where are you getting shielded power cables? I don't recall that I've ever seen one, at least not in a domestic environment.

Que? Most hifi grade AC mains cables are shielded. If you look at for example Furutechs range they only have one unshielded AC mains cable (Alpha-3). Remaining are shielded. I do not think Audioquest have a single AC cable without shielding. Supra are all shielded as well.

 

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[mansr]

Que? Most hifi grade AC mains cables are shielded. If you look at for example Furutechs range they only have one unshielded AC mains cable (Alpha-3). Remaining are shielded. I do not think Audioquest have a single AC cable without shielding. Supra are all shielded as well.

 

Remind me again why anyone would buy such cables.

[Cornan]

Remind me again why anyone would buy such cables.

Are you referring to shielded ac main cables or unshielded AC mains cables?

Personally I like the sound of unshielded cables. They sound more natural & alive to me in my setup...so personal sound reference is really why. I think everyone should give unshielded cables a try to see if it is to their liking (but never forget the importance of good and simple grounding, cable length and to keep a distance from devices and other cables). It will not be for everyone. If the setup is complicated with many different devices in the chain you are probably better off with shielded cables. Unshielded cables needs a simple setup with one great path to safety ground IMHO.

 

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[mansr]

Are you referring to shielded ac main cables or unshielded AC mains cables?

 

Ludicrously expensive ones.

[Cornan]

I double checked my twisted wire SAT cable today. It actually connects to the router and it looks OK on the routers led indicators but it still cannot connect to internet. Sadly I cannot retry it again right now since the whole family is using the internet connection. I noticed when I switched back to my original SAT cable that I had to restart my Android tablet to gain access to internet. I didn't have enough time to do the same thing with my twisted wire version. Will check it again asap. Despite no luck it actually do look a bit promising to get it functioning after all. Touch wood! ?

 

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[Cornan]

Ludicrously expensive ones.

 

Many of those are indeed unshielded!

 

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[Cornan]

Knowing you, the answer is probably yes, but have you tried shielding connected at just one end of (all of) your DIY cables?

 

;-)

BTW r_w. Have you tried to cover the USB barrels with electrical tape? This is a very simple tweak that is a bit of an eye-opener when you think about what it achieves!

 

 

My plugs is still covered!

 

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[Cornan]

Here is something I posted on another thread as well, but since it is related to unshielded cables I thought I post it here!

 

Grounding boxes are really great if you use shielded cables. It brings music to life. However, I have noticed that after removing the shields, reduced system grounding to one path and adding isolation transformer I have slowly moved my Entreq Minimus to spots with cable shields and no galvanicly isolation. Now when my setup is 100% isolated my Minimus have moved to my easy listening area. This is actually something I never though would occur. I thought it would stay for good.

 

Bottom line: unshielded cables and galvanic isolation improves the same things as grounding boxes. I didn't realize until recently. I had great use for the grounding boxes to actually evaluate were improvements were needed and when all done it only makes things a tiny bit worse. However, I still have use for it in my secondary system and will also try to connect it to the safety ground and see if it can stay there on my primary setup.

 

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[r_w]

LOL, sorry yes, I was referring to his other cables, not the coax (won't work too well = not at all).

 

I asked mainly because I'm not sure why he/his system prefers no shield. My system is balanced and shielded throughout although my USB cables have switches to break the shield/gnd and I removed the shield at one end of my CAT7 from the FMC.

 

I get that the shields couple the electronics and so can create problems, which is why some of my connections have the shield cut (by me) at one end.

 

Listening last night SQ is at the point that any changes are a risk probably not worth taking, although that opinion may of course change.

 

That won't work too well with the coax running to the cable modem.

[r_w]

I'll try that but the barrels are not connected to anything, so wouldn't expect much difference. But will try it, why not.

 

 

BTW r_w. Have you tried to cover the USB barrels with electrical tape? This is a very simple tweak that is a bit of an eye-opener when you think about what it achieves!

My plugs is still covered!

 

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[Cornan]

I'll try that but the barrels are not connected to anything, so wouldn't expect much difference. But will try it, why not.

 

Give it a try and see if you like it. It is very easy to do and undo! Since I performed this little tweak I have been looking all over Google for plastic USB barrels without success.

Remember that I do not use any shield at all and it still made an improvement. I would assume that it is even more beneficial in your case, but the improvement by this tweak is also "hidden" inside the USB plugs.

 

Please do report back your findings by this tweak (but do not forget to cover all the metal parts including the edges on all of your USB plugs and on all of your USB cables). Always interesting to know, what ever the outcome it may be!

 

One more thing. When you have covered all your plugs make sure to try with and without GND lift as well.

[Cornan]

Since my twisted pair SAT cable did'nt work when I tried again I decided to try SAT cable experiment no 2

 

 

This is a coaxial cable with the shields cut-off. A outside 22awg connected to the plug barrel is twisted around the outside of the cable. Did it work? Nope! [emoji17] Same problem as the twisted pair cable. Connects to router but not to internet. I will check the connections and try again as soon as my family is off-line!

 

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[mansr]

Since my twisted pair SAT cable did'nt work when I tried again I decided to try SAT cable experiment no 2

 

[ATTACH]32812[/ATTACH]

 

This is a coaxial cable with the shields cut-off. A outside 22awg connected to the plug barrel is twisted around the outside of the cable. Did it work? Nope! [emoji17] Same problem as the twisted pair cable. Connects to router but not to internet. I will check the connections and try again as soon as my family is off-line!

 

Such a contraption cannot possibly work. You're wasting your time.

[Cornan]

Such a contraption cannot possibly work. You're wasting your time.

This is not waisted time for me. I am still learning by failure!

I intend to find out if it is possible to replace the shield (which is a signal return path as well) to a cable. I cannot see why it is not possible...yet!

 

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[Cornan]

Aaah! I just got fed up with the constant failure with my special DIY SAT cable. Tried it again without success and everytime I experiment with it my whole family complains about lost internet connection. To spare my family from sufferings I just pulled the plug on 1,5m of this QED Reference cable instead QED Reference STV Satellite Cable - 1.5m - FutureShop.co.uk

 

 

It looks very well constructed and got some great reviews. Time to move on to another project!

[mansr]

Aaah! I just got fed up with the constant failure with my special DIY SAT cable. Tried it again without success and everytime I experiment with it my whole family complains about lost internet connection. To spare my family from sufferings I just pulled the plug on 1,5m of this QED Reference cable instead QED Reference STV Satellite Cable - 1.5m - FutureShop.co.uk

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]32846[/ATTACH]

 

It looks very well constructed and got some great reviews. Time to move on to another project!

 

Any 75-ohm coax, such as the one you already have, will do just fine. Signal reflections happen wherever there is an impedance mismatch, such as the wrong kind of coax or the wrong connectors. Such reflections are easily visible as ghosting in an analogue video signal. Digital signals are immune up to a point, then they degrade quickly and obviously. This would result in the TV image having random splotches of bright colours along with chirps in the sound. Internet speed could also suffer. If you're not having any of these issues, your current cable is perfectly fine.

[Cornan]

Any 75-ohm coax, such as the one you already have, will do just fine. Signal reflections happen wherever there is an impedance mismatch, such as the wrong kind of coax or the wrong connectors. Such reflections are easily visible as ghosting in an analogue video signal. Digital signals are immune up to a point, then they degrade quickly and obviously. This would result in the TV image having random splotches of bright colours along with chirps in the sound. Internet speed could also suffer. If you're not having any of these issues, your current cable is perfectly fine.

 

Thanks mansr! I cannot say that I suffer from any of those issues. Anyway, the QED Reference will be dispatched today so I will quite soon tell if it makes a difference or not in my perticular setup. Not the end of the world if it makes no difference either. Atleast I´ll know!

[mansr]

Thanks mansr! I cannot say that I suffer from any of those issues. Anyway, the QED Reference will be dispatched today so I will quite soon tell if it makes a difference or not in my perticular setup. Not the end of the world if it makes no difference either. Atleast I´ll know!

I'm sure it's an excellent cable.

[Middy]

Learning though, reading all this so thanks all.

 

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[Cornan]

Even if I have bought a new cable I will continue with the DIY SAT cable "in the shadows". I'll need to wait until I am home alone to give it some more tests...which do not happen that often. If I'll get a break-through with a different design I will post it here. ?

 

I am awaiting some screw terminal USB plugs and will start to evaluate different approaches asap. First off will be a USB cable with 22awg twisted unshielded data wires (=no change) plus a 22awg twisted pair unshielded GND wire on a distance. All silver plated stranded. Why? Because lately, due to all other changes in my setup, I have noticed that my GND lift does'nt make a difference for the better anymore. I want to explore if a better USB GND connection might actually improve things. I just hope that two 22awg wires will fit in the plug. ?

 

 

 

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[Cornan]

I just changed my AC main cables for my active speakers in my secondary system to the same unshielded DH Lab cables as I use in my primary setup. I have got to say that those cables really shines! It almost makes me wonder what I am struggling for in my primary setup? The only source that I have got here is the USD 70 Muzo Cobblestone (including DAC), XLR ground blockers, battery power and Entreq Minimus grounding box. I cannot wait to get my updated TRS to XLR cables that I will receive any day soon!

 

One more thing! I did another change as well. I added some metal balls between the Auralex MoPads memory foam and my speakers with great results. I will look for metal concave washers without hole as well to add there. Might just improve things further. Touch wood!

 

 

 

 

 

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[Cornan]

Did I ever mentioned that pictures is worth more than a million words? ?

 

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[Cornan]

Here is my Muzo Cobblestone BTW

 

 

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[mozes]

Aaah! I just got fed up with the constant failure with my special DIY SAT cable. Tried it again without success and everytime I experiment with it my whole family complains about lost internet connection. To spare my family from sufferings I just pulled the plug on 1,5m of this QED Reference cable instead QED Reference STV Satellite Cable - 1.5m - FutureShop.co.uk

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]32844[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]32846[/ATTACH]

 

It looks very well constructed and got some great reviews. Time to move on to another project!

 

I am happy for your family Cornan

 

 

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