Crossing at 90 degrees is, technically, the "right" angle. That means that all others would be the "wrong" angle?
Cable management....crossing at right angles or
Good morning,
I have been out of the hobby for a while, and now just getting things back into my system.
No matter how I try, I can't keep my cables isolated from each other, especially speaker and power. Is there anything besides the old saying of trying to cross at right angles, something..copper tape/Faraday sheets that you can put on the cables when they cross to reduce-eliminate interference or distortion/ EMI RFI?
Thanks,
Randy
I don't comment much but I would like throw out a suggestion that might have some value here. The cardboard centers from toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls can be used to slide over power cords and interconnect (too I suppose) as a cheap tweak that can easily be undone if you decide you don't like the effect or the wife is wondering if you've lost your sanity😁 |
@tony1954 “…I do know it is low on the totem pole of audio tweaks, but my anal personality can't just forget about it.”
Ahh, the sign of a true audiophile. 😊
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The Mapleshade rooms at audio shows featured their cables suspended from the ceiling. Reminded me of a spider web… They probably did this as their very thin cables were totally unsheilded, making cross-talk on touching cables almost inevitable. Frankly, I always found the sound in their rooms to be ear-splittingly bright, very unpleasant. |
I always hear and read about how cables even most of the cheap ones are shielded. Don’t almost all cable manufacturers brag about this and talk about all the engineering that goes into this. I know in the automotive industry there used to be a lot of problems with crosstalk between computers and wires. We finally found that by twisting the wires on the bus lines these are the wires that carry all the communication between the computers. If we twisted them and made sure no other wires got in between them this would take care of all RFI problems also where they could not be twisted if we ran other wires at a 90 degree angle to them would also eliminate any RFI and crosstalk |
Thanks to everyone that responded, I'm really not obsessed with it. I was just curious if there was any way to better isolate things than what I'm doing. It is good(?) to know that other people struggle with the same thing trying to just get their cables organized and it is just about an impossible job. That's why I wondered if there was anything to help. Awhile back, I had some sheets from 3M that has some kind of shielding that I used, but of course those disappeared both from my supply and also from the marketplace. So I'll just happily move on and relax. And listen, like we are all supposed to do, right? |
Agree that this shouldn’t matter - other than phono cables. If you’re really experiencing a problem or want to be anal - a little trick from the world of Fire Alarm notification wiring - where this does happen often and is heard. It requires custom cables. Use a shielded cable. Decide which end has the larger transformer / ground sink. Land the shield on that end. On the other end, pull the shield back a couple inches over the insulation and make certain it’s not in contact with anything. Always twist your pairs. it helps to know what your up against - AC induction vs RF interference. Either way, FA guys have been doing this for years. |
Well, @nonoise ...rats kinda find them pleasant, but.... ;) @mitch2, the pipe insulation is likely the lowest cost option for cable lifts. 👍 I've been trying avoid a major revamp of my 'nest', the worst of which is the 5 pairs of speaker lines that at one point cross a 3' w. 'path'; for lack of a better term... The Plan (at this time, anyhow) is to sequester the speaker lines, the ac and dc distributions, and the ic's as much as practical. The speaker lines can be run straight down from the amp, under the 'rack', and run parallel to the various 'n sundry.... The ac/dc lines can drop vertically to their 'distribution means'; separate the more discrete audio items (amp, pre- and 'pre-subs' {eqs'), 'puters [2], and anything else of it's ilk), keeping in mind the power 'draws' each may use... CD, TT's, tapes, and their peripherals' with their own power source... All the 'signal' cables are essentially above all this, physically and conceptually... Those of themselves could still be a nest of sorts....🤷♂️ I'm hoping for a 'cloud effect' visually....with the occasional detail of reasonable rationale....*L* A variant of the 'foam tech' could look kewl in it's way.....'pipelines' leading to the 'sprayers'....;) |
Use shielded cables, keep them away from each other as much as possible, cross them at or close to right angles when you can, and then don’t worry any more about it unless you have a specific noise issue. If you feel better lifting them off the floor, use whatever works for you. I wouldn’t spend a bunch of money on that stuff, although years ago when I used to believe the advertising I read, I did buy a set of Cable Elevators. An inexpensive alternative that I find to be handy is to cut pieces of foam pipe insulation, which you can use to provide separation between cables that are crossing each other or even to elevate cables off the floor, but not very high. I usually cut them about 2-inches long and use the pre-cut slit to insert the cable in the middle. Using one on each crossing cable and resting them against each other provides almost an inch of separation.
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You are worrying too much about this! there is a difference between being neat and being obsessive for no reason, unless of course you are having a problem that you have not mentioned. Take the lid of your pre-amplifire and look inside for some aspiration. There are a number of steps you can take to untangle the mess but I think you already know what to do! |
Randy @randu Try these, I found them to be quite effective in isolating IC from PC cables. |
+1 Unfortunately, same with me. I get the speaker cables out and on elevators… and generally I can separate the interconnect to my amp in front. But the audio racks have a rats nest. I am sure it is in that category of tiny difference. But one you should avoid if you can. Tiny differences add up. But unless you have a huge room and lots of money (to buy extra lengths to allow crossing at right angles)… it will probably remain on one’s wish list. Iv’e not heard of wraps or special tweats. But great question. One of the tweakers must have experimented. I look forward to hearing. |
Crossing this way or that cannot improve anything, it might eliminate a problem. Theory is one thing, are you having any problems? If so, I would find the errant interconnect cable. My cables have been this way and that, including many parallel for more than 50 years in many locations/setups. Most cables, even the cheap ones included in the box are problem free, occasionally, you get a bad cable. Disconnect, Switch them one pair at a time, .... I now twist my speaker cables, neg around pos, takes a bit of extra length to do that. Ran them un-twisted for years, again, parallel, no problem. |