Duelund RCA interconnects...opinions
My understanding was that the SM started out using splitters because it was also using commercially available conventional ICs. But if you're DIYing, you can solder the doubled up wires straight into the RCA connector. Correct me if I'm wrong. Doesn't Audio Sensibility offer such a version commercially now? |
I have been making the double ic using Duelund's 20awg wire with Duelund connectors using Mundorf silver/gold solder. Very nice sounding cables. I have now received the LessLoss C-Marc RCA cables at 850$ and these are definitively better: more texture, more space and highly natural. Still, the double IC Duelund cables are excellent cables for the price. |
I found the following in another thread regarding the use of 12 ga. Duelund wire. The thread is titled "Doug Schroeder Method, Double ic" and posted by
rechsm at 2:43pm on 02-14-2019. I then decided to try building a set of double-run cables using 12 ga. Duelund hook-up wire and Rean RCA plugs, which is what I had on hand. If you are thinking "is it possible to fit four 12 ga Duelund wires into a RCA plug" the answer is yes it is possible, but it is a colossal pain in the ass. I really wish I had paid Bill Dion to do this job and spent the day doing literally anything else. It took me about 7 hours and I never want to see my soldering iron or this Duelund stuff and its cotton insulation again. Argh. |
LessLoss cables are much more expensive the Duelund. I made my first set of Duelund 16ga RCA's today. Without any break in, the sound is much smoother and 3d compared to the BlueJeans cables they replaced. So sonically, I was able to improve my sound at basic cable prices by building my own. I need to build 3 more pairs. I will use upgraded RCA plugs now I have built my confidence building my first set using Switchcraft (I was a decent solderer back in the day).. |
My experience has been very different having owned a gaggle of various end cables. Duelund just sounds more like real music and not Hifi. Sure some wire has more perceived resolution and sharper leading edges, but I have found through long term listening tests that musicality and tone win over sonic impressiveness in the highs etc..... I suppose it all comes down to your individual sound preferences and priorities. As always! The connectors used also impact the sound ...... greatly. |
I purchased a 1m pair of Duelund 16 ga. unshielded RCA interconnects last year. After 4 months of regular use I replaced them with a pair of LessLoss C-MARC interconnects. In my system there was no comparison between the two. The noise floor of the LessLoss interconnect was significantly lower than the Duelund leading to improved detail retrieval and imaging cues. The LessLoss interconnects also added a level of “gravitas” to the music that the Duelund did not. That being said the LessLoss interconnects are much more expensive than the Duelund. I did not try the shielded version of the Dueland. That may have worked out better for me. |
Yes I have tried that. Others are also now saying to mix some silver wire in with the Duelund tinned stranded copper. I have tried both and to my ears nothing sounds better than a twisted pair of 16 gauge. The other options start to sound not quite right over extended listening. The top to bottom balance, tone, body and weight become a tad out of kilter. There is a special balanced coherence that I love about the 16 gauge as ICs. There is something about the rightness of the sound with the 16 gauge. It helps our systems not be fussy and lets us enjoy the music without judging this and that sonic parameter. Thus far far my favorite connectors are... KLEI RCAs.....all of them, but the Pure Harmony is very, very goodd Vampire XLRs...pure copper conductors. These are a joy to work with also. Like everything audio it just depends on one’s sonic priorities and subjective tastes. |
