home made speaker cable vs. the big boys


I have been reading a lot recently about power cords and speaker cable. Everyone has their take on how to make great sounding cable. Some market players use "special chemicals" in their product while others don't. Some have thin cable , some have thin cable. I'm thinkin, my opinion is as valid as anyone elses. So why not attemt to make some high end cable my self? Has anyone tried this and been successful at diy "high end cable" ?
avnut
Yes you can make your own that rival hi end.I presently have made some Interconnects using beldan 89259.This cable is copper with Teflon dialectric and copper braid for a sheild.For example Audioquest Opal X 3 is built with lesser quality cable and retails for around 200.00 for 1M.The beldan is a 1.00 a foot.Put some mid line WBT on it and for under 75 bucks you have a killer cable.
I made all my own power cables, interconnects, and speaker wire. It all cost me about $200 and destroyed my $5000 worth of MIT stuff. I use all solid core wire from home depot but use high quality ends. Yeah some people give me this snotty how can that work attitude. But they shut up real fast when they hear my system and it devistates systems that cost twice as much. And just think how much better it will sound when I put the money I saved into a new front end. No after market wire will sound better then the difference that that high of a jump in digital gear will make! But you have to experiment with gauge size so don't give up.
You can make cable equal to ANY manufacturer. Two others to try are HomeGrown Audio or Orca Design. From HomeGrown you can buy copper wire for $0.39/ft or siver wire for 2.80(or $1.80 for 50+ ft)/ft. Both copper and silver are 22 gauge solid core, 99.999% pure, and teflon insulated. Basically, Kimber's copper or silver wire; only solid core(sounds MUCH better), rather than stranded. However, the improvement in sound in going from stranded to solid comes at a price, it is more difficult to braid(but the results are more than worth it). Orca Design is the importer for Axon wire. They also supply some of the highest of high end companies with speaker components(in case you're scared of their unknown name). Components such as Focal drivers, Solen and SCR capacitors, etc. I believe they are the same company that makes JMLabs speakers. You can buy a product which is basically Audioquest Indigo or Midnight(depending on the gauge you buy), for $1/ft for the thicker one(11 ga.). You can also buy the single conductor insulated wire used in this cable, and roll your own. Axon also sells connectors that are better than you find on a lot of wire(gold plated copper, not gold plated brass), for $1 - 2! In fact, they carry locking RCA connectors that seem identical to WBT for $4.64! And if, you want to copy someone else's that's easy too. You can buy Axon, or even MIT's wire(among other companies - available, believe it or not) and make your own cable. Of course, you will save a truckload of money.
JMLabs makes their own speakers, and are the parent company of Focal (not that Focal are the "best"). My MIT stuff destroyed your power cord, Kacz, no offense. I already have two frontends better than yours, and my system will destroy yours with 14 inch cannons, blah blah blah...this is fun...
Thanks for the clarification, Carl! I haven't followed the whole corporate relationship as closely as I should have. My interest was always on the hobbyist end of their business, not the finished speakers. In the past, I have built speakers using Solen, SCR, Axon, and Focal components. I found some of the Focal drivers not the best to my ears(generally the tweeters). I am not saying they are not first quality, or the equal to anyone else's, just not right for me/my tastes. SCR caps were the best when a high capacitor value was needed. I preferred the sound of SCR to Solen in direct comparison. SCR used a 7 micron film, Solen used a 5 micron film(not that that is the reason I preferred SCR). For lower value capacitors( < 20 microfarad), as well as inductors and resistors, I preferred products from other companies. Back to the topic at hand, I adamantly feel we can equal the big guys' cables. The finest materials must be used, not Home Depot "electrical grade" copper. At least as important as the materials is the geometry of the wire - all of which is easy to reproduce, in most cases. Wire geometry is often what distinguishes one company's wire from another. And the determining factor in why a cable sounds great in one system, poor in another. The markup(from raw material acquisition all the way to customer purchase) is as obscene as anything in this field. If this was in a typical industry(i.e. one driven by economics, rather than status and emotions - or even mass or mid grade electronics), first grade copper interconnect would be less than $30/m, silver less than $100/m(both with typical generous industrial markup). We have even heard manufacturers claim their $1000 cable could be easily marketed for $100, but it would never be able to viewed of having the same "sound" as the other $1000 cables by the "audiophile community". Good Luck to all of us DIYers!!!
Just a note.Anything will destroy MIT.MIT is the Biggest scam in the Audiophile community bar none.I would not wire the out house with MIT.MIT is for the guy who wants to brag about how much he spent.Let your ears do the chosing.when i listen to stuff i dont want to know what the cost is I listen and then let my ears pick.DIY's keep up the good work.
kacz, I also use solid core wire from Home Depot and it was a significant upgrade over monster cable. I believe it is 16 gage fire alarm cable. I am curious as to the benefits of solid core vs stranded. I currently bi-wire Spica TC-60's and also run a cable to a pair of Audio Concept sub-1's. Is one type better for high frequency and the other better for the low end? I appreciate any insight.
Hi Pcs. I havn't found that stranded has any benefits anywhere. It just doesn't sound as good in any area you name. Solid core conducts better and keeps the signal purer. the the music is just better all around in all area's. I havn't found it to be a preference thing it's just better.......CARL_EBER.....If I remember right you have krell gear. That explains why you like MIT. MIT colors and slightly dulls the sound which is why everybody says it's laid back sounding. Not knowing why at the time, I preferred MIT and it sounded good because I was actually using it to make up for a deficiency in my amp (classe ca-100). Which was bright upper mids. Now I have a way better amp with incredible tonality and clarity (B.A.T VK-200) and swiching between interconnects and speaker wire I could tell how much those passive networks were changing the sound. I mean come on there is no way to keep a signal pure by going through extra cicuits and networks....MIT=EXPENSIVE EQUALIZER......PERIOD.....but even though that is the case if it's worth it to someone and it does fix a problem in there system than that's fine. If they like the sound then that's good for them. I'd rather just spend the extra money and buy gear with the correct tonality to start with and keep the clarity and transparency that's in the signal to start with but which the passive networks of MIT dulls.
Just a note. Hyperbole will destroy _____ (insert brand). Hyperbole is the biggest scam in the Audiophile community bar none. Hyperbole is for the guy who wants to brag about how little he spent (and how the rest of you are idiots). Hyperbole lets you know when to let your ears pick and when to pick your ears. What a gift. Tml2, if MIT weren't around, what benchmark would we use to assess your brilliance?
Any time you want to get toghther a few people and sit down and do some A/B testing I would be glad to put up some $100/200/300 and some of my DIY.Against anything you want to bring.So come on MR Hyperbole bring on cable and leave the sarcasm for another post.I feel sorry that you have to use Princton grammer to cover up your bad choice in cable.So any time you want to put your overpriced cable up against something i made for 75.00 come on i welcome the challange.One thing for certin no one reviewr with TAS Stereophile,Ultimite Audio would take this challange.I doubt you would.Yes there are many of you out there who talk about how much you spend.One thing is for ceartin.$ spent have nothing to do with how musical a system can be.It helps but the money has to go into source components not overpriced black magic like MIT,Nordst,Tara Labs,Monster.Pure 99.999 silver cost about 10$ an ounce.You can get about 7/8 feet of wire out of an ounce.So why are you paying 300 per foot for.Because you have HYPERBOLE FOR BRAINS.
Khrys.These comments are based on having heard the following cables.MIT MH-850 Nordst Quattro Fil,Audio quest Opal emerald Midnight,JPS superconductors and the + version.Wireworld Atlantis Eclipse III Gold Eclipse III IOXS Tara Labs Goertz.I have had them at home and have heard them at dealers.Note both the MIT and Nordst dealers would not allow me to use my Interconnect in their system to do a comparison.What where they affraid of.
Tm12, TARA LABS uses rectangular conductors, and their extensive listing of iinformation in their white papers at http://www.taralabs.com provides the science to back up their claims. These guys are leagues ahead of Nordost and MIT. For your information.... I've got TL Master Gen 2 and Audiotruth Opal right now, both of which, I feel to be excellent. Whether or not I could make the same design for less $, I dont know. I am, however, really glad to see this thread, and the information (besides the eye gouging) contained herein.
Ah, the wonderful "cable" subject again. Yes, you can certainly make your own speaker cables and interconnects, and as many others have noted here (and on the previous posts on this general topic), the key is getting quality wire and terminations. The other option, if you want to say a bit of time, is buy some Kimber Kable 4TC or 8TC speaker cable. It's great wire, isn't outrageously expensive, and in runs of 10 feet or less is hard to beat. If you want to go the DIY route, then contact Home Grown Audio at their web site: www.homegrownaudio.com
In my previous post, I should also have said that the 3rd element in getting good cables or interconnects is the quality of the termination. Some people will say you get the best connections by crimping, but I am a believer in both crimping and soldering. Hence, the quality of the solder joint is crucial. Make sure you have a tight mechanical connection before soldering (a tight crimp will provide this), and be sure to use solder that has a lower lead content, preferably with silver in the mix. You can buy this type of solder from Home Grown Audio, or from audio suppliers such as Audio Advisor.
Sdcampbell, how are you? You've now had the HomeGrown Audio silver interconnects for about a month now? What are your impressions? Are you using tube gear? I have found the cable to be stellar with tube equipment. Extended, clear, open, yet liquid. But the solid core silver prevents it from being bright(at the expense of flexibility). For those of you who don't know about this product, it is a teflon insulated, 22 ga. solid silver interconnect. It is a copy of Kimber KCAG, using solid silver conductors(instead of Kimber stranded). And, it is sold for $70 for a 1 m terminated cable! You can also braid & and solder it yourself for $40. Hopefully, we will one day see a wire revolution. But, it cannot happen without our realization of the scam the wire companies have committed on our hobby.
Trelja,you are so darn right about the scam the wire companies have committed to our hobby.TARA LABS can write all the white papers they want.They lead with one of the major scams of all time.The isolated shield matrix.What a load of crap.This is a statement from one of their adds.HIT "PAUSE" AND TURN THE VOLUME UP... HEAR IT? THATS THE NOISE FLOOR,CAUSED BY RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE IN YOUR AUDIO SIGNAL. IF YOU HAD TARA LABS ISM CABLES WITH THE ISOLATED FLOATING SHIELD ALL YOU'D HEAR IS ... NOTHING. WELL I DONT HAVE TARA LABS AND GUESS WHAT WHEN I HIT PAUSE I HEAR NOTHING.I HAVE A BELDEN 89259 CONNECTED WITH WBT LOOK ALIKE RCA AND NOTHIN I HEAR NOTHING.COST OF BUILDING THIS CABLE ABOUT 50.00.NO NOISE NOTHING.I USE THESE MOSTLY IN MY HT SYSTEM.IN MY 2 CHANNEL SET UP I USE COINCIDENT SPEAKER TECH 1 M RCA.299 US LIST.THEY ARE THE BEST I HAVE EVER HEARD.AND GUESS WHAT THEY DONT MAKE ANY NOISE EITHER.I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST ANYONE MAKING MONEY.BUT WHEN YOU RUN A SCAM THAT IS MORE PROFITABLE THAN TRAFICKING IN ILEGAL DRUGS I HAVE A PROBLEM.AND THE AUDIO PRESS IS AS MUCH TO BLAME.ITS GREAT TO SEE THE HOMEGROWN AUDIO,COINCIDENT,AND SO MANY OF THE OTHER PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE SAYING.i CAN SELL YOU A CABLE FOR 300.00 AND MAKE A VERY NICE LIVING.THERE IS NO NEED TO RIP PEOPLE OFF AND CHARGE 3000.00 FOR A CABLE THAT IS NO BETTER THAN THE 299.00 OR 499.00 OR 75.00 DIY.THE ONLY REASON IS GREED.THIS HOBBY DOES BRING OUT THE GREED AND THE AUDIO MAGS WOULD DIE ON THE VINE IF THEY LOST THE ADD MONEY FROM THE CABLE COMPANIES.BRING YOUR 100.00 CABLE WITH YOU TRY IT OUT AGAINT THE 2000.00 IF THE DEALER WILL LET YOU.
Trelja/SDCampbell - I also purchased a pair of the Homegrown Audio Silver interconnects. I only got them this weekend, and haven't had much chance to listen to my system. How long would you say these cables took to "burn in"? Right out of the box, I thought the top end was a bit bright compared to the AQ Emeralds I was using. Then again, it could be the AQ's were defficient in this area. These being the only tow cbales I've used in my system, I do not have an "absolute reference". BTW, I am using these with a BAT VK5SE and Aronov monoblocks driving Sf Guarneri speakers.
Prehaps this is getting off track but I have to agree with the people saying cable prices are clearly robbing people. I worked for a (non audio) producing cable company and we sold Aero-Spec spec'd (teflon) cables to end users at about $3.00 dollars a foot. Now that was list price. Some supplier bought much cheaper. Teflon is not cheap and it's also tough to work with. Now here is the kicker for non teflon cables using PVC, PolyPro, jackets or conductor insulation we sold cable at for CENTS ON THE DOLLAR, 50,000 ft runs mins. Now can you make better I'm not sure, but if I was looking for a deal I would call company's like AIW, BIW, Carol, Belden, Triangle, Rockbestos, ect. someone has to make cables for these Audio companies and they just have it private labled. Find the company and work a deal to get there over runs.
Alexc, they maybe MORE forward than AudioQuest cables. Both are solid core construction, with smaller diameter conductors, to minimize "skin effect". AudioQuest cables, to me, are dead in the middle cables. MIT(not good with tubes, IMO), on the easy side, Kimber and WireWorld on the forward side. HomeGrown do not exhibit the harshness of Kimber. You should give the cables a few weeks of listening. You may wake up one day next month and say, "Wow! These cables are great. Everything is there". Actually, your AQ are quite good. To me, as good as most of the exotic stuff. Just doesn't have the "newness" of the new megabuck cables. By the way, what type of tubes do you have in your power amps? You may be able to smooth things out via pre and/or power amp tubes.
I've made Homegrown Audio solid silver cables from their $39.00 kit. Used high content silver solder and, except for some slight lack of bass in a direct comparison to AQ Quartz, they were just as good if not better through the rest of the range. I just turned up the subwoofers a bit and compensated. They are a great bargain. Had them for over two months so I have a good feel for what they can do. The kits even come braided now. Their burn in wasn't really that long - I think they peaked after about 20 hours or so. I used Atma-Sphere MP1 and Golden Tube SEP1 preamps with Atma-Sphere MA2 MKII rev 2 monoblocks. Both CD and vinyl comparisons. I also tried them on my turntable with less success. During a conversation with Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere I asked him what the factory uses for their "reference" speaker wire. Answer was Belden copper microphone wire. The reason the cable companies get away with legal robbery is because YOU (meaning all of us in this hobby me included) let them get away with it. Do any of us really think that they would continue to try to traffic, er market, $1K+ interconnects or $10K+ speaker wires if nobody would buy them - especially when they literally cost pennies on the dollar to produce at the high volume levels they turn out? Their marketing and advertising budgets are enormous and they drive the amrket. You can get pure silver three braided strand cable for $25/meter right now from Thailand. The company's only caveat is that they don't recommend lengths over 5 meters. Just terminate and have at it. And they're making a profit. Every cable has some effect - its own sonic signature (or lack thereof?). But every totally blind test done (very few people will ever take part in these type of tests, especially if they are in the industry) yields surprising results. Yes, you can hear subtle differences between speaker cables or interconnects, but the "high priced spread" doesn't necessarily come out on top. I would not bet against a really good home made interconnect or speaker wire. You'll NEVER hear hundreds or even THOUSANDS of dollars of difference and just as often as not you will think more in terms of relative equivalency while noting that some cables have cleaner treble while others offer more bass extension. Once you've been burned in one of these comparisons you'll know why the "pros" at the magazines never take part in them. Besides the loss in advertising revenue..............
No need, unless you want to DIY. I highly recommend Maplesahdes cables. Now available from www.audiotweakers.com The Double Helix Speaker Cable is only $280/8ft pr. Their interconnects $65& $240.00 GIant Killers, but tweaky.
Trelja - My amps are Aronov 9100 with the stock 6550 tubes. The preamp is a BAT VK5i upgraded to SE with the BAT ""Super Tubes"".
Is the sound improved since last week? You may also look into KT88 tubes, when that time comes up. If you are unhappy after one month, maybe you should re-insert the AQ to make sure it is as good as you remember it. Good luck.
Gmkane.You are so right.Where is the brain surgeon Carl_eber to respond to this.Its the pure truth and as long as their are carl_ebers to exploit the cable companys will continue to do so.
Tm12, I think you misunderstood me, I am talking about mastering studios, ie where you would master a cd for example, they do not mfgr. cable and I would think that they want the signal as neutral as possible.
Mastering studios don't use $1200/meter interconnect. Actually, the majority of people in studios do not get into cable. I know many who always mention Monster Cable when talking of going to a "good cable", because they are working on a SPECIAL project. It is a different industry entirely, one not caught up with our paranoia
In the current issue of Sterophile, Bob Ludwig (gateway mastering studios) states they only use Transparent Ref. Transparent also lists in some of their adds, recordings that have been made using their cables. I am sure they are not the only "high end cable" being used in all the recording studios.Just the ones that care.
You can bet your bottom dollar that there was a special deal cut between ANY cable manufacturer and recording studio, etc. if that recording studio's name or personnel names appears in an advertisement, press release, or marketing release. Quid Pro Quo. Want to bet that the studio either bought the cables at "cost," got them for nothing, or have them installed at no charge (on loan)? You bet that there is no special deal - you lose. It's called professional courtesy or trade discounting. It is done all the time. (Speaking of reference cables - Atma-Sphere, as I said before, makes their own "reference" cables from Belden pure copper microphone wire. A lot of DIY's swear by it). One last thing - most of the recordings of CD's today are better than a few years ago, but they could be much better still. Five more years and they'll be there - and you should be able to take advantage of their sonic superiority to today's recordings with your NEW audio system (CD transport/DAC). Cables won't make much difference in the final product (during recording) - software and post processing are where the "secret sauce" is at when making a recording sound the way it (finally) does. And post-processing is just software in the digital domain. The upsampling/oversampling schema of today is child's play compared to the algorithmic development of tomorrow. Cables don't even enter into the recording equation at that point, which is just a little less than they do today. Remember in recording CD's - it is bits and bytes in the digital domain. As long as the data gets from one point to another uncorrupted, that is all you need. Then you can post process it all you like. Why do you think there is so much lip-synching going on these days by "stars"?
I agree that the studios do not pay we do for cables, but chances are they have a choice between paying the same for all of the brands (next to nothing) but they still choose the "high end ones", and if bits and bytes are all the same then we should all just go out and buy a sony and be happy with it.And on the point of "secret sauce" being added, you can't polish a turd, if it was recorded with improper e.q. due to cables that color the sound you can do a lot to try and fix it but in the end the less you mess with an audio signal the better things turn out. If I see a so called "musician" lip sync on t.v. they just suck, if you can't play it live then you are not a musician, you are an actor.
Trelja....Actually, Gateway and Skywalker are mastering/recording studios that do indeed get caught up in cable "paranoia", and use $6000 interconnects....not that they actually have to pay full retail for them, of course!
I know a lot of people(musicians and recording personnel) who work at a few VERY high profile recording studios. Two of the more famous ones are RuffHouse Records(a truckload of Grammys in the past five years) and Riversound Studios(owned by Donald Fagan and Gary Katz - have recorded the BIGGEST names in the business). Both handle the lion's share of recording/mixing/producing of music made on the East Coast. Neither of them use anything more esoteric than Radio Shack quality stuff. You are quite correct about certain studios using exotic cable, but it is by far the exception, as opposed to the norm. I almost NEVER come across a person in this field who has heard of even AudioQuest(they all know Monster, some know Phoenix ala car stereo).
Listen to what most of the studios put out! Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't Mr. Ludwig have some of the best quality recordings out there? I was told this, so I am quoting. To say that some studios have never heard the names of cables such as AudioQuest doesn't surprise me a bit, I have heard their recordings.
Bob Ludwig is THE Moses of record production. Most of the others are the of Norm Peterson ilk. It would be nice if musicians and record producers were also audiophiles, but it usually doesn't happen. I have converted many a music person(usually on a steady diet of Jolida, Rogue, and Manley StingRays), but it has been a long and steep uphill road.
No_money - you're missing the boat. Digital bits and bytes are just that. Digital. Which means that it doesn't matter what cable, interconnect, patch cord was used in the process. I can take those bits and bytes and run them through some pretty sophisticated algorithms and make them sound like anything I want, regardless of what type of link was in the chain. Monster is often mentioned by recording studio people. Yes, you can polish a turd, in your vernacular, because the ultimate quality of the recording as presented on the CD (let's exclude vinyl right now) is a reflection of the talent and quality of the recording engineer and the producer of the recording. Plus how much money is allocated for post-recording production. So if something is "colored" in the recording process (not) then the producer and engineer can take care of it during the final mixing process. Fagan and Katz are recording gods, to be sure, and the Grammys mentioned by Trelja are testament that too many of us put our (misplaced) faith in exotica when it is the talent of the producers and engineers that make your recording sound as good (or bad) as it does. Can your playback gear truly reproduce what the producer really heard as his final mix? Ludwig could make anyone sound good, bad, or neutral REGARDLESS of what wire is in the chain - it's called talent. These people have great ears and passion for music. Plus they are able to pull performances out of musicians that sometimes the musicians thought they were incapable of. Go take a totally blind "taste test" some time. It's embarassing to see Monster and Belden (not to mention Radio Shack and DIY'ers) cables place as high or higher than the mega bucks stuff being shoved down our throats by clever marketing playing on our ego. Finally, speaking of producers, look at the variety of artists and studios used by Mutt Lange - cables never compromised his talent or quality of his production.
Gmkane, like you said, Ludwig can make anything sound good, but it all comes down to this. He wanted the best reproduction of the recording he is mastering possible, and he chooses Transparent to do this. We as audiophiles are seeking the same goal, the best reproduction of the recording possible, granted we will never be able to match what is (gateway) studio. I still stand by the you can't polish it statement, because that is what it will sound like , polish.
Before they start to even think of cable inprovements they need to stop over mikeing and over mixing. That's where all the resolution is lost. And compressing doesn't help either. These studios are concerned about the final sound but are by no means purists. They still have to make the general public happy so you'll be hard pressed to find a studio that is audiophile correct to the last detail or even close to that when you really nit pick it.
I agree with that, Kacz! Pop music is about what will sound good in a convertible at 90 mph, and always will be. Whatever sounds best to those who primarily listen this way is what wins Grammys...
Ludwig chose Transparent because he was paid to endorse it. And being the wizard he is, Ludwig can polish a recording to sound the way he envisions or "hears" it to be when he undertakes the project. There is no magic in wire but there is magic in his mastering and mixing. He would turn out the same product using Rat Shack or Transparent, because he is talented and never loses focus on what he wants the final product to sound like. He just doesn't take the money and run. He is an artist in his own right and a perfectionist. The digital bits and bytes are transported down the wire, Transparent or Rat Shack, uncorrupted. It is what he does after the data is stored that is the pure mastery of his production. If you understand anything about algorithms and how digital data can be manipulated to do just about anything you want it to do (or how you want it to sound), you know this to be true.
I would think that if they where paying him that you would at least see him in a add. This was just an interview.Do you think he is also being paid by Eggleston Works? I just don't believe that this would be a very good way of promoting your product. Just allot of industry people watching you, not really to many audiophiles. When was the last time he was interwiewed by Stereophile? I can see him getting them free but I do not know about being on the payroll. But then again I do not own a studio.
It is never by accident that somebody mentions a product by name...... More often than not the marketing people use the information to their best advantage. You may never see what they do but within the industry that information is used to promote their product. At dealer meetings,at trade shows, on road trips, etc. they use that information and they pass it along to dealers who use it to promote their products to the end user. Eggleston probably put their products into that studio at pennies on the dollar, just like Transparent did. That's what makes the world go 'round. Not saying that the products don't have quality - they certainely do. But a deal is always cut and the marketing people know that they can count on the studio (or producer or whomever) to mention their names at strategic times. And the deal is usually implied, not implicit. Just think if you were in that position - some company came into your studio, you were updating older equipment, and they offered incredible deals to displace a competing product. You agreed that their product was as good (not necessarily better) as the older brand name product - or if you were building a new studio and you got deals on everything you could to keep your costs low without compromising quality - not necessarily making better sound but making equivalent sound on a lower budget. If you were a good businessman you would do the same thing. But what goes around comes around. Quid Pro Quo. Ain't the cable that makes the recording - it's the producer/engineer team plus the budget the record company gives them to work with. And the sophistication of their software. It is just business and profit margin. Nothing else.
I find it interesting that so many people know things about somebody they never met! Anyway, is it possible, Mr. Ludwig's recordings are great because of his recording skills (no doubt) and his knowledge of good equipment?
Mr. Ludwig's recordings are great because he is simply one of the best at what he does and his excellence is reflected in the body of his work. The few others mentioned in this thread all share that same excellence, regardless of where they do the final mix or where the master recording is made. These people are artists in their own right. We might not know them personally but we know the body of their work and that excellence paints a true picture of their integrity as professionals.
No I do not know Bob, but I doubt he filled his studio with the equipment that came banging on the door with fist full of cash. More likely he got what HE wanted and of course recieved a discount, maybe got it free, hell maybe paid 3x retail, this could go on and on and on......
Just got off the phone with Bob. He now uses lamp cord from Home Depot, they offered him more money. JBL, Bose, and Kenwood are meeting with him next week and they are talking serious jack.