My First DIY Power Cable

@mbolek - that's an interesting cable you have posted.

Which wires did you use for the Live

• I would probably use the central yellow conductor for the Live

Have you tried different variations?

Cheers

@mbolek - One thing to note about this cable

if the cable is used with a balanced power supply or used in counties like Norway where the power grid is balanced

• i.e. the live and neutral both carry the same voltage just 180 degrees out of phase
• then the outer wires MUST be used for Neutral and Live conductors for the components to sound it’s best

If the cable is used on a system that uses a more conventional approach

• i.e. where the neutral is connected to the ground at the breaker box
• then the central conductors CAN be used for the LIVE conductor
  • it should sound better - lower noise floor - better image

It will be very interesting to hear your observations

Regards - Steve

@jbuhl - Since it is your first DIY Power Cable and you are on a budget I would recomment the following

1. SonarQuest Silver plated Copper mains connectors
   • they sell on Ebay for around $40/pair and the IEC connector grips like a vice
2. for the live and neutral conductors use 12 (or 14) gauge Neotech Stranded UP-OCC wire with teflon insulation
3. for the ground wire, 12 (or 14) gauge stranded copper wire from Home Depot sill suffice
4. Braid the three wires together to form the cable
5. use cheap spades from any suto supply store on all wires
6. you can use the nylon expandable sleeve to finish the cable off

This will get you a very good power cable with the minimal of effort.

The UP-OCC stranded copper wire is very good because it can take a lot of bending/handling and still provide excellent performance

The solid UP-OCC copper wire with Teflon insulation is better, but it is more dificult to handle

The cables in DIY Helix Cables Website are among the very best out there, but are a little more complex to build.

• But if you choose to go that route I can answer any questions you may have
• because it is my web site 😎

Hope that helps - Steve

@jbuhl - The choise is actually pretty simple - ask yourself what is the main metal used in the plug...

1. for best results - it should be PURE copper
2. it should not be any other material, such as..
   • beryllium copper, teryllium copper Bronze or brass
     • they are NOT copper
     • they are copper alloys
3. it can be plated or just bare copper
   • Bare Copper will tarnish so some kind of plating is advised, otherwise they will require perodic cleaning
   • my preference is Silver plated copper
     • because it has higher rates of conductivity that other plating metals
   • gold plating is the next best metal commonly used
   • rhodium or Platinum are among the worst metals for plating based on conductivity
     • any other type of plating will degrade performance

This is all based on the Conductivity of the metal

• Silver is at the top - at up to 106%-107%
• PURE anealed copper is rated at 100%
  • THIS was the "benchmark" for all other ratings
  • OFC copper is around 101%
  • the more advanced copper like UP-OCC copper is 102% - 103%
• beryllium copper, teryllium copper is around 40% - 65%
• Bronze or brass are down around 30%

What does the metal impact?

• details and clarity
• dynamic performance

So when you are buying plugs think about them in relation to the attributes of the metals listed above.

Buying expensive brand names may not get you the best plug either

I have tried many plugs and the two I recommend and use are

1. Sonar Quest Silver plated Copper
   • these are very well made
   • their pins are very flat for the best connection
   • they have a heavier amount of silver plating that most others os the plating will not easily scratch off with use
2. Vanguard Silver plated Copper
   • A good amount of plating
   • but the pins are not quite as flat

Both are available from Ebay for a reasonable price

• Sonar Quest Silver Plated Pure Copper
  • I have purchased from this seller in the past and they were timely and reliable
• Vanguard Silver Plated Pure Copper
  • I have purchased from this seller in the past and they were timely and reliable

Hope that helps - Steve

@twoleftears - yes I used Viborg once - they are about the same quality and level of performance as the Vanguard products -

• there is not much difference between Viborg and Sonar Quest performance wise
• I prefer the Sonar Quest because
  • they have been inserted/removed many times into Hospital grade outlets (which grip lke a vice) and their silver coating is still intact, whreas the Voborg is looking a little worn
  • the screws do not strip as easily on the Sonar Quest plugs

Alpha wire - is is basically the same thiing as UP-OCC wire - it has a very long chrystaline srtucture.

• there appears to be a few ways of achieveing the same result
  • OCC (Ohno Continuous Cast) is the name given to the casting process developed to help defeat annealing issues and virtually eliminate all grain boundaries in copper or silver with a unique patented process.
    • The OCC casting method uses specialized heated moulds in order to draw a single crystal up to 125 meters in length.
  • another wire uses a process of repeated forging to acieve a similar result
  • α (Alpha) OCC is made with high-purity oxygen-free copper using a special casting process.
    • Unlike regular OFC, almost all of the impurities of this high-purity OCC have been removed at the micron level through a special casting process unique to Furutech

They would all have very similar abilities WRT signal conveyance.

I use the solid UP-OCC wire (Hookup wire) or the Neotech UP-OCC (Hookup wire) both from Parts Connexion

But some people pefer the Furutech

At this level of perofrmance I think there is very little between them

Hope that helps.- Steve

@mitch2 - thanks for that clarity.

A very interesting design.

In some ways similar to the Helix DIY cables

• Helix DIY power cable

Based on the effectiveness of my Helix DIY power cables I would actually use

• the center conductor as the LIVE
• and the outer wires for ground and neutral,
• which would have a "screening" effect around the center (live conductor),
  • while minimizing induced noise from the center conductor into both neutral and ground conductors
    • i.e. assuming those outer wires are infact spiralled around the center condcutor.
• plus another benefit of the DIY Helix cables is the ground and neutral is larger than the Live conductor - which is also the case if this approach is adopted

Just thinking out loud 🤔

Regards - Steve