Sakura Systems OTA Cable Kit

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Check out carolinaaudio.com for similar speakers (same Jordan JX92s drivers, I think).

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A small area of contact has always sounded better to me (other OTA users have had the same results).

Wrapping the wire around the post may make a stronger connection, but it does not sound as good (especially in the LF's).

I place the bare wire through the binding post hole and then tighten down within reason. The cats do clip a cable off of the speakers now and then (they can't get to the amps) and because of this I have to check the speaker cables before powering up (my tube amps should always have a speaker connected to them during power up).

It's a slight hassle to go through (really more of a habit after all this time) for better sound. Try it both ways and see if it makes a difference in your setup.

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This is 47's new line of cables. As far as I know they are not sold as a kit, but are factory terminated.

Where as a single OTA "kit" can often equip two simple stereo systems with IC's and speaker cable, these are quite a bit more expensive (the new line).

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A couple of years ago I heard about a gent in the UK experimenting with cable insulation color and sound.

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I was under the impression (from discussion of the topic with a cable manufacturer) that it had to do with dialectic properties (perhaps the effecting the portion of the signal running on the outside if the wire).

I also feel that it would wrong to assume that the cable with the highest/most pure conductivity is always the best for our application.

Yes, it's just one more thing to think about and there are already enough factors to drive one MAD, IMO.

I have pretty much given up on DIY cables (just use the ones already made that sound nice, plus the OTA cable) as I have come to dislike the lengthy process of auditioning/comparing cables in general.

Maybe it's less of a hassle for you now that you have a cable cooker?

I only accepted your audition offer as there are not many people running OTA in their systems and this is the cable that you are trying to match/beat.

Crap: I rewired the TT again today and am getting a low level hum in "both" channels (it was very silent before). I will completely redo it in a couple of weeks if I cannot trace it to a bad joint (hope that I did not screw up the tone arm cables, though it would be an excuse to replace them with something newer). Everything was the same this time (or so I thought) except that I shortened the length of both sets of analog IC's. I cannot hear the hum from a seated position @ normal listening volume, but the system was so quiet before that it should be again if things are done right.

Gray: I don't know if this is true, but once read that the OTA is a type of cable which is used for telecommunications in Japan, which has received some type of additional treatment. The only thing that I know is that I have been unable to locate a ready made cable that has the extremely thick Teflon insulation that the OTA uses and to purchase such insulation separately is not an inexpensive undertaking, plus I would have no way to properly run a six nines copper wire through this insulation without leaving a major air gap (which the OTA does not have). I have already tried "beefing up" the thin Teflon insulation on the XLO cable with a reverse wrap of Teflon plumbers tape without much success. My advice is that if you are not ready to spring $600 then try out the inexpensive Radio Shack solid core copper magnet wire in order to get a "taste" of what the OTA will sound like. The spool runs $3.99 and it contains three different gages (30,26 and I forget the lower gage). I prefer the 26 gage, but some also like the lower gage (so try both). Carefully remove the laquer from the ends of the wire with fine steel wool and then hook it up as speaker cable. It will take it 100 hours or so for the sound to stabilize. Since the laquer coating is questionable, IMO, I did make certain to separate the (+ & -) runs from each other when installing it to avoid the possibility of a short taking place. This is a single run cable and two runs will be required for each speaker (that is not bi-wired). If your cable runs are 10' of so there should be enough wire (of each gage) on a single spool. I used the RS cable in an inexpensive SS system with very good results (a bit of the OTA sound), but to be honest will not hesitate to rewire this setup with the OTA once I can afford another kit.

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I ended up with a very nice OTA digital cable (it slightly bested my Mapleshade Double Helix anyway - even less HF smearing which is what Mapleshade is all about).

The center (+) lead was 30" long and the outer (-) lead was 60" long. The longer lead was looped around the shorter lead by the means of 5-7 half knots (approx. 1.5"- 2" in diameter).

More and smaller loops close in the sound (though they further define imaging) while fewer and larger loops open up the sound while making imaging less precise. The trick is to balance this out to your liking (the cord is adjustable in the way).

Per the originator of this concept (Richard @ Vantage Audio in the UK), this will work best with total lengths no shorter than 90" (the one that I used) and no longer than 120" (I did not have enough cable left to try this length).

The concept is loosely based on a design that Vantage either uses, or has used, in the past, though their formula (as it was described to me) is far more complex/precise than the cable that I made.

If you do not feel like going to all this trouble, just make the (+) lead 42 " and the (-) lead 48" and separate the cables along the run by approx. 2". This is not as good as the looped design, but it betters equal length runs as the sound is more articulate and open.

Short versions (under 42") did not sound good with my DAC's (Bel Canto 1.0 & 1.1), but some people seem to like them and this may vary with the equipment used. I do use 8" OTA IC's from preamp to phono preamp with super results, but these are analog cables running to dual/mono phono sections with but 34 dB of gain.

I also do not hold to the concept that 75 ohm coaxial designs are the best digital cables as these cables have been my least favorite so far.