Speltz Anti Cables

I have been experimenting with this very thing. I am running the Speltz cables in a biwire configuration (two spades on the amp end/four on the speaker side). Berning amplification, Meadowlark speakers. The cables were constructed by me, using Luminous solid copper spades, compression crimped and soldered. I initially had the conductors spaced horizontally (+ - + -) about an inch or so apart, running through thin pine boards, which acted to both maintain even spacing, and keep the cables several inches off the carpet. Unfortunately, they had the look of high voltage power lines running from the back of my rack, but that's another story. I thought they sounded very nice, perhaps almost TOO nice. A little laid back and polite, they seemed only adequate in dynamics, and were perhaps a bit rolled off on the frequency extremes. Yet, like most solid conductor cables, they perserved the cohesiveness of music that (IMHO) many stranded designs (particularly hybrid copper/silver cables) ignore. Ultimately, I felt my Goertz MI2 cables were better.

Last night, I removed my pine "spacers". I laid the cables flat onto the floor, not paying particular attention to conductor orientation, and placed four small tie-wraps evenly spaced along the length of the cable. The transformation was quite astonishing. Suddenly, the cables lost their politeness, and the perspective shifted as if I had moved from 3/4 of the way back in the concert hall to within the first ten rows of the stage. While some of the smoothness of the cables was certainly lost, the dynamic range suddenly blossomed, and the cables developed what is commonly termed 'slam'; frequency extension issues previously noted disappeared. Is it all good? I don't think so - some of the cable's ability to retrieve low-level information also disappeared, as well as some subtle spatial cues. However, the cables are neither harsh, nor fatiguing, and perserve the essence of what they do right musically speaking.

My thinking now is that there has to be some compromise between the two geometries that will allow for a best of both worlds scenario. My thinking is that the next configuration will have the cables slowly spiralling around a small diameter core of some sort, where conductor separation will be maintained, but where spacing will be minimized (perhaps only a centimeter apart or so). I am also thinking that the cables are somewhat microphonic, and that some amount of damping is necessary. As to the composition of the core material, I am still developing my thoughts on this. I am working on gathering my construction and application photos of all this, and will hopefull post something someday soon if anyone is interested. Regards,

-Richard

David, The cables are now closely tied, and up on cable risers. I used four tie wraps, tightly cinched, evenly spaced down the eight foot length of the cable - the conductors are so stiff, only a few are needed to keep the cables bundled. I just got home, and will do some more listening tonight to the recent configuration. In the tangential thread, there was a lot of discussion of geometry, and spacing with regard to rising inductance. I simply decided to put into practice what many had suggested, and as I stated in my earlier post, I like some things about the change, and dislike others. What I seek is to balance the properties of both configurations, and that means (I think) realigning the geometry, so that the conductors don't quite touch, but are in close proximity to each other, and have approximately equal spacing down each cable. How I am going to put that into practice will have me walking the aisles of Home Despot searching for a spacing solution. As I thought about this today, my parameters are equal spacing, most likely a circular configuration (think of each conductor wrapped around a round core of something, but evenly spaced), minimal contact with the conductors (the simplicity of the wire is in its basic dielectric and freedom from plastics, sheaths, covers, etc) and low cost. Good listening, -Richard

Sean, I like your use of chaos theory to describe the geometric orientation of the cables - I'd say that's about right. Mathematically speaking there is some degree of order in all patterns of chaos, and after some extended listening last night, my chaotic cables are beginning to reveal a few more sonic properties to me: the cables now sound as if they are single wires with jumpers, as oppossed to a true biwire configuration. The relative strenghts of biwiring seem to have been ameliorated in favor of a somewhat more confused presentation (not that true biwiring or using jumpers is in itself good or bad, but more a matter of personal preference and system voicing). I will be bringing home a Sencore LC103 capacitance and inductance meter (a nice unit BTW for diagnostic work) and making a few measurements over the weekend. I'm anxious to see if I can correlate what I hear with what is measureable (if at all). And, while the cables now sound more dynamic, I find the loss of delicacy and information to be bothersome the more I listen. I think I have found an adequate spacing method/device, and some experimentation today should yield a definitive answer.

Eagle, I'd be curious to know what you think if you moved your conductors about a centimeter apart. Your setup is essentially what I had (albeit with four conductors) before I started fiddling.

Good listening, -Richard