In response to pieper1973’s query about home-brew cables, I thought it might be fun to recount my escapades over the past couple years. As you know, I’ve been re-evaluating classic Thiel products for upgrade opportunities and have reported many here. I’ve also reported my semi-blind method both solo and with single or multiple assistants: A & B ’whatevers’ are made by me, but the label of A or B is assigned by someone else, who remains wholly blind while I am half blind. First pass is to play any mutually-agreed track and take notes - any notes of any kind to discuss in any terms. Second pass is to reveal ’what’ we are listening to (which might be mechanical, electrical, source, driver, cabinet, wire, room, etc. - anything. Then play A & B again with notes and sharing. Third pass is to share any measurements or background that I had previously developed and, depending on available time, listen again. These sessions are enormously informative because the feedback is any blend of musical, technical, relational, comparative, etc. and these flights of exploration provide avenues of engagement that apply to all the work, not just the system presently under test.
Through 2019-2021 I’ve spent hundreds of hours comparing hook-up wire, while tapping the extensive listening / testing that Thiel Audio performed during the CS3.7 development, as well as my experience developing the original aerospace-inspired classic configuration, and with special thanks to Steven Hill of Straightwire, Thiel’s long-term wire partner, who has been enormously helpful with samples, information, reference materials and sharing his decades of experience. A hardy handful of commercial wires were compared to classic Thiel 18-2 CDA101 (slow-drawn) in teflon twisted at 3/inch. In shorthand, classic Thiel "won" due in part to having been part of the intricate engineering puzzle for the speakers under test. 4 CS2.2s were used in the early stages.
Enter plan B - a different speaker. I was re-assessing First vs Second Order topology via the SCS4 as the second order, coherent entry. By its coincident driver geometry with the tweeter set-back the correct amount, Jim created coincident time arrival and smooth phase transitions while sacrificing only the amplitude of the phase swings through the crossovers. I created two pair of quasi 02s using CS.5 drivers and (modified) crossovers for functional twins where the only difference between A & B was first or second order, respectively. Long story short, I am re-committed to first order (net roll-off outcome) slopes for reasons too complex for this posting.
My wire comparisons got easier using the first order 02s with 1’ sections of wire to the woofer and tweeter from the separate external crossovers. With first order XOs, differences of 1’ of wire could be readily heard whereas with second order, they could not. My suite of measurements also showed differences, sometimes clear, sometimes clouded by ignorance or unknowns - but nonetheless experientially real and correlatable.
Onward to results - wire is extremely complex and functionally impossible to sort out what is "best". My criteria include doing no harm, adding or subtracting no color, texture or character, introducing no measurable effects and offering greatest musical engagement.
I’ll note that I have not explored flat wire such as Goertz. Note also that Goertz is where Jim ended for driving the CS3.7, while retaining ’classic Thiel’ hookup wire.
Highlights:
A) + and - leads are best when identical and integrated in a single run. Note: the signal is AC and integrated. Separating runs introduces asymmetry.
B) Insulation matters. I ended with ’teflon’ family insulations, despite their high cost. Note: I am enamored with cellulose (cotton, rayon, etc.) with possibly lower dielectric absorption than hydrocarbons. (In dreamworld, I land on nano-cellulose for use as insulation, in caps, and driver diaphragms.)
C) twisted pairs in right-twist, left-lay configuration wins. Note: I tried counter-lay, various parallel lays, braids, coax etc. Twist is 'perfectly' executable via reasonable means.
D) Larger gauge doesn’t quite win. Contrary to common sense, lower resistance isn’t the only game. Larger wire gauge exhibits different characteristic impedance. 18 gauge is uniquely suited to audio frequencies.
E) Stranded sounds different than solid. I reaffirmed solid as more correct, but also less forgiving as is often attributed to Thiel speakers. I didn’t like the slight tizzy HF veil and slightly wooly LF fumwp of stranded wire.
I sorted out mechanisms (that satisfy my particular problem-solving approach) to account for perceived differences.
I have a resultant wire configuration that I’m willing to share with interested collaborators on this forum. My apologies to whomever I left hanging during my present shut-down to close up my shop/studio. PMs are appropriate.
