According to Audioholics, and I agree with them, the cable size (awg) you are using is an excellent choice for stereo speakers. I am pretty sure the president of Audioholics is an electrical engineer that has worked in communications so he understands how frequency affects cables. They have done different youtube videos on the subject of speaker cables and snake oil in the audio cable industry. Personally I think your speaker cables turned out great and are first class. Well done.
After watching this video. I bought the Mogami w3104 with CMC pure copper banana plug and replace my old cable, the Van Den hul. It's so much difference. This new Mogami make me feel the hi quality cable in reasonable price. Thank you so much.
@@itsgiodudez I'm in Thailand, there is some company import from Japan to sell here. The CMC is a good banana plug too. So if you in The USA just find the cable in Part Express.
Thank you sir for making this video! Often times cables that look like these are sold for hundreds if not thousands of dollars, yet are likely made in a similar method to what you have shown. I look forward to trying this myself!
I made these cables yesterday. Amazing! They replaced a pair of $2k WireWorld Eclipse 8 cables. I. Am. So. Impressed! Thank you so much. I recommend the locking banana plugs as regular bananas sometimes are too tight and eventually break at some point. Could you create a video on making 3 x 12 AWG (or larger) XLR cables? Amazing work. Thank you again.
I am going to build my own cable after looking at speaker cables in the $2 - $4K range (too much dough). BTW, for those who suggest that this is too much for a home stereo system, it all depends on the system. If one is using 1 kW+ power amplifiers and have clean and/or well-conditioned source power, these will be great and are not overkill. Excellent video!
It is likely to be overkill, it depends on what the impedance is and cable length really. It would have to be a crazy long length for it not to be overkill for most 8 Ohm runs.
I agree Mogami cables are the best for many applications - very good & honest - real value for money. One of the best regardless of price - which is relatively cheap. ... However, I don't like that you are connecting the leads of the 2-2 speaker cables in the 1-2, 3-4 method. If you use the 1-3 (starquad) configuration you get a much lower capacitance - on an average a little over 21% reduction on capacitance from 100Hz to 100kHz. Try it. You can easily swap them. You should use Orange+Brown and Yellow+Red. You will see an improvement. Thanks for all the great videos.
Thank you for the video! I'm in the process of reforming & conning some old vintage speakers and adding vintage amplifiers & tuners systems and I am now realizing it's all for nothing if you don't have quality speaker wire Cables! I'm embarrassed about the spliced willy nilly wiring I do use! That was a great! no wait! a Fantastic video showing how to make a quality speaker jacks & speaker cables thank Sinn Fein Byrne
Funny how you believe in cable "break in" I'm guessing that you bought Mogami because, as the video claims, you can get high end hifi cable for low-fi price by DIY. But cable burn-in is something these so called snake oil selling audiophile cable companies introduced. Just saying if they are right about cables having burn in, might they know other stuff that is critical to audio cable design. Just saying... Makes you think.
There are 4 main physical and mechanical properties that all need addressed for "High Quality" speaker cables. 1 Resistance (not nominal impedance). This affects the ability of the amp to deliver power and provide damping to the speaker. Resistance is related to material, and length. "skin effect" is a non issue at audio frequencies but is a radio frequency property. Shorter is better. Larger is better. 2 Capacitance. This affects the current drawn by the cable to charge the space between conductors when voltage is applied. This is a per unit of length, conductor diameter, and insulation material in regards to it's dielectric constant. Shorter is better. Smaller conductors is better. Low dielectric constant insulation is better. 3 Inductance. Inductance is the inverse of capacitance. It is the expanding magnetic field around a conductor as current flows. This is a per unit of length factor only. Resistance and insulation do not affect this. 4 Dielectric absorption. This is the heating of the dielectric material as it absorbs energy from the changing electric field. Low loss is better. Shorter is better. Conclusions.. A long cable is bad for a complex impedance of the speaker. The best cable is smaller and bigger at the same time as big is bad for capacitance and small is bad for resistance. The ratio of capacitance and inductance produces a cable characteristic impedance. When signal into and out of a cable matches the impedance of the cable, the problems of inductance and capacitance on opposite vector directions cancel and the cable can pass high frequencies with low loss into a restrictive load. Unfortunately a speaker is not a resistivity load and has a complex impedance curve. Making a 8 ohm impedance cable would be physically huge due to the size of the capacitance needed. This is why your TV cable is 75 ohm, your network cable is 110 ohm, and your DMX cable is 120 ohm. To use "short" speaker cables, much of the industry is moving to powered speakers and amp racks at the speakers instead of the sound booth. The signal is sent on several hundred feet of line cable which is about 200 ohm and with a resistive load instead of a complex speaker impedance. Loss is negligible at the entire audio frequency range. Balanced XLR signals have very high common mode noise rejection so hum pickup and other electrical noise is rarely an issue in a commercial sound setup. Not listed above is the physical properties. Solid vs stranded, physical size, appearance, etc. For those using lamp cable or house wire for speaker cables, they handle the voltage and power just fine, but may have issues in longer runs with the insulation and dielectric absorption. This can be compensated for as the loss is greater at higher frequencies, so it is "fixed with the EQ. Disclaimer. I am an engineering electronics technician with background in radio and television broadcast.
@@brandonlamondin6228 This is the premium Audiophiles pay for. I mentioned it as a study in physics for the perfectionists to realize the best speaker cable is just a compromise at best. It is very true the differences in short cables are very difficult to measure, but do affect long cables over 100 feet. The take away is short cable is the best speaker cable. This length issue with cable is not lost in the commercial realm. Big heavy speaker cables are giving way to either powered speakers, or amp racks placed on or under the stage near speakers as it does affect the sound. Controlled impedance balanced shielded line level signal is then sent to the powered speakers or power amps near the speakers. Days of 100 foot speaker cables are mostly history in commercial audio. The lower resistance of short cable impacts the ability for an amp to damp unwanted cone movement in a big way. Damping factor is the inverse of resistance. An amp such as my QSC with a damping factor over 100, gives an effective output impedance of 0.001 ohms for damping cone movement. A 14AWG speaker cable of 100 feet has a 100 degree F resistance of 0.2525 each way, which changes the damping factor from 100 to about 2 which considerably changes the sound. These are real world numbers if you wish to do the math. Look up copper wire tables and find the resistance per 1,000 feet and scale to 100 feet X2 for round trip. Look up the damping factor of your amp in the specifications. Damping factor is the inverse of the effective active output impedance or ability to stop unwanted come movement. In a living room with each speaker only 5 feet away, this is minimal. The best speaker cable is SHORT.
@@brandonlamondin6228 They really aren't inaudible. If you cant hear the difference a good cable makes, then you either don't have a good enough setup or you need your hearing checked.
I love your response and the explanations you gave. What would make this even better is explanation and examples of application for us 'amateurs' to learn from you information when we try and build our own speaker cables. Thank you for sharing. EDIT: @ Isettech: Excellent reply to ChildOfGod. But, can you please explain the practical application of your information to the manufacture of DIY speaker cables (and cables to connect PreAmps to a PowerAmp, which is why I am here researching the manufacture of my own cables. I need to manufacture an RCA - Mono 6.5 TS connector to connect the sound card in my computer (ASUS Xonar STX) to a Phonic MAX 1600 to power my Dali Concept speakers. Thank you. EDIT: Bottom line is shorter the better and thickest guage I can get away with, with the shield of the RCA wired into Neutral at the P.A. end in order to 'ground out' the EMR back into the return path to the Xonar..? Is this correct? Thank you.
15:33 is funny. Thanks for the vid and info. Just ordered cable from Redco today and it will be here tomorrow as I live in Massachusetts (Redco in Connecticut). I bought the W 2921 14 gauge.....Redco was the only one to have that cable by the foot. Two years later these cables are working very well. Very satisfying to build your own cable. I'm going to look at your interconnect cable vid now.
Viborg banana is great, can take really thick cables. Good screw mounts with hex screws - just love it 👌 Monoaudio on the other hand, the spring is not pure copper. It sticks to a magnet, which shows that it’s not pure copper. Don't know how much of a difference it makes. But it’s a no for me.
As a electrician, cutting into a sheath like they damaged the conductors, your can use aS/O cord stripper to strip that without damaging the wires inside.
Good to hear it, I have some Mogami 3103 cable on the way. I been testing different cables for months and the best sounding one I found was the Mogami 3082 cables. They are very neutral and natural sounding but the wire gauge is little thin for my set up, so decided to go with the Mogami 3103. BTW the worst sounding speaker cables I tried were the Canare 4S11's. They had way too much midrange. People say they settle down after many hundreds of hours but I played them close to 200 hours and they still sounded the same, not willing to wait anymore. The Mogami 3082's also sounded like they had too much midrange at first too but they didn't take long to start sounding more full and after about 150 hours sounded great. I had the 3103's pre burned in. Any updates on your Mogami 3103 cables?
3103 is a great cable. You will enjoy it for sure. Here is my experience: It may sound a bit bright, but in a nice way and depending on your gear. Low bass is also enhanced, not so much the mid bass, and depending on the type of music or the recording it can be a good thing or not. With my EL34 bulb amp and tower speakers is great, I am very pleased with them. So balanced and coherent. Great soundstage and tridimensionality. With my solid state amp and bookshelf speakers, as I said, depends on the type of music, recording,etc. With some recordings the highs may sound forward and disconnected from the mids, sometimes feels compressed. With some other recordings the sound is very refined that makes me crank up the volume... addictive. That has been my experience, it’s worth trying, it’s a very very good cable.
@@centinel8944 Just got the Mogami 3103 cables today and have been listening to them with a variety of music and I've got to say I'm liking them a lot. I like a little brighter presentation, brings my 20 year old pair of DIY Dynaudio speakers alive. They are a 3 way design so already have a lot of detail the midrange and seem to be working just perfectly with the Mogami 3103 cables. The speakers are full range, but I'm using them as big satellites to go with a pair of Dynaudio 30w100 subs in stereo. In my experimenting I tried Supra Classic 6, they had a excellent soundstage and detail and were very easy to listen to but were too heavy on the bass and mid-bass. Also tried the Canare 4S11 as a I mentioned, tried the Mogami 3082 which are nice, but a little lacking in midrange energy, some Audio Quest type 6 wires which were OK, but I didn't find them to be all that musical and many other types of wire I had collected over the years, but played that old collection for about two minutes each and said nope. The Mogami 3103 cables seem to fall right about in the middle of Mogami 3082 wire that was a little too dark in the midrange and the Canare 4S11 that are too bright in the midrange and so far 3103 Mogami's seem to be the Goldilocks of speaker cables, just right. I considered the 3104 wire but was worried being basically the same design that they might sound like the Canare 4S11 (maybe somebody could comment on that) and besides 4mm wire although Mogami lists it as 12 gauge is really much closer to 11 gauge and is plenty thick enough for my relatively short run. I did get the 3103's pre burned and froze. From my experience wires do "burn in" and no it's not just me getting used to the sound. I ran the Canares for almost 200 hours and never heard a change, but with Supra and the Mogami 3082's I did, the Audio Quest had already been used for years so they were already fully burned in. I don't know about the Cryo thing, but it was part of the deal and couldn't hurt, so why not.
@@phoebus could you provide the measurement of the wraps, braiding, that correspond to what was used in this video when using the mogami 3103 instead? thanks.
I would rather connect together in pairs the opposite wires (yellow-red and orange-brown). In that case you would get the so-called star-quad configuration often used in microphone cables to make them more noise resistant. Also star-quad is used by Audio Quest in many of it's speaker cables.
@@IliyaOsnovikov I don't know this particular cable and colors but you are suggesting that the pairs that the OP used aren't diametrically opposed to each other?
If you want the sleeving to be taught and not as loose on the cable, you can melt the ends of it to the insulation in conjunction with the heat shrink, sleeved custom PSU cable tutorials are a great guide
Thank you for this! I made this cable and have installed it on my system. These sound more transparent than a set of PS Audio cables that I had been using for a decade. And they are really easy to handle due to flexibility. Thanks a lot!
I'm entry level (y rx-v685 pushing polk t-series on 12g unshielded wires) but as I upgrade I want to diy where I can. This video is exactly what I needed. Thanks
Two weeks into listening to my DIY 3104s and I must say I'm very impressed. I'm a huge 2 channel music guy and I love listening to my Martin Logans ESL X and dual 1100X. In my opinion the floor standing speaker list is VERY SHORT when comparing however they are also good revealing weaknesses in your system. The first 100hrs or so listening, the 3104s were muddy, poor sound stage, and subpar bass. Now into nearly 300hrs of signal passing through, it sounds like I've installed another set of cables. The center stage is wide but tight enough to pick out where each artist is onstage. I listened to some older music that I'm familiar with the detail and it was like WOW....hearing voice definition, breathing I haven't heard and the guitarist actually plucking the strings. I can continue writing but let me just say, as an audio/video enthusiasts, I've always "chased the dragon" trying to get the best sound possible from whichever system I had...and sometimes spending considerably more than putting the Mogami 3104s together. These by far are the best sounding cables I've listened to (in my system) for the money. Ended up making 2 pairs of 8' cables to bi-amp my speakers. Wish I could share a pick of the finished cables.
I almost reacted like "300hrs? You're bullsh!tt!n", then I remembered that to a lesser extent, a run of Audioquest speaker cable in my system took a while to settle in. My wife and I noticed it on some slack key guitar music about two months after I installed them. I wasn't running music all day long to break them in like I normally do with new components. Coherence was mainly the "issue". Some things like distortion, you can't get used to. So, I don't entirely buy the "you just get used to the sound" argument when it comes to break-in (it's a real thing folks). So, yeah, I'm going to try this build out, what the heck. I might even do two pairs and see if bi-wiring makes a difference. If it doesn't, it'll just look like it is doing something? :) I'm excited either way. Tekton Moab, PS Audio M700, Gustard A26, PS Audio P3, AudioQuest whatever XLR and speaker wire.
Hello, I'm very new to youtube so I'm sure I'm doing this all wrong. I just wanted to say thank you for the videos ! The "how to" videos are the best. I've built the Mogami W3104 Spk Cables that you taught me how to make ( they sound OUTSTANDING) & I've built the Oyaide Black Mamba Power Cable that you showed me . The power cable very much improved the bass of my system ! I can't wait to build something else I learn from you ! Your the BEST & your a Giants fan as well !
Great tutorial! But you didn't use the star quad wiring method so you don't get star quad benefit. Is it intentional? You need to connect Red-Yellow to +, Brown-Orange to - to make star quad work. It is useful to mention. Kind regards.
I follow your DIY cables and it turn out so great. I can hear the clarity of all range, can hear the missing instruments. Waiting a week for the cable breakin time. Hope it will sound better
I recently went to Guitar Center and picked up a Mogami mic cable for XLR connections and was blown away with the quality of sound for the money. Easily comparable to cables costing 10 times as much.
i made a set of these a few years backusing canare 4s14 and am very happy with them. The4s14 resulys on 2ea #11's while the paired #12's will result in a #9 wire.
Great job sir! I really like the extra effort on the nylon jacket and heat shrink tubing. Personally I made four 10 gauge banana plug wires to bi-amp my front floor standing B&W. After seeing your video I need to step up my game. Now I want to add nylon sheathing and heat shrinking tubing to my cables. Thank you for the how to
The table @ :38 shows the capacitance when pairing wires #1 and #3 together vs #1 and #2. Pairing 1 and 3 has a lower capacitance then 1 and 2. In between those pairs is a cord/insulation that is not shown in the illustration @ :38. You just see a gap. That cord/insulation separates pairs 1&3 and 2&4 allowing a lower capacitance. So pair Brown & Orange, and Red and Yellow. Will this make a difference to your ear? He made mention that there is no difference in sound and I believe him because he's making short cables. Thank you for your DIY videos. Thinking of making a pair for the fun of it.
To keep the surface of the copper strands from tarnishing which can have an effect on signal transference over time, maybe I would suggest the use of solder for an airtight connection. Soldering is a simple thing that most will be able to do correctly with little practice. Or at least have your copper ends tinned.
Thanks for suggestions, For that issue I do annual cleaning of all my Audio cables and components, I’ve been doing that every year for last 20 years. It’s good old habit I learned growing up in pro studio, thanks
I don't think so use high-grade silver yes not silver solder, but there should be no issues tarnishing his put shrink wrap should prevent any air getting to the Bare metal you could smear them with oil like 3 in 1 would prevent tarnishing
@@Tharbamar Yes cleaning connections would be a good candidate for an educative video. Also using fluid electricians tape after tightening or soldering would probably be optimal. Seals it much better from air and moist
KInd thanks for your helpful video, I have ordered the plugs and some of Mogami W3104 from a pro-audio shop. Excellent video notes also, with a bill of materials, and all the relevant links, awesome work. I am very grateful for your help !!!!!
I have done A/B testing with different types of plugs. Brass is a no go. I could definitely hear a difference between brass and copper. So, if you have a choice use copper connectors, preferably copper spades.
Like your easy explanations....true DIYers need patient teachers with an attention to process, detail, materials and required time...to make an outstanding product.....Cables are pro grade in function and quality of build, a pleasure to look at and listen too....please do more DIY videos, maybe interconnects next?
I really like the cloth sheeting on it. I'm thinking of adding that to mine. It's really cool to have a thick wire, but I find the wire doesn't really matter. Outside of given the idea that they're good. I know some people feel it makes their sound better. So the confidence thicker wire gives is nice. Also, I love how a tick wire looks and feels. You did a great job.
Professionals use plain oxygen-free copper. Professional sales people prefer silver, gold or more expensive materials. Apart from that I really like your videos. I like your cable also☺
Last you for a very very long time, my guess is that after a year or two you would want to upgrade. You see your ear is very clever it soon gets sick/tired of the sound that comes out of your speakers then you want to upgrade. This applies to right through all your hi-fi equipment.
Great video! One piece of advice though, when twisting the final terminal wires together prior to insertion into banana plugs, use gloves, this will prevent oils from your fingers oxidising the cable ends.
Oil/grease doesn't oxidize the copper. Salts oxidize the copper. Copper is actually protected by grease/oil. Copper will oxidize regardless if you touch it or not, but when it does it forms a layer that will stop further oxidation. Don't give any advices if you are clueless.
@@florin604 Obviously oxygen which is in the air acts as an oxidising agent but Acids which are present on the skin cause expedited oxidation. 'Oils' was to refer to this acid mantel. The oxidised layer you refer to may help protect the metal itself from further degradation but it also unfortunately acts as a barrier between the contacts.
You are best! What a difference! Loads and loads of low end. Crystal clear and sweeter high end. I admit that I was an anti-cable guy. Not a big fan spending thousands on expensive cables. I was genuinely surprised how big the improvement was. I always thought my Musical Fidelity A200DM pure class A int amp was not powerful enough to drive my 6 ohms 86db Harbeth SHL-5 speakers. Or my speakers were just lack of low end or combination of both. The low end/bass and high frequency response was weak. So a few weeks ago I ordered a tube amp from a reputable brand hoping it would change everything. After a week of testing, I decided to return the tube amp. There was no obvious improvement. I was frustrated and lost. Two days later. I received the speaker cable parts from the links provided. I followed the detailed instruction and built the cables. It took me about 3 hours. I couldn't be happier with result. Most important thing was it solved my decades long mystery. I couldn't believe it was the speaker cables all along. Thank you so so much!
I warmly welcome. Thank you very much for this guide. I have already ordered all the pieces of the puzzle. Waiting for them to reach me. I am very curious how this cable will fall out against the background of Nordost Red Dawn LS. I'll let you know how. Happy New Year.
Awesome video! I have been watching your channel for a while now and thoroughly enjoy all of your videos. Thank you for sharing this great DIY on some great looking cables. I’m looking forward to making some very soon. Currently I’m using Blue Jean cables and I’m going to do some A/B testing. Good job buddy!
Good video, but i was curious a few years back about wire size for speakers. I tested this theory about wire size so i went out and bought some 16, 14, 12, and 10 gauge wire. I tested these different size wire's on my home stereo and i couldn't hear any difference in the sound eminating from my speakers. I also went out and bought some lamp cord and wired it to my stereo speakers and guess what, i still could not hear any difference in the sound quality. So my question to all of you viewers is it possible that some people can hear sutlle differences in sound quality.
After stripping the outer insulation off, I think you're supposed to twist the two leads together before installing the banana plugs.Then you can wrap them in braided sleeving. This helps keep them from becoming an antenna, so to speak.
Again and again this kind of comment come up in this video. I will answer this for last time, it won't become antenna or act like one. I've been using these cables in Pro and Home environments for last 15 years without having any issue.
If you’re going to do all this then make sure you don’t use bare hands to twist the cable ends together because the oils in our skin get rubbed into the cable ends and will tarnish and degrade the transmission of energy in this area a lot faster than normal. The best thing to do is use a new, clean lint free cloth to twist the ends together and then spray a little amount of Deoxit on the twist and it should not oxidise or degrade for about 5 years at which point you cut the twist part off (about an inch) and cut your ends again so the perfect solution is to solder the ends together with silver infused solder and obviously don’t touch the bare metal with your bare fingers before you solder!!!
I have a modest hi-fi system with Tannoy speakers and Cambridge integrated amp. I find differences in sound with different cables, even my girlfriend notices the difference (including when I added an Isotek power cable). I'm not even talking about expensive speaker cables, I'm talking about unbranded 4mm speaker cable compared with 3-core stranded power cable and solid core power cable. The 4mm speaker cable sounds worse, by the way, it's more compressed in the top end and sounds less natural. The solid core had more dynamics and depth, but lacking in top end, the 3 core stranded has a more natural top end and wider sound stage. So I'm bi-wiring both the power cables, works a treat. Scoff all you like, you nay sayers, but that's how it is. I also got all my cables for free off of other people. :)
mrpositronia the scoffing is because people pay $2,500 (or more!) for cables to change the sound when adding room treatment would be way more effective and cheaper
@@fomoontech8217 the 'scoffing' part is for those who think there is no actual audio difference in any cables, and that we're all deluding ourselves. Also, I don't concern myself with what other people can afford to spend on gear. Acoustic treatment helps with the effect the room has, plus EQ, but cables help to get the finer details right. I'm sure those who can afford thousands per metre of cable have the acoustic treatment already installed. Plus an expensive listening chair too! :D
As long as you're using speakers with reasonable efficiency, speaker cable is a non-issue. 16 AWG lamp cord is as good as expensive cable. Large gauge speaker wire is only needed for long runs. Expensive cable is one of the biggest wastes of money an audiophile can invest in.
I have to agree. That speaker wire is way over kill for any home use! Using a single #12 AWG for each connector is more than enough, let alone using double #12. Plus you don't need any fancy expensive wire from some fancy name brand audio supply manufacturer. But feel free to waste your money if you like.
I think most people would agree that the best you can hear is all you need. The problem is we have so many perfect 50 karat diamonds with a little circuit board inside with customers to match that it's not even about the sound anymore even though it's still blasphemous to say it. If you want jewelry for your home then God Bless ya, I hope you get what you want. Just don't be leading the up and coming to think that's what good sound has to look like because it doesn't, and it doesn't further the quest for that next more convincing generation of audio. sorry.
Let me guess romex would do just fine to then, people like you are ignorant in knowing what your talking about, maybe your attitude towards listening is not refined in detail quality of caring so much about it, your speakers play the music and that's all that matters to you, it's good enough, but let me tell you there is a difference or I wouldn't be responding to your comment, but that's up to you to compare and if you have then good for you you dont half to be in the mix of snake oil, I've built cables using cheap best buy speaker wire to using monster cable and audioquest cable and they all sounded different the rocket fish cable at best buy sounded horrible, the audioquest cable sounded fatiguing and fast like, and the monster cable sounded neutral and natural sounding and these cables didn't cost that much and I heard a difference and I dont have expensive equipment either if I heard a difference in cables then I will say something
@@shannonwilliams6623 I have done blind swap tests with probably 20 or more people who have spent big money on cables, including $3000 power cords. I snag them every time. It is all placebo.
@Bernie AYALA AUDIO Do you happen to have any commercial interest in audio? Then I would agree that its probably a bargain from a commercial point of wiev
I use 12/3 cabtire SOOW I use the green ground and connect it to the common ground of the amplifier at one end only and to one copper bus .the speaker ends are the same only I cut the ground wire flush to the cabtire .#12 SOOW is capable of carrying 18 amps at 600V .Using 12 /4 like you have done in SOOW is much cheaper than that cable .And you will be able to deliver 36 amps of current
Great video man. In a stroke of excitement, i just ordered the Mogami cable, Parts Express plugs to connect my Audiolab MBs to Elac Unifi UF52. Now am thinking of how to tackle my gf when she notices those monstrous cables 😀
A connection will never get better that it was when new. Most materials will corrode over time. And it is this corrosion that makes connection go bad. There are no properties in a connection that make it get better. I highly doubt that the plastics in the insulation out-gassing will change the capacitance in the cable in a measurable way. The copper that makes up the wire doesn't change properties over time in any positive fashion. A good connection does not break in or get better. There is nothing you can do to a cable to cause it to burn in, or settle in a positive way.
Excellent! I also suggest Supra cables from Sweden which are VERY low capacitance. I tinned the endings with Cardas silver solder and I will use Rhodium pins on the end. The Supra is affordable and VERY good quality.
@Douglas Blake his cable is overkill. However, a 10 foot pair of Belden or Canare is not. Both of what i mentioned are also used in Pro-audio. Most of what you described is about connectors. A pair of 12guage Belden cables far outweigh a cheap ass lamp cord for not much more $. Blue Jeans cable is Belden and the prices are extremely good for excellent quality studio grade cable.
@Douglas Blake you go girl with your lampcord. If it works for you, great. Meanwhile, the rest of us will enjoy what we like. That's the beauty of this hobby. You can do whatever you want and invest in what you see fit. You spend allot of time trying to convince the unconvincing. Does it really matter to you? Run along now...
What about the Mogami W2921? Is it comparable or competitive to the W3104? Which would you prefer between W2921 and W3103? Thanks for sharing your knowledge!!!
I am a believer in cable differences. Thank you for showing us your speaker build. After installing your cable, I find that the volume control on my Parasound Halo P5 pre-amp responds more precisely presenting music across the sound stage. Very nice response!
Hello! Can you make a comparison between your reference speaker cables from Mogami and a regular H07RN-F 4x4mm2 copper powercable for 2 or 3 EUR each meter? I believe that you won't find huge differences. Okay, the color code on the single wires.... ;-)
For some reason, commenting on this post doesn't allow you to share pics. Just finished my cables and I'd love to share my pics. Also the connectors used in @Tharbamar video are out of stock until July (everywhere) so I went with an alternative.
@@paulf6946 I've only listened a few hours so not quite enough to give a full review but a very noticeable difference from the BJC 12. I'm bi-amping my Martin Logan ESL X through the Marantz MM7055, crossing them over at 80Hz and allowing the 2 Martin Logan 1100X handle the bass in 2 channel music listening. If you've never listened to Martin Logan's, they aren't very forgiving...if there's a weakness they will reveal it. I'll share more after more listening.
Awesome tutorial! I’m with you, I mostly only use pro cables. The only exception is Supra, I find their power cords excellent. I also like their shielded speaker cables - I find some class D amps sound better with shielded speaker cables. One could also shield a professional speaker cable by manually adding a copper shield over the cable and covering it with the nylon mesh. Now I’m inspired to try the Mogami speaker cables. I’ll build a pair to try... :-D
You should probably avoid shielded speaker cables as it drives up the capacitance of the cable dramatically. And since the signal isn't getting amplified after those cables, shielding isn't really going to do a whole lot unless you are in a VERY noisy environment. That being said, if you think its sounds better that way, that's all that really matters.
I watch a lot of video on speaker wires , amps , and speakers .I love your channel the best as you have a great ear for sound and actually look at all the good and bad before making a dicission. Thank you for a great channel . I wish I could get the denon amp you ordered from Japan but I am scared as I don't want to be screwed if something goes wrong . My future speakers are going to be sonus fabre olympica nova 5 , and hope I can soon
Hey, I just noticed, aren't you supposed to use the opposing sets of wire(180o) apart from each other? That would be the orange/brown, red/yellow, at least that was what I was told to do with this cable and Canare 4S11. Anyhoo, I'm making sets of both the 3104 and the 4S11. You inspired me. I'll be using the Viborg Pure Copper Bananas, Viborg Pure Copper Spades, and the CMC 4mm BFA Banana Plug Jack Z-Type Connector which is that spring form contact that looks like a Viborg product. I ordered them all.
Great choice on Viborg plugs they are my favorite ass well, for the star quad cables I have all different paring and there is no difference in the sound. Thanks
You're correct. In the video he shows the table which has the capacitance rating depending on what wires are paired together. Brown and Orange together and Red and Yellow. The table @ :38 shows the capacitance when pairing wires #1 and #3 together vs #1 and #2. Pairing 1 and 3 has a lower capacitance then 1 and 2. In between those pairs is a cord/insulation that is not shown in the illustration @ :38. You just see a gap. That cord/insulation separates pairs 1&3 and 2&4 allowing a lower capacitance. So pair Brown & Orange, and Red and Yellow. Will this make a difference to your ear? He made mention that there is no difference in sound and I believe him because he's making short wires.
You can buy Transparent 12-4 cable for about 5 bucks a foot. That is what I use and I think a better value for the money. You can buy direct from their website.
I dont even use speaker cables. I solder the amp terminals directly to the terminals on the speaker. Best damn sound I have ever heard lol. J/K: great video.
Same here. Collateral benefit - smaller form factor. And with sufficient battery energy, my whole system is PORTABLE and can be carried by only three people.
Nothing beats garden hose filled with mono-crystalline mercury as the conductor - maybe solid brazed copper tubing - sure it's a bit stiff & not very portable, but that's HiFi for you ;-)
nice show and it surely will work fine. But i am wondering, are these not overkill for home use? I mean, these kind of professional cables are meant to travel long distances, 50 mtr or more.
Ok, I'm trying to make sure I'm doing this correct. Just got the Mogami 3104 speaker cables in the mail. The plan is to make enough cable to bi-amp my front speakers. I'm running Martin Logan ESL X's (F) and Martin Logan ESL C (C). The ESL X's will be bi-amped to my Marantz MM7055 (5-channels @ 140w/chnl) and the center will run on the 5th channel. After speaking with a Mogami rep (who sounded pretty knowledgeable), he recommended I run two separate cables (a twisted pair for highs/mids and a twisted pair for the driver) instead of one cable with a connector on each conductor. So here's where I need clarification - - once I strip the 3104 outer casing, it exposes the 4 conductors (red/brown & orange/yellow). Assuming this pairing is correct (passive - red/brown & orange/yellow), I also assume its up to me to decide which will be +/- ?? So I decided [red = positive and brown = negative | orange = positive and yellow = negative ]. If there's no objections, I'll twist the red/brown pairs together, add a connector and do the same with the orange/yellow? If this sounds about right, then I'm golden. Now the only issue is finding BFA's or banana's big enough. There must be tons of people out there constructing this same configuration because all the connectors @Tharbamar recommended are out of stock and back ordered til June or July. Any recommendations on quality connectors to fit roughly an 8 gauge twisted pair? Thanks.
@@Tharbamar sorry for keeping this going but I'm really looking for guidance here. If I configure my cables exactly the way you have in this video but I do two pair per speaker, will this work to bi-amp my speakers? If yes, is it just a matter of connecting one cable (red to red / black to black) on the speaker side and same at the amp (using two channels per speaker)?
Thanks for the video. Would having separately shielded wires make a difference? I know on analog video signals (especially unamplified), shielded of utmost importance. If you run unamplified video signal for any distance close to a pcb, there is a ton of video interference. Once amplified, the video signal isn't as susceptible to interference. I don't know how susceptible speaker wires are (probably not nearly as sensitive since it's an amplified signal at that point).
According to Audioholics, and I agree with them, the cable size (awg) you are using is an excellent choice for stereo speakers. I am pretty sure the president of Audioholics is an electrical engineer that has worked in communications so he understands how frequency affects cables. They have done different youtube videos on the subject of speaker cables and snake oil in the audio cable industry.
Personally I think your speaker cables turned out great and are first class. Well done.
After watching this video. I bought the Mogami w3104 with CMC pure copper banana plug and replace my old cable, the Van Den hul. It's so much difference. This new Mogami make me feel the hi quality cable in reasonable price. Thank you so much.
@@itsgiodudez I'm in Thailand, there is some company import from Japan to sell here. The CMC is a good banana plug too. So if you in The USA just find the cable in Part Express.
I’ve just finished making my Mogami w3104 cable and it’s magical 😍 BUY IT !
Thank you sir for making this video! Often times cables that look like these are sold for hundreds if not thousands of dollars, yet are likely made in a similar method to what you have shown. I look forward to trying this myself!
I made these cables yesterday. Amazing! They replaced a pair of $2k WireWorld Eclipse 8 cables. I. Am. So. Impressed! Thank you so much. I recommend the locking banana plugs as regular bananas sometimes are too tight and eventually break at some point. Could you create a video on making 3 x 12 AWG (or larger) XLR cables? Amazing work. Thank you again.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
You bought wires for 2k? Lol
The pure richness of the thumbnail made watch this video and now I want to create my own speaker cables.
bidon
I am going to build my own cable after looking at speaker cables in the $2 - $4K range (too much dough). BTW, for those who suggest that this is too much for a home stereo system, it all depends on the system. If one is using 1 kW+ power amplifiers and have clean and/or well-conditioned source power, these will be great and are not overkill. Excellent video!
It is likely to be overkill, it depends on what the impedance is and cable length really. It would have to be a crazy long length for it not to be overkill for most 8 Ohm runs.
I agree Mogami cables are the best for many applications - very good & honest - real value for money. One of the best regardless of price - which is relatively cheap. ... However, I don't like that you are connecting the leads of the 2-2 speaker cables in the 1-2, 3-4 method. If you use the 1-3 (starquad) configuration you get a much lower capacitance - on an average a little over 21% reduction on capacitance from 100Hz to 100kHz. Try it. You can easily swap them. You should use Orange+Brown and Yellow+Red. You will see an improvement. Thanks for all the great videos.
I will try that, thanks
what if you want to use it as bi-wire? how would you combine?
That cable could power a whole house, very nice!
Yes and it is completely useless.
@@Marcel1979K Why useless?
@@Marcel1979K useless nah, way overkill yes
@@Blindpulitzer11 they are useless
Thank you for the video! I'm in the process of reforming & conning some old vintage speakers and adding vintage amplifiers & tuners systems and I am now realizing it's all for nothing if you don't have quality speaker wire
Cables! I'm embarrassed about the spliced willy nilly wiring I do use! That was a great! no wait! a Fantastic video showing how to make a quality speaker jacks & speaker cables thank Sinn Fein Byrne
Thank for the speaker wire info. I made a pair of the Canare’s and they sound superb to anything else I have ever made.
Hi just finished my Mogami W3104 8'x 2=16 ' Cost approximately $11 ca. per ft.all in, now just have to break them in cant wait, to hear them!!
Funny how you believe in cable "break in" I'm guessing that you bought Mogami because, as the video claims, you can get high end hifi cable for low-fi price by DIY. But cable burn-in is something these so called snake oil selling audiophile cable companies introduced. Just saying if they are right about cables having burn in, might they know other stuff that is critical to audio cable design. Just saying... Makes you think.
I use 0.8mm solid silver slipped through medical Teflon tubing. Surprisingly cheap and because it’s shiny it’s great for the higher frequencies
There are 4 main physical and mechanical properties that all need addressed for "High Quality" speaker cables.
1 Resistance (not nominal impedance). This affects the ability of the amp to deliver power and provide damping to the speaker. Resistance is related to material, and length. "skin effect" is a non issue at audio frequencies but is a radio frequency property. Shorter is better. Larger is better.
2 Capacitance. This affects the current drawn by the cable to charge the space between conductors when voltage is applied. This is a per unit of length, conductor diameter, and insulation material in regards to it's dielectric constant. Shorter is better. Smaller conductors is better. Low dielectric constant insulation is better.
3 Inductance. Inductance is the inverse of capacitance. It is the expanding magnetic field around a conductor as current flows. This is a per unit of length factor only. Resistance and insulation do not affect this.
4 Dielectric absorption. This is the heating of the dielectric material as it absorbs energy from the changing electric field. Low loss is better. Shorter is better.
Conclusions.. A long cable is bad for a complex impedance of the speaker. The best cable is smaller and bigger at the same time as big is bad for capacitance and small is bad for resistance. The ratio of capacitance and inductance produces a cable characteristic impedance. When signal into and out of a cable matches the impedance of the cable, the problems of inductance and capacitance on opposite vector directions cancel and the cable can pass high frequencies with low loss into a restrictive load. Unfortunately a speaker is not a resistivity load and has a complex impedance curve. Making a 8 ohm impedance cable would be physically huge due to the size of the capacitance needed. This is why your TV cable is 75 ohm, your network cable is 110 ohm, and your DMX cable is 120 ohm.
To use "short" speaker cables, much of the industry is moving to powered speakers and amp racks at the speakers instead of the sound booth. The signal is sent on several hundred feet of line cable which is about 200 ohm and with a resistive load instead of a complex speaker impedance. Loss is negligible at the entire audio frequency range. Balanced XLR signals have very high common mode noise rejection so hum pickup and other electrical noise is rarely an issue in a commercial sound setup.
Not listed above is the physical properties. Solid vs stranded, physical size, appearance, etc.
For those using lamp cable or house wire for speaker cables, they handle the voltage and power just fine, but may have issues in longer runs with the insulation and dielectric absorption. This can be compensated for as the loss is greater at higher frequencies, so it is "fixed with the EQ.
Disclaimer. I am an engineering electronics technician with background in radio and television broadcast.
this needs to be pinned
the levels you are talking about are absolutely inaudible to the human ear... so whats the point bud?
@@brandonlamondin6228 This is the premium Audiophiles pay for. I mentioned it as a study in physics for the perfectionists to realize the best speaker cable is just a compromise at best. It is very true the differences in short cables are very difficult to measure, but do affect long cables over 100 feet. The take away is short cable is the best speaker cable. This length issue with cable is not lost in the commercial realm. Big heavy speaker cables are giving way to either powered speakers, or amp racks placed on or under the stage near speakers as it does affect the sound. Controlled impedance balanced shielded line level signal is then sent to the powered speakers or power amps near the speakers. Days of 100 foot speaker cables are mostly history in commercial audio. The lower resistance of short cable impacts the ability for an amp to damp unwanted cone movement in a big way. Damping factor is the inverse of resistance. An amp such as my QSC with a damping factor over 100, gives an effective output impedance of 0.001 ohms for damping cone movement. A 14AWG speaker cable of 100 feet has a 100 degree F resistance of 0.2525 each way, which changes the damping factor from 100 to about 2 which considerably changes the sound. These are real world numbers if you wish to do the math. Look up copper wire tables and find the resistance per 1,000 feet and scale to 100 feet X2 for round trip. Look up the damping factor of your amp in the specifications. Damping factor is the inverse of the effective active output impedance or ability to stop unwanted come movement. In a living room with each speaker only 5 feet away, this is minimal. The best speaker cable is SHORT.
@@brandonlamondin6228 They really aren't inaudible. If you cant hear the difference a good cable makes, then you either don't have a good enough setup or you need your hearing checked.
I love your response and the explanations you gave. What would make this even better is explanation and examples of application for us 'amateurs' to learn from you information when we try and build our own speaker cables. Thank you for sharing.
EDIT: @ Isettech: Excellent reply to ChildOfGod. But, can you please explain the practical application of your information to the manufacture of DIY speaker cables (and cables to connect PreAmps to a PowerAmp, which is why I am here researching the manufacture of my own cables. I need to manufacture an RCA - Mono 6.5 TS connector to connect the sound card in my computer (ASUS Xonar STX) to a Phonic MAX 1600 to power my Dali Concept speakers. Thank you.
EDIT: Bottom line is shorter the better and thickest guage I can get away with, with the shield of the RCA wired into Neutral at the P.A. end in order to 'ground out' the EMR back into the return path to the Xonar..? Is this correct? Thank you.
15:33 is funny. Thanks for the vid and info. Just ordered cable from Redco today and it will be here tomorrow as I live in Massachusetts (Redco in Connecticut). I bought the W 2921 14 gauge.....Redco was the only one to have that cable by the foot.
Two years later these cables are working very well. Very satisfying to build your own cable. I'm going to look at your interconnect cable vid now.
Viborg banana is great, can take really thick cables. Good screw mounts with hex screws - just love it 👌
Monoaudio on the other hand, the spring is not pure copper. It sticks to a magnet, which shows that it’s not pure copper. Don't know how much of a difference it makes. But it’s a no for me.
As a electrician, cutting into a sheath like they damaged the conductors, your can use aS/O cord stripper to strip that without damaging the wires inside.
Excellent tutorial thank you! I just made my own using 3103 cable. The sound opened and the bass got much clearer. Much cleaner sound
Good to hear it, I have some Mogami 3103 cable on the way. I been testing different cables for months and the best sounding one I found was the Mogami 3082 cables. They are very neutral and natural sounding but the wire gauge is little thin for my set up, so decided to go with the Mogami 3103. BTW the worst sounding speaker cables I tried were the Canare 4S11's. They had way too much midrange. People say they settle down after many hundreds of hours but I played them close to 200 hours and they still sounded the same, not willing to wait anymore. The Mogami 3082's also sounded like they had too much midrange at first too but they didn't take long to start sounding more full and after about 150 hours sounded great. I had the 3103's pre burned in. Any updates on your Mogami 3103 cables?
3103 is a great cable. You will enjoy it for sure. Here is my experience: It may sound a bit bright, but in a nice way and depending on your gear. Low bass is also enhanced, not so much the mid bass, and depending on the type of music or the recording it can be a good thing or not.
With my EL34 bulb amp and tower speakers is great, I am very pleased with them. So balanced and coherent. Great soundstage and tridimensionality. With my solid state amp and bookshelf speakers, as I said, depends on the type of music, recording,etc. With some recordings the highs may sound forward and disconnected from the mids, sometimes feels compressed. With some other recordings the sound is very refined that makes me crank up the volume... addictive. That has been my experience, it’s worth trying, it’s a very very good cable.
@@centinel8944 Just got the Mogami 3103 cables today and have been listening to them with a variety of music and I've got to say I'm liking them a lot. I like a little brighter presentation, brings my 20 year old pair of DIY Dynaudio speakers alive. They are a 3 way design so already have a lot of detail the midrange and seem to be working just perfectly with the Mogami 3103 cables. The speakers are full range, but I'm using them as big satellites to go with a pair of Dynaudio 30w100 subs in stereo.
In my experimenting I tried Supra Classic 6, they had a excellent soundstage and detail and were very easy to listen to but were too heavy on the bass and mid-bass. Also tried the Canare 4S11 as a I mentioned, tried the Mogami 3082 which are nice, but a little lacking in midrange energy, some Audio Quest type 6 wires which were OK, but I didn't find them to be all that musical and many other types of wire I had collected over the years, but played that old collection for about two minutes each and said nope. The Mogami 3103 cables seem to fall right about in the middle of Mogami 3082 wire that was a little too dark in the midrange and the Canare 4S11 that are too bright in the midrange and so far 3103 Mogami's seem to be the Goldilocks of speaker cables, just right. I considered the 3104 wire but was worried being basically the same design that they might sound like the Canare 4S11 (maybe somebody could comment on that) and besides 4mm wire although Mogami lists it as 12 gauge is really much closer to 11 gauge and is plenty thick enough for my relatively short run. I did get the 3103's pre burned and froze. From my experience wires do "burn in" and no it's not just me getting used to the sound. I ran the Canares for almost 200 hours and never heard a change, but with Supra and the Mogami 3082's I did, the Audio Quest had already been used for years so they were already fully burned in. I don't know about the Cryo thing, but it was part of the deal and couldn't hurt, so why not.
@@phoebus could you provide the measurement of the wraps, braiding, that correspond to what was used in this video when using the mogami 3103 instead? thanks.
I would rather connect together in pairs the opposite wires (yellow-red and orange-brown). In that case you would get the so-called star-quad configuration often used in microphone cables to make them more noise resistant. Also star-quad is used by Audio Quest in many of it's speaker cables.
These cables are starquad.
What's the difference as long as you keep the cable colors consistent???.
@@gz4058 Please Read in Wikipedia what is the so-called Star-Quad cable configuration.
@@IliyaOsnovikov I don't know this particular cable and colors but you are suggesting that the pairs that the OP used aren't diametrically opposed to each other?
@@gz4058Yes.
Thanks for your highly informative video. I especially appreciated the pacing of the information and detailed description of each step.
If you want the sleeving to be taught and not as loose on the cable, you can melt the ends of it to the insulation in conjunction with the heat shrink, sleeved custom PSU cable tutorials are a great guide
Thank you for this! I made this cable and have installed it on my system. These sound more transparent than a set of PS Audio cables that I had been using for a decade. And they are really easy to handle due to flexibility. Thanks a lot!
I'm entry level (y rx-v685 pushing polk t-series on 12g unshielded wires) but as I upgrade I want to diy where I can. This video is exactly what I needed. Thanks
Two weeks into listening to my DIY 3104s and I must say I'm very impressed. I'm a huge 2 channel music guy and I love listening to my Martin Logans ESL X and dual 1100X. In my opinion the floor standing speaker list is VERY SHORT when comparing however they are also good revealing weaknesses in your system. The first 100hrs or so listening, the 3104s were muddy, poor sound stage, and subpar bass. Now into nearly 300hrs of signal passing through, it sounds like I've installed another set of cables. The center stage is wide but tight enough to pick out where each artist is onstage. I listened to some older music that I'm familiar with the detail and it was like WOW....hearing voice definition, breathing I haven't heard and the guitarist actually plucking the strings. I can continue writing but let me just say, as an audio/video enthusiasts, I've always "chased the dragon" trying to get the best sound possible from whichever system I had...and sometimes spending considerably more than putting the Mogami 3104s together. These by far are the best sounding cables I've listened to (in my system) for the money. Ended up making 2 pairs of 8' cables to bi-amp my speakers. Wish I could share a pick of the finished cables.
I almost reacted like "300hrs? You're bullsh!tt!n", then I remembered that to a lesser extent, a run of Audioquest speaker cable in my system took a while to settle in. My wife and I noticed it on some slack key guitar music about two months after I installed them. I wasn't running music all day long to break them in like I normally do with new components. Coherence was mainly the "issue". Some things like distortion, you can't get used to. So, I don't entirely buy the "you just get used to the sound" argument when it comes to break-in (it's a real thing folks). So, yeah, I'm going to try this build out, what the heck. I might even do two pairs and see if bi-wiring makes a difference. If it doesn't, it'll just look like it is doing something? :) I'm excited either way.
Tekton Moab, PS Audio M700, Gustard A26, PS Audio P3, AudioQuest whatever XLR and speaker wire.
There's no "break in" for cables dude...
Hello, I'm very new to youtube so I'm sure I'm doing this all wrong. I just wanted to say thank you for the videos ! The "how to" videos are the best. I've built the Mogami W3104 Spk Cables that you taught me how to make ( they sound OUTSTANDING) & I've built the Oyaide Black Mamba Power Cable that you showed me . The power cable very much improved the bass of my system ! I can't wait to build something else I learn from you ! Your the BEST & your a Giants fan as well !
Great tutorial! But you didn't use the star quad wiring method so you don't get star quad benefit. Is it intentional? You need to connect Red-Yellow to +, Brown-Orange to - to make star quad work. It is useful to mention. Kind regards.
If you use this cable for bi-wire, will you loose the star quad benfit?
Great video, thank you! That's some serious cable! I would suggest also using adhesive heat shrink, then it will never come loose.
I follow your DIY cables and it turn out so great. I can hear the clarity of all range, can hear the missing instruments. Waiting a week for the cable breakin time. Hope it will sound better
After 4 weeks of trying this cables, the sound isstill amazing. I made another 10’ lenght cables and they are backup cables for me
I recently went to Guitar Center and picked up a Mogami mic cable for XLR connections and was blown away with the quality of sound for the money. Easily comparable to cables costing 10 times as much.
i made a set of these a few years backusing canare 4s14 and am very happy with them. The4s14 resulys on 2ea #11's while the paired #12's will result in a #9 wire.
Like this choice of cables and build. Nice job! I am ordering the wire and other pieces to make my own new high end quality cables for my speakers!
Great job sir! I really like the extra effort on the nylon jacket and heat shrink tubing. Personally I made four 10 gauge banana plug wires to bi-amp my front floor standing B&W. After seeing your video I need to step up my game. Now I want to add nylon sheathing and heat shrinking tubing to my cables. Thank you for the how to
The table @ :38 shows the capacitance when pairing wires #1 and #3 together vs #1 and #2. Pairing 1 and 3 has a lower capacitance then 1 and 2. In between those pairs is a cord/insulation that is not shown in the illustration @ :38. You just see a gap. That cord/insulation separates pairs 1&3 and 2&4 allowing a lower capacitance.
So pair Brown & Orange, and Red and Yellow.
Will this make a difference to your ear? He made mention that there is no difference in sound and I believe him because he's making short cables.
Thank you for your DIY videos. Thinking of making a pair for the fun of it.
what if you want to use it as bi-wire? how would you combine?
very nice work....these cables are designed for stage/concert applications, they are bomb proof :)
To keep the surface of the copper strands from tarnishing which can have an effect on signal transference over time, maybe I would suggest the use of solder for an airtight connection. Soldering is a simple thing that most will be able to do correctly with little practice. Or at least have your copper ends tinned.
Thanks for suggestions, For that issue I do annual cleaning of all my Audio cables and components, I’ve been doing that every year for last 20 years. It’s good old habit I learned growing up in pro studio, thanks
I don't think so use high-grade silver yes not silver solder, but there should be no issues tarnishing his put shrink wrap should prevent any air getting to the Bare metal you could smear them with oil like 3 in 1 would prevent tarnishing
John sweda , sure use high grade silver whatever you can afford to solder with.
@@Tharbamar Yes cleaning connections would be a good candidate for an educative video. Also using fluid electricians tape after tightening or soldering would probably be optimal. Seals it much better from air and moist
how do you clean them...video please
@@Tharbamar
KInd thanks for your helpful video, I have ordered the plugs and some of Mogami W3104 from a pro-audio shop.
Excellent video notes also, with a bill of materials, and all the relevant links, awesome work. I am very grateful for your help !!!!!
I have done A/B testing with different types of plugs. Brass is a no go. I could definitely hear a difference between brass and copper. So, if you have a choice use copper connectors, preferably copper spades.
James Lester maybe bare wire without any spades or plugs is better than any of them?
@@Lulrii Absolutely.
This is a great concept for a video series. I hope you continue as it is very insightful.
Thanks for showing us that idea in speaker cables DIY,
I liked it, and I provably would try it too
Like your easy explanations....true DIYers need patient teachers with an attention to process, detail, materials and required time...to make an outstanding product.....Cables are pro grade in function and quality of build, a pleasure to look at and listen too....please do more DIY videos, maybe interconnects next?
Yes I will be making a few more DIY cables, Thank you.
WELL DONE , THANK YOU FOR SHOWING US HOW TO DO A GREAT REFERENCE CABLE FOR A FRACTION OF THE PRICE OF OTHERS ( COMPARE TO KIMBER KABLE ) .
Dawg, you look a little crazy, if you keep writing all caps like this.
@@pmAdministrator but ALL CAPS means its TRUE!
@@pmAdministrator ...WHAT'S CRAZY ABOUT ALL CAPS...YOU ARE THE LEMMING....CONFORMING TO THE CROWD
@@pmAdministrator looks fine to me
I really like the cloth sheeting on it. I'm thinking of adding that to mine. It's really cool to have a thick wire, but I find the wire doesn't really matter. Outside of given the idea that they're good. I know some people feel it makes their sound better. So the confidence thicker wire gives is nice. Also, I love how a tick wire looks and feels. You did a great job.
Professionals use plain oxygen-free copper. Professional sales people prefer silver, gold or more expensive materials. Apart from that I really like your videos. I like your cable also☺
Last you for a very very long time, my guess is that after a year or two you would want to upgrade. You see your ear is very clever it soon gets sick/tired of the sound that comes out of your speakers then you want to upgrade. This applies to right through all your hi-fi equipment.
Great video! One piece of advice though, when twisting the final terminal wires together prior to insertion into banana plugs, use gloves, this will prevent oils from your fingers oxidising the cable ends.
Oil/grease doesn't oxidize the copper. Salts oxidize the copper. Copper is actually protected by grease/oil. Copper will oxidize regardless if you touch it or not, but when it does it forms a layer that will stop further oxidation. Don't give any advices if you are clueless.
@@florin604 Obviously oxygen which is in the air acts as an oxidising agent but Acids which are present on the skin cause expedited oxidation. 'Oils' was to refer to this acid mantel. The oxidised layer you refer to may help protect the metal itself from further degradation but it also unfortunately acts as a barrier between the contacts.
Great job, looks like a wonderful cable at a reasonable price!
A cable company would want over $1000 for comparable cables. Gonna try to make these. Thanks
Great cable.
Thanks for the tutorial.
I just finished building a pair and the soundquality is very good
Which banana plugs do you used it?
I can't find the one he recommended for this thick cables.
@@lupavalo2000 KÁCSA® AUDIO BPGOLD TUBE BFA
Whats the use of that giant cable when the wires inside the speakers are thin as hair
You are best! What a difference! Loads and loads of low end. Crystal clear and sweeter high end. I admit that I was an anti-cable guy. Not a big fan spending thousands on expensive cables. I was genuinely surprised how big the improvement was. I always thought my Musical Fidelity A200DM pure class A int amp was not powerful enough to drive my 6 ohms 86db Harbeth SHL-5 speakers. Or my speakers were just lack of low end or combination of both. The low end/bass and high frequency response was weak. So a few weeks ago I ordered a tube amp from a reputable brand hoping it would change everything. After a week of testing, I decided to return the tube amp. There was no obvious improvement. I was frustrated and lost. Two days later. I received the speaker cable parts from the links provided. I followed the detailed instruction and built the cables. It took me about 3 hours. I couldn't be happier with result. Most important thing was it solved my decades long mystery. I couldn't believe it was the speaker cables all along. Thank you so so much!
I warmly welcome.
Thank you very much for this guide.
I have already ordered all the pieces of the puzzle.
Waiting for them to reach me.
I am very curious how this cable will fall out against the background of Nordost Red Dawn LS.
I'll let you know how.
Happy New Year.
Awesome video! I have been watching your channel for a while now and thoroughly enjoy all of your videos. Thank you for sharing this great DIY on some great looking cables. I’m looking forward to making some very soon. Currently I’m using Blue Jean cables and I’m going to do some A/B testing. Good job buddy!
Excellent! Thanks for posting!
Just built my own today according to your specs, thanks for the template video 💪👌
Awesome!
Good video, but i was curious a few years back about wire size for speakers. I tested this theory about wire size so i went out and bought some 16, 14, 12, and 10 gauge wire. I tested these different size wire's on my home stereo and i couldn't hear any difference in the sound eminating from my speakers. I also went out and bought some lamp cord and wired it to my stereo speakers and guess what, i still could not hear any difference in the sound quality. So my question to all of you viewers is it possible that some people can hear sutlle differences in sound quality.
Big gauge is just in case. I can live perfectly with Canare 14AWG wires used on 4ohm speakers and 75watts amp.
well, maybe in this case, its not the wire but youre speakers arent much revealing.
I think the only way to notice difference is with power hungry 8ohm speaker and higher volume listening.
Same here..i cannot make out any difference, so cables doesn't bother me anymore...
Thanks for this video. This what someone intended youtube for 😎👍
Thanks for your time and effort
After stripping the outer insulation off, I think you're supposed to twist the two leads together before installing the banana plugs.Then you can wrap them in braided sleeving. This helps keep them from becoming an antenna, so to speak.
Again and again this kind of comment come up in this video.
I will answer this for last time, it won't become antenna or act like one.
I've been using these cables in Pro and Home environments for last 15 years without having any issue.
If you’re going to do all this then make sure you don’t use bare hands to twist the cable ends together because the oils in our skin get rubbed into the cable ends and will tarnish and degrade the transmission of energy in this area a lot faster than normal. The best thing to do is use a new, clean lint free cloth to twist the ends together and then spray a little amount of Deoxit on the twist and it should not oxidise or degrade for about 5 years at which point you cut the twist part off (about an inch) and cut your ends again so the perfect solution is to solder the ends together with silver infused solder and obviously don’t touch the bare metal with your bare fingers before you solder!!!
I have a modest hi-fi system with Tannoy speakers and Cambridge integrated amp. I find differences in sound with different cables, even my girlfriend notices the difference (including when I added an Isotek power cable). I'm not even talking about expensive speaker cables, I'm talking about unbranded 4mm speaker cable compared with 3-core stranded power cable and solid core power cable. The 4mm speaker cable sounds worse, by the way, it's more compressed in the top end and sounds less natural. The solid core had more dynamics and depth, but lacking in top end, the 3 core stranded has a more natural top end and wider sound stage. So I'm bi-wiring both the power cables, works a treat. Scoff all you like, you nay sayers, but that's how it is. I also got all my cables for free off of other people. :)
mrpositronia the scoffing is because people pay $2,500 (or more!) for cables to change the sound when adding room treatment would be way more effective and cheaper
@@fomoontech8217 the 'scoffing' part is for those who think there is no actual audio difference in any cables, and that we're all deluding ourselves. Also, I don't concern myself with what other people can afford to spend on gear. Acoustic treatment helps with the effect the room has, plus EQ, but cables help to get the finer details right. I'm sure those who can afford thousands per metre of cable have the acoustic treatment already installed. Plus an expensive listening chair too! :D
As long as you're using speakers with reasonable efficiency, speaker cable is a non-issue. 16 AWG lamp cord is as good as expensive cable. Large gauge speaker wire is only needed for long runs. Expensive cable is one of the biggest wastes of money an audiophile can invest in.
I have to agree. That speaker wire is way over kill for any home use! Using a single #12 AWG for each connector is more than enough, let alone using double #12. Plus you don't need any fancy expensive wire from some fancy name brand audio supply manufacturer. But feel free to waste your money if you like.
I think most people would agree that the best you can hear is all you need. The problem is we have so many perfect 50 karat diamonds with a little circuit board inside with customers to match that it's not even about the sound anymore even though it's still blasphemous to say it. If you want jewelry for your home then God Bless ya, I hope you get what you want. Just don't be leading the up and coming to think that's what good sound has to look like because it doesn't, and it doesn't further the quest for that next more convincing generation of audio. sorry.
Let me guess romex would do just fine to then, people like you are ignorant in knowing what your talking about, maybe your attitude towards listening is not refined in detail quality of caring so much about it, your speakers play the music and that's all that matters to you, it's good enough, but let me tell you there is a difference or I wouldn't be responding to your comment, but that's up to you to compare and if you have then good for you you dont half to be in the mix of snake oil, I've built cables using cheap best buy speaker wire to using monster cable and audioquest cable and they all sounded different the rocket fish cable at best buy sounded horrible, the audioquest cable sounded fatiguing and fast like, and the monster cable sounded neutral and natural sounding and these cables didn't cost that much and I heard a difference and I dont have expensive equipment either if I heard a difference in cables then I will say something
@@shannonwilliams6623 I have done blind swap tests with probably 20 or more people who have spent big money on cables, including $3000 power cords. I snag them every time. It is all placebo.
@Bernie AYALA AUDIO Do you happen to have any commercial interest in audio? Then I would agree that its probably a bargain from a commercial point of wiev
Just ordered 10m of Mogami w3104 bargain of a price 💪🏼💪🏼
Hi why did you not wire it star-quad i.e. 1-3 and 2-4 as the pairs and get the benefits of lower capacitance and inductance?
I use 12/3 cabtire SOOW I use the green ground and connect it to the common ground of the amplifier at one end only and to one copper bus .the speaker ends are the same only I cut the ground wire flush to the cabtire .#12 SOOW is capable of carrying 18 amps at 600V .Using 12 /4 like you have done in SOOW is much cheaper than that cable .And you will be able to deliver 36 amps of current
Im building a set of these...thanks for the idea and tutorial.
Was it easy to do?
Great video man. In a stroke of excitement, i just ordered the Mogami cable, Parts Express plugs to connect my Audiolab MBs to Elac Unifi UF52. Now am thinking of how to tackle my gf when she notices those monstrous cables 😀
Don't worry, most women like big black cable aka BBC. 😊
Speaker cables don't need to be "run in " or "broke in". They are just wire. Only electronic, speakers and work boots (haha!) need to be broken in.
You are wrong. Cables made by copper and connectors have connections that will have time to break in. The cable capacitor value will change by time.
A connection will never get better that it was when new. Most materials will corrode over time. And it is this corrosion that makes connection go bad. There are no properties in a connection that make it get better. I highly doubt that the plastics in the insulation out-gassing will change the capacitance in the cable in a measurable way. The copper that makes up the wire doesn't change properties over time in any positive fashion. A good connection does not break in or get better.
There is nothing you can do to a cable to cause it to burn in, or settle in a positive way.
Excellent! I also suggest Supra cables from Sweden which are VERY low capacitance. I tinned the endings with Cardas silver solder and I will use Rhodium pins on the end. The Supra is affordable and VERY good quality.
If you go with what the professional studios use, you can't go wrong. Great video buddy, thanks!
That's not necessarily a wise choice.
@@carlosoliveira-rc2xt please, tell us what the wise choice is. Im dying to know since I've been an audio enthusiast for over 30 years.
@Douglas Blake his cable is overkill. However, a 10 foot pair of Belden or Canare is not. Both of what i mentioned are also used in Pro-audio. Most of what you described is about connectors. A pair of 12guage Belden cables far outweigh a cheap ass lamp cord for not much more $. Blue Jeans cable is Belden and the prices are extremely good for excellent quality studio grade cable.
@Douglas Blake you go girl with your lampcord. If it works for you, great. Meanwhile, the rest of us will enjoy what we like. That's the beauty of this hobby. You can do whatever you want and invest in what you see fit. You spend allot of time trying to convince the unconvincing. Does it really matter to you? Run along now...
@Douglas Blake Thanks! All you want to do is argue on UA-cam which is stupid. Noone cares...
Just found your channel, GREAT info. Thank you.
What about the Mogami W2921? Is it comparable or competitive to the W3104? Which would you prefer between W2921 and W3103? Thanks for sharing your knowledge!!!
I am a believer in cable differences. Thank you for showing us your speaker build. After installing your cable, I find that the volume control on my Parasound Halo P5 pre-amp responds more precisely presenting music across the sound stage. Very nice response!
Awesome job. I really enjoyed watching you work.
Realy Nice and good wires for a Low cost. 👍🏽🤩👍🏽. I m in and i ll tryd it. Thanks my friend 🙏🏼
Hello! Can you make a comparison between your reference speaker cables from Mogami and a regular H07RN-F 4x4mm2 copper powercable for 2 or 3 EUR each meter? I believe that you won't find huge differences. Okay, the color code on the single wires.... ;-)
Canare 4S11 is good even lower priced option. Star quad is engineered specifically for this application.
It's a good option,
ua-cam.com/video/snLExbyIJto/v-deo.html
Nice work.
Shrink tubing comes in various "shrinkage" ratios, maybe that will help someone.
Just ask George Costanza.
@@jimmymac601 I was in the pool!
Stunning ,if they sound as good as they look ,wow ,going to make a set in the next couple of weeks ,thank you 👌👌
For some reason, commenting on this post doesn't allow you to share pics. Just finished my cables and I'd love to share my pics. Also the connectors used in @Tharbamar video are out of stock until July (everywhere) so I went with an alternative.
Everett Spain sweet mate ,how do they sound
@@paulf6946 I've only listened a few hours so not quite enough to give a full review but a very noticeable difference from the BJC 12. I'm bi-amping my Martin Logan ESL X through the Marantz MM7055, crossing them over at 80Hz and allowing the 2 Martin Logan 1100X handle the bass in 2 channel music listening. If you've never listened to Martin Logan's, they aren't very forgiving...if there's a weakness they will reveal it. I'll share more after more listening.
Everett Spain fantastic,I look forward to hearing how they sound when fully run in
Hi I can't find the banana plugs.
I need to know which others banana will fit this thick cables.
Any help will be appreciated.
You put together what is probably the best speaker cables money can buy.
Awesome tutorial! I’m with you, I mostly only use pro cables. The only exception is Supra, I find their power cords excellent. I also like their shielded speaker cables - I find some class D amps sound better with shielded speaker cables. One could also shield a professional speaker cable by manually adding a copper shield over the cable and covering it with the nylon mesh. Now I’m inspired to try the Mogami speaker cables. I’ll build a pair to try... :-D
You should probably avoid shielded speaker cables as it drives up the capacitance of the cable dramatically. And since the signal isn't getting amplified after those cables, shielding isn't really going to do a whole lot unless you are in a VERY noisy environment. That being said, if you think its sounds better that way, that's all that really matters.
Great tutorial. Lovely quality cable 🎯👌🏻
Great video my man👍🏽👊🏽
Awesome cable and fantastically explained.
Thank You.
I watch a lot of video on speaker wires , amps , and speakers .I love your channel the best as you have a great ear for sound and actually look at all the good and bad before making a dicission. Thank you for a great channel . I wish I could get the denon amp you ordered from Japan but I am scared as I don't want to be screwed if something goes wrong . My future speakers are going to be sonus fabre olympica nova 5 , and hope I can soon
Nice tutorial, and I love the look of the cable and speaker banana
Hey, I just noticed, aren't you supposed to use the opposing sets of wire(180o) apart from each other? That would be the orange/brown, red/yellow, at least that was what I was told to do with this cable and Canare 4S11. Anyhoo, I'm making sets of both the 3104 and the 4S11. You inspired me. I'll be using the Viborg Pure Copper Bananas, Viborg Pure Copper Spades, and the
CMC 4mm BFA Banana Plug Jack Z-Type Connector which is that spring form contact that looks like a Viborg product. I ordered them all.
Great choice on Viborg plugs they are my favorite ass well, for the star quad cables I have all different paring and there is no difference in the sound. Thanks
You're correct. In the video he shows the table which has the capacitance rating depending on what wires are paired together. Brown and Orange together and Red and Yellow. The table @ :38 shows the capacitance when pairing wires #1 and #3 together vs #1 and #2. Pairing 1 and 3 has a lower capacitance then 1 and 2. In between those pairs is a cord/insulation that is not shown in the illustration @ :38. You just see a gap. That cord/insulation separates pairs 1&3 and 2&4 allowing a lower capacitance.
So pair Brown & Orange, and Red and Yellow.
Will this make a difference to your ear? He made mention that there is no difference in sound and I believe him because he's making short wires.
Beautiful!...im gonna make some for my home theatre speakers!...theyre only 2 conductor though!
Did you do it Nathaniel?
Thank you Sir. Excellent video and info. :)
great work
i have used mogami for years
best cable money can buy
You can buy Transparent 12-4 cable for about 5 bucks a foot. That is what I use and I think a better value for the money. You can buy direct from their website.
@@chifetish Can you send me the link to this?
@@chifetish Just looked at Transparent's website and couldn't find that 12-4 cable. Could you post the link?
Soldering is much better than screwing swinged wires
I preferred direct contact.
I dont even use speaker cables. I solder the amp terminals directly to the terminals on the speaker. Best damn sound I have ever heard lol.
J/K: great video.
Same here. Collateral benefit - smaller form factor. And with sufficient battery energy, my whole system is PORTABLE and can be carried by only three people.
Nothing beats garden hose filled with mono-crystalline mercury as the conductor - maybe solid brazed copper tubing - sure it's a bit stiff & not very portable, but that's HiFi for you ;-)
You make this look so easy
nice show and it surely will work fine. But i am wondering, are these not overkill for home use? I mean, these kind of professional cables are meant to travel long distances, 50 mtr or more.
Nice! Thank You for sharing! I also like the other video confirming the findings between cables.
Awesome work here my friend 👌
Wow thanks for the video i am going to build these soon. 6 AWG is awesome for speaker cables these cables should have very little resistance.
6AWg cable for speaker.. Are you connecting speakers directly to the power plant?
Ok, I'm trying to make sure I'm doing this correct. Just got the Mogami 3104 speaker cables in the mail. The plan is to make enough cable to bi-amp my front speakers. I'm running Martin Logan ESL X's (F) and Martin Logan ESL C (C). The ESL X's will be bi-amped to my Marantz MM7055 (5-channels @ 140w/chnl) and the center will run on the 5th channel. After speaking with a Mogami rep (who sounded pretty knowledgeable), he recommended I run two separate cables (a twisted pair for highs/mids and a twisted pair for the driver) instead of one cable with a connector on each conductor. So here's where I need clarification - - once I strip the 3104 outer casing, it exposes the 4 conductors (red/brown & orange/yellow). Assuming this pairing is correct (passive - red/brown & orange/yellow), I also assume its up to me to decide which will be +/- ?? So I decided [red = positive and brown = negative | orange = positive and yellow = negative ]. If there's no objections, I'll twist the red/brown pairs together, add a connector and do the same with the orange/yellow? If this sounds about right, then I'm golden. Now the only issue is finding BFA's or banana's big enough. There must be tons of people out there constructing this same configuration because all the connectors @Tharbamar recommended are out of stock and back ordered til June or July. Any recommendations on quality connectors to fit roughly an 8 gauge twisted pair? Thanks.
There’s not many banana plugs can fit thick wire as twisted pair of W3104 conductors.
@@Tharbamar am I putting the cables together correctly based on my description?
Bi-wire or Bi-Amp as you wish as long as no crossing, it should be fine. Thanks
@@Tharbamar sorry for keeping this going but I'm really looking for guidance here. If I configure my cables exactly the way you have in this video but I do two pair per speaker, will this work to bi-amp my speakers? If yes, is it just a matter of connecting one cable (red to red / black to black) on the speaker side and same at the amp (using two channels per speaker)?
Thanks for the video. Would having separately shielded wires make a difference? I know on analog video signals (especially unamplified), shielded of utmost importance. If you run unamplified video signal for any distance close to a pcb, there is a ton of video interference. Once amplified, the video signal isn't as susceptible to interference. I don't know how susceptible speaker wires are (probably not nearly as sensitive since it's an amplified signal at that point).