DIY DC power cables

[Cornan]

12 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

Thanks.  Misunderstood "the four shield ends" as being 4 shield rather than 4 ends (of 2 shields) so design makes sense.

 20cm probably keeps it fairly flexible which is good thing.

 

Does gold/silver or even plain silver offer measured advantage for USB transmission vs copper?  I understand that silver is better than conductor than copper but, of the three, gold is the worst.  Or, is gold there to prevent silver corrosion>

 

No problem! ? It is 50cm, not 20cm. It is not as flexible as normal USB cables due to the construction, but it is surely flexible enough (it is more flexible at a one direction and less flexible at the other direction).

 

I have used Elijah Audio Konvertible Lite before. It uses Mundorf gold/silver wires for Data and Audience wires for GND+5v. I like the sound of the Mundorf gold/silver wires. That's basically why I want them, plus that the Mundorf is silver cables with gold plating which makes the sound more full. Pure silver on positive wires can sound too thin in my own experience. Pure silver wires for negative is knowledge I have gained through grounding experiments during many years plus also via different cables using gold for positive and silver for negative wires that usually sounds great. In the end this is a cable that I pick the things that I beleive in to make it a optimized version of the basic one. I cannot say for sure if it will improve much, but I beleive it will! ?

[mozes]

47 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

Alex is Aleksandar Tsankov at ATL Hi-Fi https://www.atlhifi.com who made many of my ac mains starquad cables, DC cable with JSSG, starquad & star-earth wired PSD, balanced IT with floating & grounded center tap and of course the USB starquad cable with JSSG.

 

The construction of the USB cable is clearly visable on this picture.

 

 

It is a starquad, so all wires are double. Totally 8  conductors. GND plus 5v and Data- plus Data+ wires are housed in separate shielding sleeves. The insulated JSSG loop is soldered to all four shield ends and are not in contact with the metal parts of the USB A or B plugs. That's basically it!

 

As I said in the other thread I am in contact with Aleksandar and we are working out a optimized version of the USB cable with Mundorf gold/silver wires, silver plated shield sleeves and better plugs. I am only doing this because I think it will be my final USB cable. I want it to be as good as it can be and not unimportant good looking as well. I want it to look something like this cable in the end.

 

 

Anyway, the details are still under discussions. I might change the GND and Data- wires to pure silver since I beleive that all 0v reference and negative wires usually sounds better with high silver content.

 

The price for the original one is around EUR30/pc which is very affordable, especially when you consider the hassle to solder 8 conductors to a small USB plug. I will let you know what the new one will be in the end, but based on the material it will of course be a lot more. Since Aleksandar is away for a week or so and are working on shunt regulators with starquad Kelvin cable and plugs for me as well (for DC cable path) it might take 2-3 weeks before I know how much it will be.

Your ultimate usb cable may be referred to as Cornan usb cable later on  

I would be interested to try it for sure!

The choice of the wire is critical as not all silver wires are created equal. I highly recommend stranded UPOCC silver from Neotech. For 1m, it won’t break the bank.

[BigGuy]

8 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

No problem! ? It is 50cm, not 20cm. It is not as flexible as normal USB cables due to the construction, but it is surely flexible enough (it is more flexible at a one direction and less flexible at the other direction).

 

I have used Elijah Audio Konvertible Lite before. It uses Mundorf gold/silver wires for Data and Audience wires for GND+5v. I like the sound of the Mundorf gold/silver wires. That's basically why I want them, plus that the Mundorf is silver cables with gold plating which makes the sound more full. Pure silver on positive wires can sound too thin in my own experience. Pure silver wires for negative is knowledge I have gained through grounding experiments during many years plus also via different cables using gold for positive and silver for negative wires that usually sounds great. In the end this is a cable that I pick the things that I beleive in to make it a optimized version of the basic one. I cannot say for sure if it will improve much, but I beleive it will! ?

Yes, 50cm, not 20.

 

Interesting observations re copper, silver and gold.  Will be interested in getting the cost with cable configured this way. 

If "reasonable", may also get in the queue.

[charlesphoto]

Cornay,

 

Are you saying that the JSGT on our SMPS’s could be improved using a silver ground wire? Have you tried? And why would that be? 
 

Got my JSSG Ethernet cable on order with right hand plugs (and starquad DC cable for rendu to LPS-1 with right hand plugs as well - if nothing else going to look trick) but sticking to my Uptone USCPB. 

 

Best,

 

CP

[BigGuy]

14 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

Yes, 50cm, not 20.

 

Interesting observations re copper, silver and gold.  Will be interested in getting the cost with cable configured this way. 

If "reasonable", may also get in the queue.

FWIW, I am using the Pangea 1/2m Ag USB cable whose construction looks to be similar to what is described with the custom cable other than it not being starquad...

• Designed specifically to deliver high-speed digital audio signals
• 24-AWG design optimized for fast, low-jitter signal delivery
• Pure, solid silver signal conductors
• Precision-twisted conductors for superior noise rejection
• Triple-shielded for optimized noise isolation
• USB High Speed 2.0 rating supports up to 480 Mbit/s data transfer rate
• 24K Gold-plated contacts for superior electrical contact
• Special two-shot molded connector bodies protect vital digital connections for stable signal transfer and long life

 

[Cornan]

59 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

Cornay,

 

Are you saying that the JSGT on our SMPS’s could be improved using a silver ground wire? Have you tried? And why would that be? 
 

Got my JSSG Ethernet cable on order with right hand plugs (and starquad DC cable for rendu to LPS-1 with right hand plugs as well - if nothing else going to look trick) but sticking to my Uptone USCPB. 

 

Best,

 

CP

 

Hi CP!

 

Yes, I use silver wires on my DC- output groundings. Even thin gauge silver sounds better than thick gauge copper. This is something well known by Entreq. They use it for their ground boxes and they use silver negative wires and gold positive wires on their best ICs. 

 

I use USPCB as well between ISO Regen and the Luckit BluWave USB to Spdif board, but I am using the starquad USB JSSG between Aries Mini and IR.

 

Micael

[Cornan]

1 hour ago, BigGuy said:

FWIW, I am using the Pangea 1/2m Ag USB cable whose construction looks to be similar to what is described with the custom cable other than it not being starquad...

• Designed specifically to deliver high-speed digital audio signals
• 24-AWG design optimized for fast, low-jitter signal delivery
• Pure, solid silver signal conductors
• Precision-twisted conductors for superior noise rejection
• Triple-shielded for optimized noise isolation
• USB High Speed 2.0 rating supports up to 480 Mbit/s data transfer rate
• 24K Gold-plated contacts for superior electrical contact
• Special two-shot molded connector bodies protect vital digital connections for stable signal transfer and long life

 

 

Yes it looks similar in a way, but it is not a starquad. A starquad is 8 wires twisted in the same direction. The Pangea is a twisted pair cable.

[Cornan]

1 hour ago, mozes said:

Your ultimate usb cable may be referred to as Cornan usb cable later on  

I would be interested to try it for sure!

The choice of the wire is critical as not all silver wires are created equal. I highly recommend stranded UPOCC silver from Neotech. For 1m, it won’t break the bank.

 

Let's see! ?

 

Thanks for the tip on the Neotech Moussa! ? I will if Aleksandar can order them for the cable as soon as he is back.

[charlesphoto]

12 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

Hi CP!

 

Yes, I use silver wires on my DC- output groundings. Even thin gauge silver sounds better than thick gauge copper. This is something well known by Entreq. They use it for their ground boxes and they use silver negative wires and gold positive wires on their best ICs. 

 

I use USPCB as well between ISO Regen and the Luckit BluWave USB to Spdif board, but I am using the starquad USB JSSG between Aries Mini and IR.

 

Micael

 

What do you think the minimum gauge is that would work with the JSGT? Looking at silver wire prices they get up there, and I’d need a number of feet. 

[BigGuy]

7 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

 

What do you think the minimum gauge is that would work with the JSGT? Looking at silver wire prices they get up there, and I’d need a number of feet. 

+1 on a suggested gage.  My issue is cost/length as well.  May need to prioritize uses to those power supplies closest to DAC.

 

Anyone buy insulated silver wire from a particular vendor in US?

[Cornan]

31 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

 

What do you think the minimum gauge is that would work with the JSGT? Looking at silver wire prices they get up there, and I’d need a number of feet. 

 

24awg is sufficient IMO. No need to use pure silver for DC- output grounding though. Silver plated wires with teflon sleevings will work beautifully. Here is a tip of a 1mm one for a fair price https://www.google.se/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/10m-Vanguard-1mm-square-high-purity-silver-plated-OCC-wire-Hi-Fi-Audio-cable-/182374776295&ved=0ahUKEwj7072F3MPXAhWiO5oKHbS0DZkQjjgIJTAA&usg=AOvVaw2nNBmAdCjTJaHX4D9Rex_X

[charlesphoto]

So far this is about the best price I've found on bulk silver wires. Scroll to almost the bottom of the page for bulk pricing with or without a teflon sleeve. 

 

http://www.tempoelectric.com/cables.htm

[BigGuy]

3 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

So far this is about the best price I've found on bulk silver wires. Scroll to almost the bottom of the page for bulk pricing with or without a teflon sleeve. 

 

http://www.tempoelectric.com/cables.htm

Yes, the Tempo Electric ARE the best prices I have seen so far.  Nice find plus you can get "flavored" jackets!   Way better than VH Audio at $6.00/foot which at that price would be better suited to a necklace for my wife!  ;-)  Since I need on the order of several feet for grounds, the cost with VH starts approaching or exceeding the cost of the protected device!

 

Even at Tempo prices it will be minimal application.
 

[Cornan]

14 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

So far this is about the best price I've found on bulk silver wires. Scroll to almost the bottom of the page for bulk pricing with or without a teflon sleeve. 

 

http://www.tempoelectric.com/cables.htm

 

Look for Vanguard solid core silver wire https://www.google.se/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vanguard-solid-core-silver-wire-teflon-tubing-DIY-Hi-Fi-Audio-cable-0-6-1mm-/182466517035%3Fvar%3D%26hash%3Ditem2a7bda182b:m:m6u5O_NgJi_dkZnaETp4J8w&ved=0ahUKEwiJzcbD4MPXAhXmFZoKHQS_DJgQjjgIJTAA&usg=AOvVaw33M4cdMqVh884_6xgwXrVo

Pure silver and includes teflon tubing. There several listings with different thickness.

[charlesphoto]

Okay, the craziness ensues. 3 meters of Vanguard .6mm ordered. If nothing else it’s going to look better, all cut to exact length (I will parcel carefully unlike the lamp cord I used). My Amazon ferrites order is late. May need to get refund and start again with that one.

[R1200CL]

On 16.11.2017 at 6:39 PM, Cornan said:

 

Yes it looks similar in a way, but it is not a starquad. A starquad is 8 wires twisted in the same direction. The Pangea is a twisted pair cable.

 

Isn’t the impedance of an USB cable important ?

Are you able to insure that ?

[Cornan]

5 hours ago, R1200CL said:

 

Isn’t the impedance of an USB cable important ?

Are you able to insure that ?

 

I have never cared for impedance match with USB cables. Infact all of my not so good USB cables do have optimal impedance. I do think that the capacitive coupling should be minimized. This goes against impedance match since you add capacitive coupling to control the impedance AFAIK. As with most things in audio I use my ears to decide if it is good or not. To answer your question. No I am not able to ensure impedance match with the starquad USB cable, but it still sounds great. ?

[sandyk]

For those wishing to DIY DC cables ( soldering involved) the attached are a perfect match for the USB Regen etc.

I used a redundant 2 pin mains lead for the cable and kept the length to no more than 60CM

 

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/10-Pair-20pcs-2-1mm-x-5-5mm-Male-Female-DC-Panel-Plug-Socket-Jack-Connector/361980292297?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

[fayerichard]

Hi,

 

I need a definite answer to my question, because I am about to buy/ let build.

 

I basically have all audioquest cables in my system and want to use this for a dc cable. Unfortunately, aq has no dc available.

 

So I found someone who can help me.

 

Now my question:

 

Is it possible to use Audioquest NRG1.5 power cable, remove the plugs, and put some Oyaide DC plugs on it?

 

Here are the details: 

 

http://www.audioquest.com/power-cables/nrg-1-5

 

2 x 16 awg

 

SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE COPPER+ (PSC+) CONDUCTORS: NRG-1.5 uses extremely high-purity Perfect-Surface Copper+ conductors. All conductors are solid, which prevents strand interaction, a major source of distortion. Surface quality is critical because a conductor can be considered a rail-guide for both the electric fields within a conductor, and for the magnetic fields outside the conductor. The astonishingly smooth and pure PSC+ eliminates harshness and greatly increases clarity compared to OFHC, OCC, 8N and other coppers. The superior purity of PSC+ further minimizes distortion caused by grain boundaries, which exist within any metal conductor.

STAR-QUAD GEOMETRY: The relationship between conductors defines a cable’s most basic electrical values (capacitance and inductance). However, even when those variables are kept in a reasonable balance, the relationship between conductors can be varied in ways that greatly affect the sound. The Star-Quad construction of NRG-1 allows for significantly better dynamic contrast and information intelligibility than if the same conductors were run in parallel.

[Cornan]

4 minutes ago, fayerichard said:

Hi,

 

I need a definite answer to my question, because I am about to buy/ let build.

 

I basically have all audioquest cables in my system and want to use this for a dc cable. Unfortunately, aq has no dc available.

 

So I found someone who can help me.

 

Now my question:

 

Is it possible to use Audioquest NRG1.5 power cable, remove the plugs, and put some Oyaide DC plugs on it?

 

Here are the details: 

 

http://www.audioquest.com/power-cables/nrg-1-5

 

2 x 16 awg

 

SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE COPPER+ (PSC+) CONDUCTORS: NRG-1.5 uses extremely high-purity Perfect-Surface Copper+ conductors. All conductors are solid, which prevents strand interaction, a major source of distortion. Surface quality is critical because a conductor can be considered a rail-guide for both the electric fields within a conductor, and for the magnetic fields outside the conductor. The astonishingly smooth and pure PSC+ eliminates harshness and greatly increases clarity compared to OFHC, OCC, 8N and other coppers. The superior purity of PSC+ further minimizes distortion caused by grain boundaries, which exist within any metal conductor.

STAR-QUAD GEOMETRY: The relationship between conductors defines a cable’s most basic electrical values (capacitance and inductance). However, even when those variables are kept in a reasonable balance, the relationship between conductors can be varied in ways that greatly affect the sound. The Star-Quad construction of NRG-1 allows for significantly better dynamic contrast and information intelligibility than if the same conductors were run in parallel.

 

It is possible if you have the old bigger Oyiade DC plugs.

You will have a really hard time fitting 16awg to the new Oyiade DC plugs. Atleast you´ll need a LOT of patience and soldering skills to pull that off IMO.

[fayerichard]

So from a electrical standpoint there is nothing hindering the nrg1.5 cable itself to be used as DC? Since it is sold as AC.

 

It is 2 x 16 awg.

 

My friend even wanted to use the Duelund dca 12awg.

 

That is 2 x 12 awg, even thicker.

 

Or am I missing something, because the nrg1.5 is both 2 x 16awg and starquad, so more wiring inside?

 

[fayerichard]

 

Oyaide dc 2.5 plug

Plug type	PL 03 B (φ 5.5 mm × φ 2.5 mm)
Rating	12V / 1A
Applicable cable maximum outer diameter	6.3 mm

 

NRG1.5 is 2 x 16awg

 

I know that the sleeve will not fit, we can work around thar, but what about the internal wiring?

[charlesphoto]

Why don’t you just order one from Ghent Audio? Or Sonore if you really want to spend more? The Ghent you can order it with 45 degree connectors which I did for my microRendu and LPS-1. It’s Canare Starquad and sounds good. I think unless you are an ace solderer, you could make a real mess of an expensive cable and plugs, and even then might not work size wise.

[Cornan]

29 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

Why don’t you just order one from Ghent Audio? Or Sonore if you really want to spend more? The Ghent you can order it with 45 degree connectors which I did for my microRendu and LPS-1. It’s Canare Starquad and sounds good. I think unless you are an ace solderer, you could make a real mess of an expensive cable and plugs, and even then might not work size wise.

 

+1 Those new Oyiade DC plugs are much smaller than you might think (unless the good old Oyiade plugs is used that for example Uptone Audio uses for their DC cables. AFAIK they are not possible to buy anymore) @fayerichard. I have messed it up soldering Furutech Alpha-18 (18awg) before ordering Ghent DC cables. I am not a soldering pro though. It is very easy that the positive and negative poles come into contact using greater gauge than 18awg using new Oyiade IME.

[Cornan]

2 hours ago, fayerichard said:

 

Oyaide dc 2.5 plug

Plug type	PL 03 B (φ 5.5 mm × φ 2.5 mm)
Rating	12V / 1A
Applicable cable maximum outer diameter	6.3 mm

 

NRG1.5 is 2 x 16awg

 

I know that the sleeve will not fit, we can work around thar, but what about the internal wiring?

 

If you do not care about the metal housing around the new Oyiade DC plugs and are prepared to shrink wrap it all I would say that it is possible using 16awg. As long as you want to use the metal housing you can expect a serious nail biter!