Morning All, wondering if anyone knows where I can get Belden 5000, canare 14/4 or possibly mogami 3103 in the UK. Looking to build my own speaker cables 2 x 6m runs. Found some on Blue Jeans but importing from the US costs more than the cable. After googling for hours coming up short. Any help appreciated or even a UK made equivalent. Cheers
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When should you upgrade your hi-fi? How to control ‘upgradeitis’
Bulk Speaker Cable UK
- Thread starter Rollo
- Start date
Al ears
Well-known member
If you can't find it on Google it probably doesn't exist..... the best is to look for a UK cable of similar spec and price.
May I suggest Van Damme
daytona600
Well-known member
SpursGator
Well-known member
Lots of wire and cable suppliers on eBay. I make speaker cables from PTFE (Teflon)-insulated, silver-covered copper. You can buy two big rolls, red and black. Then you twist them - which is actually quite important for noise cancellation, search it - and put some kind of jacket over it (or just tape it). I have a big roll of this stuff called "fray-resistant wire sleeving" that's cheap and looks high end when you slide it over the twisted cables. Then four gold-plated banana plugs and splotches of solder later, you have some really good speaker cables that are an audible upgrade over standard cables. I have some high-end cables from two different manufacturers (one set of which I am embarrassed to tell you how much I paid for them) and this setup compares favourably.
Name brand cables aren't quite a scam, since they are selling excellent cables. But the prices? Ahem. Different cables DO sound subtly different. I sat with my disbelieving wife and we listened to a snippet of a song three times, once each with copper, silver, and silver-coated copper. It was undeniable that each cable sounded a little different. The copper cable was bassier, and the silver cable seemed more pristine. The coated cable was similar to the silver but a little more balanced, and I preferred it - and it was all preference - none of the cables sounded "better." At first I liked the copper due to increased bass (I had been using silver on those speakers). But then, after I heard the other two and came back, I felt like there was a slight thump that shouldn't be there. But we're talking tiny, tiny differences.
Bottom line: cable sound different because of material composition and quality, not brand name, and there aren't that many materials available. If you are building the cables anyway - which is the only way to do it IMO - integrating a brand name wire as a sub component is probably throwing money away. Best of luck!
Name brand cables aren't quite a scam, since they are selling excellent cables. But the prices? Ahem. Different cables DO sound subtly different. I sat with my disbelieving wife and we listened to a snippet of a song three times, once each with copper, silver, and silver-coated copper. It was undeniable that each cable sounded a little different. The copper cable was bassier, and the silver cable seemed more pristine. The coated cable was similar to the silver but a little more balanced, and I preferred it - and it was all preference - none of the cables sounded "better." At first I liked the copper due to increased bass (I had been using silver on those speakers). But then, after I heard the other two and came back, I felt like there was a slight thump that shouldn't be there. But we're talking tiny, tiny differences.
Bottom line: cable sound different because of material composition and quality, not brand name, and there aren't that many materials available. If you are building the cables anyway - which is the only way to do it IMO - integrating a brand name wire as a sub component is probably throwing money away. Best of luck!
Thanks for the link daytona, 500 ft is a bit more than I need😁. And thanks for the info spurs gator. I make quite a lot of similar style cabling at work so have everything I need there except quality cables. In between 2.5mm quad or single 4mm awg 12. Bought some cheap Dcsk ofc 99.99 4mm awg 12 from amazon last night. Delivered and rigged up this afternoon. I can tell you one thing it has made my mind up 4mm awg12 is the way to go. No roll of on the top that I can hear plus the mids are open and smooth with a great deal more bass extension than the chord silver screens I've been using. Cheers
Jimboo
Well-known member
So for the millionth time , there are different ways to make cable , prices from a pound to a thousand plus per metre and them that can hear a difference cannot honestly say it's chalk and cheese or a "drops bacon sandwich" moment.
Following spurs gator's idea I decided to make some customs to give it a try before trying it first time on pricey cable. I started by splitting the 12 awg to single strands, then using the twisting method created some cables. Dressed them up a bit and I'm actually quit happy with how they turned out. Good practice run to find out the problems. What I will say I bought some nice 90 degree and standard Nakamitchi bananas but they don't fit 12 awg, screws won't go in far enough to close the cover up. Just a tip if you fancy giving it a go yourself. 
nopiano
Well-known member
Very neat job!
I use Van Damme Hifi OFC 4mm, which is the same as 12awg I think. It’s readily available and doesn’t need sleeving. Its easy to find online by the metre, or made up into lengths for very little extra. Ebay advertisers like LSV-cables offer it.
I use Van Damme Hifi OFC 4mm, which is the same as 12awg I think. It’s readily available and doesn’t need sleeving. Its easy to find online by the metre, or made up into lengths for very little extra. Ebay advertisers like LSV-cables offer it.
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Thanks nopiano, is the hifi the one that has about 10mm separation between the conductors? Gets a very good review better than the blue cable by all accounts.
Test run no. 2, used some old 14 awg Chord Carnival Silver Screen I had left over. Much prefer the smoother look of a sheathed cable to start with. And the smaller gauge allowed me to use my Nakamitchi 90 degrees for the speaker side. 
compare the common 500 strand ebay type product to a woven kimber 12tc to a similar priced nordost ribbon design. the differences are subtle, yes, but they are there. as for the prices though...
Totally agree plus 1. The difference is most definitely there whether you can measure it or not is always a point of contention. But I'm happy to try and make my own for a fraction of the cost. This is a hobby of opinion and subjectivity. Even if only for the audio jewellery aspect of a nicer looking cable. I'm happy having an open mind and experimenting.
nopiano
Well-known member
Yes, that’s it, in the clear shotgun sleeve. Supposed to sound slightly better than the blue studio version, that’s probably more robust.
heres the stuff :-
Up-LCOFC Hi-Fi Speaker Cable | Van-Damme
Up-LCOFC hi-fi speaker cables available with 5 conductor sizes. These are found in professional environments to monitor world class recording and mastering studios.
www.van-damme.com
i think the stupid high prices of these "hi-end" cables put many off and for good reason !
i believe if kimber select ks-6068 and nordost odin 2 were the same price as qed 79 strand these cables would be present in more systems. a lot more systems...
whether people would like having cables that look like pythons lying across the lounge carpet is another matter though !
SpursGator
Well-known member
Thanks for the photos Rollo, glad you are doing some building and listening. Your cables came out great visually. You'll have to do some comparisons on the sound and let us know.
There are lots of tiny potential upgrades available across every system. The the extent that this is a 'hobby,' it's about applying your (always limited) financial resources in a way that gives you the best sound - which is then hopefully better enough to surprise your friends, given how poor they know that you are.
I know a super-rich guy, real a-hole (huge waterfront house with a full NYC skyline view, ragtop V-12 Bentley, original painting over the fireplace that is featured in the coffee table book on the coffee table, etc). He has an audio system in 'his gallery' that he spent half a million dollars on. Of course I was curious: which amps? Which everything? The speakers are huge B&W 800somethings. The rest is all hidden in the room. He waved off the question. 'I dunno. I don't remember. It just sounds great.' He doesn't care. And I know he never listens to it.
There are lots of tiny potential upgrades available across every system. The the extent that this is a 'hobby,' it's about applying your (always limited) financial resources in a way that gives you the best sound - which is then hopefully better enough to surprise your friends, given how poor they know that you are.
I know a super-rich guy, real a-hole (huge waterfront house with a full NYC skyline view, ragtop V-12 Bentley, original painting over the fireplace that is featured in the coffee table book on the coffee table, etc). He has an audio system in 'his gallery' that he spent half a million dollars on. Of course I was curious: which amps? Which everything? The speakers are huge B&W 800somethings. The rest is all hidden in the room. He waved off the question. 'I dunno. I don't remember. It just sounds great.' He doesn't care. And I know he never listens to it.
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