DIY power cable

[admin_exported]

If you do not beleive in power cables, go to the browser, click back, and read another thread. 

Hi, I have been performing an experiment with a BT power conditioner and power cables and willl direct you to the following thread.......

http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/268118.aspx

The cables that I made are from DH Labs. I bought about 4m of the DH Labs Power Plus cord from DH Labs for £75 delivered from USA. (Check reviews). They are very helpful.

 http://www.silversonic.com/docs/products/PowerPlus.html

MK toughplugs are about £10 each

Wattgate iec about £20 each. 

So, I made 3 power cables for about £45 each.

This left me with about 1m of cable spare. This I have put on another plug and the other end is attached to a mains block (which will eventually be attached to a brennstaul? mains block.

The copper in the cables are quite thick and the plugs require a little modifying but, anyone with a little DIY Knowledge will be able to do this.

To be honest, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE DIY KNOWLEDGE, DO NOT MAKE YOUR OWN CABLES!!!! DANGER, DANGER.

I had the help of my stepdad, who brought along a volt meter thingy to check everything was OK and secure prior to plugging them in.

And, like I said earlier in the previous thread, I have not compared this to other cables (except bog standard) but, to my ears, they sound amazing.

I am posting this to help out others who may be interested. 

 

 

[idc]

Hi Lee. Any pictures? Especially of how you made them would be brilliant.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I don't have any photos as I made them about 6 weeks ago but I can explain what I did.

Cable to MK Toughplug - twist copper cable and put in to pin holes. Tinning the copper cable means it won't fit the holes (also, it is now recommended that electric cables are not tinned as it is easier for the cable to break at the point where the solder stops). This process is very fiddly and requires strong fingers (for twisting). There is also a bit of plastic on the plug case that has to be cut out ,using a stanley knife, so the wires from the cables fit inside the casing. These are chunky wires!!!

Cable to Wattgate - again, to accommodate the copper wire, where the cable enters the holding screws, the plastic entrance hole has ÿto be made bigger, by about 1-2mm. This can be accomplished using a drill and drill bit.

It took me about 90 minutes to make the first cable but once one is made, the rest are a lot easier.

I will try tonight to see if I can put up some pics of the finished article but will have to join one of those pic hosting sites first.

Hope this helps.ÿ

 

[John Duncan]

Plenty of nice looking braided mains cable on a well known auction site. On the plan is to custom wire all of my setup (primarily so that I can have 10cm mains cables into an IEC block...)

 

[idc]

Thanks Lee. I am useless at computer type things but I found flickr easy to join, load pictures and post. Any chance of undoing a cable/open a plug up to show the ends?

Did you use the spare cable on the BT conditioner you found?

I am really keen to make something. I have been following PJPro's build amps posts, but that is still beyind me at the moment.

Thanks

 

[a91gti]

Anyone interested in diy cables and such could do worse than head over here >>>> http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/tweaks.html

 

[daveh75]

Have made my own cables in the past, and TBH it wasn't worth the time or expense,for the £40 they cost me,you can buy a powerchord 'off the shelf' that will work equally well.

 

[JoelSim]

The problem with making them yourself is that often they will have minimal sell-on value whereas an RA or Nordost would have. Therefore real costs could be similar long-term.

Of course, if you enjoy the DIY angle and get satisfaction from it then it's a great idea. Personally I would rather stick pins in my eyes. I've got a hot flush just thinking about replacing the speaker cable to my kitchen speakers as I have to take some cable wall covers off before I can do it. And they are stuck to the walls so I'm bound to screw it up and make a mess, which will, in turn, notify the missus that I've changed speaker cables and spent yet more money after shelling out on a new pair of speakers too, the price of which I've been quite economical about.

 

[aliEnRIK]

If I was going to make my own id use cat 5 cable and braid it with as many cores as I possibly can. As braiding confuses the hell outta me

, I buy premade cables cheap (To stunning effect)

 

[Golden Ears]

I discovered DH labs a cables last year. The mains cables Power plus I've terminated with Rhodiium plated plugs. Luckily I live in norway so the mains end is much better for wiring up this beast of a cable. It's between 12-13.5mm thick with a braided sheath nearly 15mm! I've several of these in my system and have sold several to friends. I have taken in apex change a Transparent Audio mains cable which in comparison squashed the dynamics a.

Anyone wanting convincing if a mains cable can make a difference this is the beast for you! I sold one to an audio engineer who wouldn't believe that a mains cable could have and effect on audio equipment! Now that was supposed to be impossible funny how he kept the cable lol!