Crossed-Coax Speaker Cables

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Jazzman53
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#1 Crossed-Coax Speaker Cables

Post by Jazzman53 »

According to the cable designer, Jon Risch; "Cross-connection is used to reduce the inductance to an absolute
minimum. Merely paralleling the center wire and shield would
create two separated different polarity composite conductors with
an inductance much higher than the cross-connected pair."

Link to build photos:
http://jazzman-esl-page.blogspot.com/20 ... ables.html
Last edited by Jazzman53 on Mon Sep 15, 2014 10:51 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Toppsy
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#2

Post by Toppsy »

Neat looking cables there.
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rowuk
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#3 Re: Crossed-Coax Speaker Cables

Post by rowuk »

Jazzman53 wrote:According to the cable designer, Jon Risch; "Cross-connection is used to reduce the inductance to an absolute
minimum. Merely paralleling the center wire and shield would
create two separated different polarity composite conductors with
an inductance much higher than the cross-connected pair."

Link to build photos:
http://jazzman-esl-page.blogspot.com/20 ... ables.html
They sure look nice, but the designer will have to come up with some "proof" that the inductance is truly that much less - and will have to qualify the theoretical benefits of lower inductance but much higher capacitance.

It is unfortunate that there are so many fairy tales about wire. One would think that as much engineering that is truly existent, that the audio world could be sold on real performance instead of the slapstick comedy offered just about everywhere.

I am not saying that there is no difference in cable. There are very large differences - most even measurable using real speakers and amplifiers. Unfortunately what we hear does not always have to do with what we measured. Or maybe we measured incorrectly?

The real effects of capacitance, resistance and inductance as well as shielding are all properly researched (decades ago). From DC to light - even in electrically very noisy environments, we have cable geometry that is proven. How the audio world gets away with so many conflicting views is very easy to explain: few know what they are talking about, or even what really is necessary.

I think that DIY is a very good way to try things out without breaking the bank. I think it takes months of serious listening to determine if the selfmade combination of capacity, inductance, resistance and antenna really offers sonic bliss. Sometimes an ocilloscope can explain sonic wonders. It did with my experiments using coax cable geometries and speakers.........

I couldn't measure any real significant improvement in inductance either.
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IslandPink
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#4

Post by IslandPink »

I think there's a lot of useful experimentation to be done with cables. I just took the short cut and paid out a load of money about 2 years ago ... but for years I would have never thought I could go much further than the litz+cotton home-brew cables Bud Purvine made for me.

I very much like those speakers too, but I might launch a thread for you to tell me about the TL section ... watch this ( speaker ) space .

( Mark )
"Once you find out ... the Circumstances ; then you can go out"
Jazzman53
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#5 Re: Crossed-Coax Speaker Cables

Post by Jazzman53 »

rowuk wrote:
Jazzman53 wrote:According to the cable designer, Jon Risch; "Cross-connection is used to reduce the inductance to an absolute
minimum. Merely paralleling the center wire and shield would
create two separated different polarity composite conductors with
an inductance much higher than the cross-connected pair."

Link to build photos:
http://jazzman-esl-page.blogspot.com/20 ... ables.html
They sure look nice, but the designer will have to come up with some "proof" that the inductance is truly that much less - and will have to qualify the theoretical benefits of lower inductance but much higher capacitance.

It is unfortunate that there are so many fairy tales about wire. One would think that as much engineering that is truly existent, that the audio world could be sold on real performance instead of the slapstick comedy offered just about everywhere.

I am not saying that there is no difference in cable. There are very large differences - most even measurable using real speakers and amplifiers. Unfortunately what we hear does not always have to do with what we measured. Or maybe we measured incorrectly?

The real effects of capacitance, resistance and inductance as well as shielding are all properly researched (decades ago). From DC to light - even in electrically very noisy environments, we have cable geometry that is proven. How the audio world gets away with so many conflicting views is very easy to explain: few know what they are talking about, or even what really is necessary.

I think that DIY is a very good way to try things out without breaking the bank. I think it takes months of serious listening to determine if the selfmade combination of capacity, inductance, resistance and antenna really offers sonic bliss. Sometimes an ocilloscope can explain sonic wonders. It did with my experiments using coax cable geometries and speakers.........

I couldn't measure any real significant improvement in inductance either.
To be honest, I've never been able to hear any significant differences between cables of similar gauge. Certainly not the drastic differences that some folks apparently can hear. I've always been one of those guys who figured lamp cord was as good as expensive high end cable as long as the lamp cord was fat enough to carry the current.

But I love tinkering with stuff. And since I'm driving ESL's, which are more affected by inductance than moving coil speakers, I figured it might be worthwhile to use these cables. The woven cables like Kimber's have extremely low inductance at the expense of high capacitance (not good either, I figured); whereas the crossed coax cables should be a pretty good compromise (if Jon Risch's numbers are correct).
very
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#6

Post by Jazzman53 »

IslandPink wrote: I very much like those speakers too, but I might launch a thread for you to tell me about the TL section ... watch this ( speaker ) space .

( Mark )
Hi Mark,

Later this evening I will post a thread about my DIY Hybrid ESL's. They are quite unique speakers insofar as the transmission line cabinet forms a "V" shaped beam splitter to enable placing the large woofer cab directly behind the stat panel without bouncing the panel's rearward sound back to the diaphragm.

Modeling a TL could easily land a guy in a psycho ward. I never could figure out how to use MJ King's calculator to model the TL (I'm such a math dummy) and I eventually I gave up trying to model it and just went with Roger Sanders' generic guidelines, which are basically as follows:

- Line length about 1/4 wavelength of desired tuning frequency.

- For folded lines, curve the portion directly behind the woofer.

- Line section 125% of woofer piston area at the front, tapering to 100% at the terminus. Front & Terminus Section areas can be reduced to as low as 100% & 70% provided same taper ratios are used.

- Stuff the line to a starting density of 0.50 lbs per ft3, then fine tune by adding or removing stuffing.

Charlie
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