Hello DIYers,
I have read quite a bit about the white lightning moonshine cables that I am sure many of you are familiar with. For those of you that aren't, these cables are made from an extension cord purchased from wal-mart. Do a google search for the white lightning moonshine cables and there is a page from six moons audio with the details.
Back to my story. I got the DIY instructions from the six moons web page. My local wal-mart had the woods brand 16/3 extension cord specified by six moons in stock. It was $10.98 for a 40' cord. Since I wasn't going to construct the interconnects, I decided to make 4 10' shotgun cables. I simply cut the cord to length and trimmed 4" of the outer jacket off both ends. I then combined all of the 16 guage conductors into a single large conductor.
I used a banana on my speaker end and a small spade for my amp end. The Dynaco ST-70 that I am using these cables with has the barrier strip and will only accept small spades. My speakers that I am using are Dynaco A-35s. This is my secondary system and I have tried many low cost speaker cables with it. I tried the DIY cat-5 cables and they didn't play well with this system. I have also used AQ type-4 and Belden 10 guage from BJC. These WLM shotgun cables have outperformed anything I have tried previously.
My music has much more detail and air. The lower bass response has tightened up and highs are crystal clear. I know that sounds funny considering I am talking about a $10 buck extension cord but, I am really pleased with how it turned out. For those of you curious about these WLM cables, give it a shot. It didnt cost me much. About $20 bucks total including connectors and it made a really fine cable. You can get 4 10' shotgun cables out of 1 cord and the copper seems to be of good quality. I have only had these running for about 10 hours but, as you can tell I like the results so far.
I know these won't be for everybody but, they do have good synergy with my Dynaco tube based system. I will report back later as these get a few more hours on them. Have a good day.
Andy
I have read quite a bit about the white lightning moonshine cables that I am sure many of you are familiar with. For those of you that aren't, these cables are made from an extension cord purchased from wal-mart. Do a google search for the white lightning moonshine cables and there is a page from six moons audio with the details.
Back to my story. I got the DIY instructions from the six moons web page. My local wal-mart had the woods brand 16/3 extension cord specified by six moons in stock. It was $10.98 for a 40' cord. Since I wasn't going to construct the interconnects, I decided to make 4 10' shotgun cables. I simply cut the cord to length and trimmed 4" of the outer jacket off both ends. I then combined all of the 16 guage conductors into a single large conductor.
I used a banana on my speaker end and a small spade for my amp end. The Dynaco ST-70 that I am using these cables with has the barrier strip and will only accept small spades. My speakers that I am using are Dynaco A-35s. This is my secondary system and I have tried many low cost speaker cables with it. I tried the DIY cat-5 cables and they didn't play well with this system. I have also used AQ type-4 and Belden 10 guage from BJC. These WLM shotgun cables have outperformed anything I have tried previously.
My music has much more detail and air. The lower bass response has tightened up and highs are crystal clear. I know that sounds funny considering I am talking about a $10 buck extension cord but, I am really pleased with how it turned out. For those of you curious about these WLM cables, give it a shot. It didnt cost me much. About $20 bucks total including connectors and it made a really fine cable. You can get 4 10' shotgun cables out of 1 cord and the copper seems to be of good quality. I have only had these running for about 10 hours but, as you can tell I like the results so far.
I know these won't be for everybody but, they do have good synergy with my Dynaco tube based system. I will report back later as these get a few more hours on them. Have a good day.
Andy
i did a similar thing with an extension cord. except i took the inner 3 wires out only using the black and white. tied one end pulled the lengh tight and put the other in a drill. tightend so they were wound together and thats what ive been running sence. really easy cheap and larger wire compared to buying "speaker wire". i think my next set though im going to make look really good and clean with a wire jacket of sorts and actual pins not bare wires
Been there, done that. I tied the green to the black at one end. Makes the green sort of a marginal shield and the cable becomes directional. Result? 16ga zip sounds like 16ga zip cord.
Bob
Bob
16 ga clear PVC lamp cord in bulk or by the foot at HD or Lowes also works. Although lately all I use is 22 ga or 24 ga solid strand copper salvaged from home automation wiring or cat5 cables.
The White Lightning Moonshine Power Cable didn't do so well by the creator/builder's own admittance.
Quad allegedly used to use an extension cord from the local DIY shop for demoing their electrostatics.
A few years ago at Burning Amp, Nelson Pass was demoing his latest amp, and his OB Lowthers with the slot loaded bass, using a 100 foot roll of Radio Shack clear speaker wire and a $30 Sony DVD player as source.
Of course in a large, bare concrete room, with a hundred people milling about, I doubt that any of this made a difference.
Of course in a large, bare concrete room, with a hundred people milling about, I doubt that any of this made a difference.
Take 3 lengths of wire-wrap wire and braid it. Make one for each amp/speaker connection (4 total). Use different colors for pos. and neg. Keeps wires running in the same direction when removed off roll. Best if used with mids and highs, but will work with bass. Only make them as long as you need them. Do not twist or solder the ends. Don't use a spade or banana plug, unless it's considered a low-mass connector.
No thick copper connector; best used with bare ends.
Best when not touching the floor or metal. Straight from amp to speakers. No loops.
$6.00, 40ft rolls at Radio Shack. around 1.5-2 hours construction time.
Let me know what you think. 😉
No thick copper connector; best used with bare ends.
Best when not touching the floor or metal. Straight from amp to speakers. No loops.
$6.00, 40ft rolls at Radio Shack. around 1.5-2 hours construction time.
Let me know what you think. 😉
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Beware WLM Cables
The new wire is inferior to the older stuff. I have copared both and the new stuff isn't fully encapsulated and is stiffer. 😡
It looks Identical on the outside, but if you dig your finger nail into you'll notice the new stuff is way stiffer (PVC tube) vs the older that you can scratch (rubber encapsulated.)
I believe the wire inside is the same but if you want it to lay flat and go around corners you might be disappointed. Time to go look for some new wire.😕
The new wire is inferior to the older stuff. I have copared both and the new stuff isn't fully encapsulated and is stiffer. 😡
It looks Identical on the outside, but if you dig your finger nail into you'll notice the new stuff is way stiffer (PVC tube) vs the older that you can scratch (rubber encapsulated.)
I believe the wire inside is the same but if you want it to lay flat and go around corners you might be disappointed. Time to go look for some new wire.😕
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