LOAN TQ SPEAKER CABLE

I know it's a bit of a long shot, but does anyone have any TQ speaker cable that I could borrow? I need a minimum of 1m either side. As I've been in hospital for four months I have not used my Hifi in that time, I come back to it and the mid and top end seems quite shouty and I have lost the deeeep bass I was used to. I know my brother used my Hifi a couple of times while I wasn't around but that's it. Nothing has changed........except the speaker cable. Chris, the chap who bought my TQ Iridium amp, wanted to try TQ speaker cable and I stupidly sold him mine. I'm thinking the problems I'm facing surely can't be due to a speaker cable change, but that's all that is different. I'm currently using some bloody thick OFC cable, it might be called Shark Wire, not sure. So if someone has a couple of lengths of the TQ stuff that I could try again, I will know if the changes I hear are down to the cable change or not. Maybe I'm just loosing it. I've even tried pushing my speakers back to loose the top end and gain more bass but to no avail. Cheers

Comments

  • edited January 2016
    You fool.
    I haven't got any spare James.
    But, if you're really desperate I can very short term loan you my TQ UB via post so you can check out the difference. I have some Cable Talk 3 from 1993 that I have in my second system that I could "use" while my UBs visit you.
    I do want to experience my full setup with the dynamic PSU in first though, so it'd probably be this time next week.
    Keep me posted.
    Above all, good to read you're back home. :-)
  • I can't help you with speaker cable James, but it's great to hear you are back home.
  • James make you own give me a call.
  • we need to invest in a superhero suit for you, Col. Any take your fancy? 

    Great to be reading your posts again James 
    :)
  • How about Wonder Woman  ;))
  • No James this one I have already.

    image
  • James, I have a few spare speaker cables, what terminations do you need? Let me know and a pair will be on their way. Alan
  • James resting and making cables, it was once basket making now it Unknown.
    image
  • Loving that you've smuggled in your workbench and disguised it as a hospital bed.
    (And I'm assuming that the monitor on the right of shot you have already modified to act as an oscilloscope).

    On a very serious note: Rest-up, man!
  • Making stuff is good for you, how do you think poor Col has kept going?
  • I'd assumed it was pneumatics and Vimto.
  • We are clearly witnesses here, James, to the preparations for your Bionic upgrade (with built in DAC?).
    x
  • Docfoster said:
    I'd assumed it was pneumatics and Vimto.
    No it was custard tarts and TNT
  • While I was at home from hospital for a few weeks a very kind and generous chap call Colin Wonfor popped round for a cup of tea and a bit of a hi-fi session. As he knew I was lacking in the speaker cable department after I had sold my TQ Black, Colin brought round some DIY cables that I could use short-term. I took out my thick copper shark wire or at least I think that's what it's called then plugged in Colins stuff, and I instantly knew I was onto a winner. The background went dead quiet at the top end aggressiveness had gone in fact the top and the mid range was so lifelike and colourful . The base was back but yet very controlled , there was bags more detail and everything seemed wider and deeper . In fact one of the songs I listened to after Colin had left was the Jamie Cullum song from his first album, halfway through the song someone else steps in and start harmonising with him but their voice only came out of my right speaker, it literally scared the crap out of me and I jumped a mile , never done that before! So overall A big upgrade and I'm thankful to Colin and Alan for the loan. As I'm a bit strapped for cash right now because of what I'm walking through Colin encouraged me to make my own speaker cable which is something I've always wanted to do as everything else in my hi-fi I made myself from DAC through to speakers but the missing link was my own speaker cable. So I've spent the last four to five days three hours every day perhaps, sitting on my lap making these cables; not ideal really because you ideally want a workbench, but it certainly kept the boredom of hospital at bay and the hours just drifted by. There are a couple of errors in their production but seeing as I literally made them on my lap the finish isn't bad at all.
  • Well done James!
  • uglymusic said:
    Well done James!

    I can't get pictures up because I'm only working off my iPad so I've sent some snapshots to Ben to stick up
  • Cool. I'll look forward to seeing how it's done.
  • edited March 2016
    sovereign said:
      There are a couple of errors in their production but seeing as I literally made them on my lap the finish isn't bad at all.
    Righto. Pics received and hosted.
    Here you go: James' new cables...

    image
  • edited March 2016
    Sorry, couldn't resist... :P

    Here are the real and very impressive images... =D>
    image

    image

    image



  • sovereign said:
    While I was at home from hospital for a few weeks a very kind and generous chap call Colin Wonfor popped round for a cup of tea and a bit of a hi-fi session. As he knew I was lacking in the speaker cable department after I had sold my TQ Black, Colin brought round some DIY cables that I could use short-term. I took out my thick copper shark wire or at least I think that's what it's called then plugged in Colins stuff, and I instantly knew I was onto a winner. The background went dead quiet at the top end aggressiveness had gone in fact the top and the mid range was so lifelike and colourful . The base was back but yet very controlled , there was bags more detail and everything seemed wider and deeper . In fact one of the songs I listened to after Colin had left was the Jamie Cullum song from his first album, halfway through the song someone else steps in and start harmonising with him but their voice only came out of my right speaker, it literally scared the crap out of me and I jumped a mile , never done that before! So overall A big upgrade and I'm thankful to Colin and Alan for the loan. As I'm a bit strapped for cash right now because of what I'm walking through Colin encouraged me to make my own speaker cable which is something I've always wanted to do as everything else in my hi-fi I made myself from DAC through to speakers but the missing link was my own speaker cable. So I've spent the last four to five days three hours every day perhaps, sitting on my lap making these cables; not ideal really because you ideally want a workbench, but it certainly kept the boredom of hospital at bay and the hours just drifted by. There are a couple of errors in their production but seeing as I literally made them on my lap the finish isn't bad at all.
    I felt really comforted to read this.
    Thanks James. Good work. And as ever, genuinely heart-warming interventions from Mr. W.
  • Nice James Thanks.
  • Great Job James, really nice.
    :)
  • I notice that the cables have the, what I preceive to be, trademark Wonfor spacing between + and - runs. But I'm so utterly out of the hifi loop these days I have no idea how common this is across the market. How many other designers / manufacturers do something similar?
  • edited March 2016
    Ben lots do, the gap set the capacitance along with the dielectric and facing diameters, it what the wire is inside and the combination of this capacitance that determines the max frequency and edges of attack and decline.

    I could put the maths up if you want to play.
  • edited March 2016
    AntiCrap said:
    Ben lots do
    Righto. If I got out more often, I would know this.
    AntiCrap said:
    the gap set the capacitance along with the dielectric and facing diameters
    Thanks for explaining that.
    AntiCrap said:
    it what the wire is inside and the combination of this capacitance that determines the max frequency and edges of attack and decline.
    Righto.
    AntiCrap said:
    I could put the maths up if you want to play.
    I reckon that others would find this of interest. Moreover, I know you like sharing and spreading the word. But also, from the POV of my own understanding I suspect that the maths would be someway beyond anything I would be able to understand. You can try me if you like.
    :-B
  • My daughter can count to 300 insteps of five , very impressive I'll have you know
  • sovereign said:
    My daughter can count to 300 insteps of five , very impressive I'll have you know
    I Can't I get to ten and the phone rings again.
  • Ben, I'll send you some pictures of the inside of the cable so you can post up for me and understand its construction.
    Basically each speaker channel consists of four lengths of seven mm PVC tubing, The PVC tubes are glued together using a hot glue gun, I managed to squeeze seven wires down each of the two outer tubes. Each piece of wire has seven conductors inside its Teflon dielectric. Therefore each speaker cable has 49 conductors to one terminal, say the red one, and 49 conductors to the black. There is no special number that's just the maximum I could squeeze down the seven mm PVC tube I purchased. So if the two outer lengths of tubing are occupied with conductors the middle two is what creates the even spacing all the way along the length of speaker cable, again that gap of 21 mm is nothing super special it's just me utilising all the PVC tubing that I had. This makes quite a chunky speaker cable, I don't think I would want anything wider.
    Then I bought some fancy silver banana plugs from hi-fi collective I already had the heat shrink and I bought the braiding from eBay. I put two layers of braiding over the PVC tubing as one layer I could still see daylight through it and I thought that looked a bit DIY with two layers it looks a lot more professional.
    Hope that makes sense.
  • Yes. That's interesting. Thanks.
    Sounds like some of the design decisions were to some degree conditioned by the materials at hand. Beyond this, were the general design ideas yours, or were they arrived at through discussions with Head Honcho Wonfor?
    And, I suppose if you are to recruit your daughter to the production line, then she's going to have to learn to count in 7s.
  • Here are James' "under construction" pics.
    (And please remember, these photos were taken in an NHS hopsital.)

    imageimageimage
  • Nice work James.

  • Ben, everything I make is someone else's idea, I just bake the cake
  • sovereign said:
    Ben, everything I make is someone else's idea, I just bake the cake
    Nice cake.
  •  
     They look super duper James.

     Enjoy :)


  • When are going to be able to try them James?

  • Well my blood levels are starting to rise again so hopefully about a couple of weeks keeping everything crossed
  • Everything crossed here.
    [-O<
  • sovereign said:
    Well my blood levels are starting to rise again so hopefully about a couple of weeks keeping everything crossed
    Yipeee I be around ASAP for more cheese mmmmm

    Get well quick James
  • edited June 2016
    Well I missed this one
    8-|

    Really nice work James and interesting construction method.

    I've made a few DIY cables in my time with mixed results but never thought of using the two inner tubing runs as a spacer before. it's a really neat way of getting the spacing even and using a fair amount of air into the dialectric structure.

    I'm going to have to try some of these at some point to compare with the TQ black

    Col I noticed that you cautioned against bi wiring in favour of short links between treble and bass at the speaker end.

    is that still the case?
  • shoom said:
    Well I missed this one
    8-|

    Really nice work James and interesting construction method.

    I've made a few DIY cables in my time with mixed results but never thought of using the two inner tubing runs as a spacer before. it's a really neat way of getting the spacing even and using a fair amount of air into the dialectric structure.

    I'm going to have to try some of these at some point to compare with the TQ black

    Col I noticed that you cautioned against bi wiring in favour of short links between treble and bass at the speaker end.

    is that still the case?
    If I did it was for cost reasons only,
  • ''If I did it was for cost reasons only,''

    Thanks Col

    That makes sense given the cost of some of the cables in question.

    Any special qualities needed for the copper in this DIY version?
  • edited June 2016
    Would you be ok with people making up their own sets of cable Col?
  • How the hell could I stop you, OK I could sit on you but that sounds mean. I could confiscate your SECA but I can't run just hop fast or use Newton to fall down escalators.
  • ''Would you be ok with people making up their own sets of cable Col?''

    Sorry but maybe I've missed something along the way but I'd assumed that because the recipe had been posted on an open forum that DIY efforts would be welcome.

    I tend to make what I can and buy the rest so DIY cables are always of interest to me.

    maybe we could do a matching IC also.



    B-)
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