Belden ICONOCLAST Interconnects and Speaker Cabling

You nailed it. And, it would save a lot of shipping back and forth. But, I suppose the journey is part of the experience and getting there in the end, priceless. Glad you love the SPTPC speaker leads. They are indeed incredible.

I have changed out all my PSA gear with the exception of the P20 with Blue fuses and like the results.
Some have claimed differences with fuse direction but I haven’t played with that. Like cables, seems the biggest improvement was with the DAC, BHK pre, DMP, 300’s, in that order. A tweet worth is weight.

You should give it a try. Last year I had to replace a shorted SR blue fuse in my DS DAC Jr, for the next couple of weeks, I sensed something different I didn’t like, first I thought it was due to my experiments with some different placements of SR HFTs on my speakers, but that was not it, until it clicked, I checked the SR fuse, it was in the wrong direction! It was quite amazing actually, since I have a couple of SR blue fuses in the audio chain, just one fuse with an unfavorable direction! Also SR fuses need break-in time. BTW, my SR dealer told me that he received several calls of blown SR blue fuses, he recommended to use 1.2amp fuse instead of 1amp, that was what I did after consulting PS Audio.

My experience too has been that fuses (in my case IsoClean, Furutech and now Audio Magic) have been directional, and not subtly noticeable either. It was interesting that a fellow audio pen pal was trying out a fuse and “not quite liking it” a few months ago and I suggested he try reversing the fuse direction. . . and he was surprised to find he liked the fuse a lot more after the change. He hadn’t heard about the directionality of fuses but he will check then out each way now.

So which direction is yours running properly?

Replace the rail fuses as well for a huge improvement! The SR Blue are too expensive to use 4 there, so I just used the HiFi Tuning Supreme. I noticed as big of an improvement with the fuses as I heard going from the XLO speaker cable to the Iconoclast TPC.

–SSW

Simply try both directions and listen. Even the fuse makers can’t predict which you will prefer.

If you REPLACE the FUSE with a solid copper SHUNT, would that not be your benchmark? Not that you would leave a shunt there, but use the technique to determine the best case improvement as the fuse, any fuse, can’t “change” the data signal for the better since it is a passive element. A small piece of UPOCC wire (no directionality in the grain structure) would work for low level stages as an example.

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That’s the easy answer. But I’d like to hear how people have found them best. Build up some data to help make sense of things. So those that have them, please share…

It’s pretty darn easy to swap the direction and find out for yourself. Others experience may not be the same as yours. What if the internals of the fuse is in one direction but the writing on it isn’t consistent or vice versa? Could go either way…

The “best” direction of each fuse may well depend on the polarity of the plugs/transformer wiring on other equipment in your system. Anything with a half wave rectifier will mangle one side of the AC more than the other… You need to use your own ears on your own system…

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Is mangle a term of art?

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Thanks everyone, for reviving the “need” to check fuse directionality. Seems like
everything else is audio “weird stuff happens” and there is a legitimate argument
from “its nonsense” to measurable science. I will take the recommendations that
the proof is in the taste and run with that.

If you pronounce it with a French accent, it is.

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Galen
I just installed your sptpc speaker cables, replacing the OFE.
Am I hearing things or is the soundstage dramatically wider?
How can this be?
Thanks
Ron

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You are indeed hearing things, it is wider. SPTPC works like a super tweeter, adding an openness that is perceived as more space, and left to right is where it is most evident. Reflections off the floor and ceiling limit those directions added space.

Also, if you use the 1x4 RCA or 4x4 XLR, the added coherence will sharpen and make the soundstage wider still. It works pretty simply like this; a well focused image will seem farther from other images aural to a less focused soft sounding musical event. The added edge definition opens up space that wasn’t there before.

The major element is COHERENCE across the frequency range with smaller and/or more small, wires. This presents design challenges that need to be addressed to not hijack L and C. It can be done but with different geometries and dielectric volumes than have been used to date.

These are really nice cables for what they do, and what they cost. They all work and work better as you go up the line and for explainable reasons.

Galen

There are people that will build this or almost anything for you for less than $200 bucks. Belden sells the cable in bulk. I feel Mogami is better anyways. I actually got much nicer cables(IMO) for $139. Six foot stereo RCA interconnects. Very well made.

Really? I don’t see the Iconoclast cable being sold in bulk anywhere. From the early discussions I heard on these cables, Belden wasn’t high on making an expensive cable with copper in air tubes - that was a tribute to Galen’s persistence.

Do you mean nicer looking, more nicely built, or nicer sounding? My problem with Mogami is that it is difficult for me to hear a difference over some Monoprice cables I have, whereas I hear more substantial differences in other cables - my Voodoo Evolutions, for example, are just better. I have the Iconoclast speaker cables and hope to try the interconnects soon.

I had Mogami Gold interconnects. Iconoclast are better to my ears on my equipment even in the TPC. I also switched from BJC to Iconoclast speaker wires also in TPC. Give them a try.

Its the design in this case, as much or more than the metals.

Aren’t you the $200k cable Guy, or am I confusing you with someone else?

Nope - I checked. You are.