So … how long before they will be available for audition/purchase.
(Asking for Al )
So … how long before they will be available for audition/purchase.
(Asking for Al )
exciting info. also, expensive info.
Time alignment is a great thing. It improves coherency of the sound and imaging solidity. . I cannot wait to see the performance graphs and trial what is available against my iconoclast.
Opportunities for used iconoclast cables!!! Good times indeed
Stay in your budget. We are committed to getting the cost of the tech DOWN when we can. New stuff is harder to price today.
The problem with tech, and keeping the costs reasonable, is that we all have stuff we paid 2X for that is half that today. Sound like PC parts, yes? Because it is! Maybe not 2X as bad as the cable design cycle is far less prevalent as true improvements are hard to come by.
Early adopters are paying for a longer in-use period but pay a higher up front cost. Yes, I’ve decided to pay a premium on some PC parts so I can use it 2X longer (get it right away) but pay 2X more. I think we all make that choice here and there.
Each year we run the numbers and make adjustments if we can. With material costs going nuts, it is harder and harder to do. If the true cost goes up 10% and you move a price down 10% that is a 20% change but we only see the 10%, as an example. Technically there was an OK adjustment of 20% for the consumer. The other 10% is really there because if we HELD margin, the price would have to go up 10% as material keep climbing. We can gain cost efficiency and quality (ultra-sonic welding) other places (assembly speed), true.
What all this means is we are trying to keep cost in check. The existing materials market make it hard to cap increases, and offer significant decreases. Everyone is stuck with the reality today.
We will have LIMITED stock of the series II (fill in the blank) cable as this is the first final spec production run after extensive design measurement trials. The cable only works if it meets the numbers and manufacturability, both. I used fully half the quantity in tests and design changes getting it right. And yes, we paid for that $$$ SCRAP. If you design to true tested metrics life gets harder but way better at the same time. We get real answers to what we have to do to get better.
We have more, obviously, ordered but it is SLOW to make this cable. I do mean slow as the SAH, Standard Allotted Hours, is like hundreds of hours per 1000 feet. The shop rate adds up the longer it takes to make a product, same as fixing your car. Ethereal cable is lower cost as it runs FAST so the amount you make in a given time is HUGE in the cost analysis. True, the total material cost is lower but SAH labor is where the bucks hits the fan fast. If a cable made itself instantly, we’d have material and design cost and that’s it. Design cost ammortizes away with time and thus we’d have material cost only after awhile. I wish it was that easy.
Best,
Galen
More sage advice from the Godfather Of Cables.
There are very few suppliers of any commodity that are as transparent as you are. It makes spending hard earned cash on the hobby a lot easier when you feel good about the design and possible outcome.
Many thanks.
Here Here !!
Hot tub too HOT !!
Easy 'nough… don’t get in the hot tub
It will be interesting to (1) see what hits the market and at what pricing, and (2) its impact on Iconoclast product already on the market. As @Sohail has commented, there may be an opportunity for some to ease into the Iconoclast line as some upgrade.
It is tomorrow afternoon!
Waiting. Patiently waiting. Tap tap tap.
Relentless!
We are a needy bunch.
Don’t worry boys…Galen probably has been having a long
day the the ranch today !!
The series II SPEAKER CABLE provisional has been filed!
There is a lot of information on the process to get through. What I’m going to do, is to feed a small amount every day until we all know how the new SERIES II SPEAKER CABLE SYSTEM works. You read that right, it is a system of cables like a woofer and a tweeter is a system of drivers. You can’t make audio cables as linear as they can be with ONE cable, you need TWO to get the job done based on Vp linearity calculated data.
NOTE - all with series I speaker cables can keep them in service and get the series II if you can bi-cable your speakers. Your purchase is “half” done if not completed. Please AUDITION for improvements, always. Physics isn’t outdated for the series I and it is a best FULL RANGE cable that balances BOTH aspects.
What the new system is, is two separate cables, each made for a specific frequency range, SERIES I for low frequencies, SERIES II for high frequencies, and thus a bi-cable set-up. Not everyone can use a bi-cable with some speakers. You need to separate the cross-over to send the information to the right frequency range drivers. This also means that each ICONOCLAST cable will have a “superior” frequency range by how the physics works. Both are technically full range cable like a driver can be driven full range, but each cable offers the best advantage as a “system” of two cables same as loudspeaker drivers.
What data supports the changes to the somewhat radical approach to speaker cables? The speaker’s cross over separates the frequencies into “bands”. The analog data looks into each cable and based on the speakers cross-over uses the path of least resistance (impedance) for that frequency. We separate the data into a more ideal cable for each musical frequency range but need TWO different DESIGNS to do it.
Let’s look at a pretty involved set of charts seen below. Using an approximation equation for Vp and frequency, if we FREEZE the R and C in each graph and alter the opposite, we get the illustrated results. If we look at the manufacturing process, and not just the THEORY, we need to be able to make the cable, we see an idealized 60pF/foot and 28 AWG give the best bang for the buck to flatten Vp. Using higher cap or smaller wire sees a far less impact on the Vp change. Notice too that we can’t speed it up at the low frequencies, but can only slow it down SOME at the high frequencies.
Ideally we want the frequencies in our cable to travel at the same exact speed, like it does at RF. Nope, the physics says we need to get to “zero” speed at DC so it slowly slopes down from RF to DC. Our beloved audio signals are time based distorted by ALL cable. The series I and II both improve this with more small wires (well cover why all the small wires as we go). The series II better optimized the higher frequencies where the series I is more a full range design and needs low input impedance and low DCR for the high current bass region. We don’t need the aggressive DCR for the mids, and it isn’t like a 7632 CMA series II cable is a lightweight compared to the 9600 CMA series I.
The new series II will use a 28 AWG wire size and target a 60pF/foot capacitance in the DESIGN to optimize the high frequency Vp differential (Group delay). Paper work is fun, but the product is what we buy. 28 AWG is small 0.0126" wire with major 2.5X the DCR as 24 AWG. I need DCR and capacitance (up ~ 25%) to be adjusted to get the job done in the physical cable form. How to do that? To hit the metrics each polarity has FORTY-EIGHT wires, or 24 BONDED pairs. This is DOUBLE the series I design. More on the end DESIGNS form later. Nothing was an accident, but driven by design calculations and actual measurements, as usual.
Tomorrow I will show a calculated graph show WHY and more HOW the two cables are designed to work together as one. Same as a speaker, the drivers need “one voice” to work the best. Care has been taken match the open-short IMPEDANCE and Vp in the cross-over region such that it appears to be ONE cable. The “R” and “C” are ideally the ONLY changes I want to make if it can be done, and it was. The series I and II share near identical open-short impedance in the cross-over range and identical inductance (0.08 uH/foot). The loop DCR matches the requirements of each cable’s current demands (more current in the low frequencies, but flatter Vp linearity than upper) and Vp (need’s to be flatter in the higher frequencies but we don’t need as low a DCR for current).
I will have a graph that shows the relationship of Vp and frequency between the series I and II designs. We don’t get to do what we want, we need to obey mother nature’s law’s and EVERY analog cable will go to ZERO Vp at DC and to the composite dielectric’s Vp at RF, where it will remain flat across the rest of the RF band. No passive cable can escape this fact. The chart will show how this tuning all works, like it or no, that we are stuck with. We can isolate the analog frequencies we want to nudge in our favor…for a limited frequency range. Separating the frequency ranges allows that nudge to be more meaningful so we have TWO cable’s to move the art farther in a best case analog frequency Vp linearity.
Thank you all for giving me the time to try to make cable following the true science of how things work! How good is too good? We don’t know as I’m not aware of cable system that is as good as ONE ICONOCLAST cable let alone the new invention (still Mother Nature’s idea, I just was able to find what she hides from us!). Better is better and we’ll get through this. PLEASE ask questions, none are too dumb, so we all follow along. I’ll answer the questions in the beginning of each section before we look at new stuff. This is all pretty amazing how it was able to be worked out. IT WORKS. Sorry, it isn’t ALIVE like Frankenstein but hey, we can still have some fun in our hobby. If the hills were alive with the sound of music maybe say can say it is alive, yes?
Stay tuned as we all go through this adventure. And it is an adventure with a real ending, we have patent pending product that is indeed BETTER.
Best,
Galen Gareis
Wow !!! Masterful engineering…
O man, now I need to buy new speakers as well, my Focal Kanta 3’s only have a single set of binding posts .
Super interesting though, two wires, one optimized for lower, the other for higher frequencies. Can we see pictures?
I love this idea. I already biwire my tri wire capable speakers. Plus I bought the last biwire set less than a year ago. I hope you can still give a trade-in discount allowance for us with cables that are less than a year old.
The question now is if I can get away jumpering mids off the LF taps with the 24 gauge iconoclast jumpers. Or will there be smaller diameter iconoclast jumpers made for MF and HF
My 3 way XR290 line arrays have crossover at 400 and 1300 Hz. Keeping mids and highs on series 2 looks to be least amount of curve rise? But could be a toss up since both curves are pretty flat until 1300 Hz. Advice?
@BobBJC i am likely ready to discuss order once you have product and pricing
Wait for it. We’re on our way now.
Best,
Galen
You use your series one you have now. Just get the series II for the the mid on up. Keep the jumpers between the mid +tweeter.
This keeps the cost down. No need to replace what you have!
For satellite plus powered subs that do the bass, use the series II is most ideal.
Best,
Galen
You ain’t heard nothing yet. We have a bunch to cover before we can say if it is great or not. Today you know the idea, we’ll get to execution soon. Paper work is all I’ve shown so far.
Best,
Galen