" move my mono amps closer to my speakers with 20 foot long balanced interconnects and 5 foot long speaker cables."
No brainer here
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Balanced cables were made for long lengths.
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I too believe the conventional wisdom is short speaker cables/long BALANCED interconnects.
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Use XLR or RCA for the “reach” is best.
High current sources and length don’t go too well together. The voltage drop across the wire is the current x the resistance. LONG speaker wires have higher resistance and we pump lots of current through them. Some amps don’t like too much added capacitance, so we like be safe and limit that, too, as it adds per foot. 20 feet isn’t awful at all, but amps by the speaker is far better if you can arrange for that.
The RCA and XLR are terminated into “infinity” or a 47 K-ohm load so we have zip current and far less line loss as a result. So that’s why we use XLR or RCA. XLR being better as it has added noise immunity through CMRR balance. RCA by design increase the ground potential difference between devices and can cause hum in badly grounded systems. Best to just avoid that problem if you can with XLR for longer cable.
Keep the amps by the speakers as close as you can. The series II XLR 4x4 and RCA 1x4 are the best for analog, Vp tweaked. But if the cost is to high, look at the SERIES I, still very good as we’re talking really good cable to begin with.
The series II is a smaller change step in performance from really good basis on the series I.
The BAV XLR or RCA are also here to keep pricing in check for you.They are still VERY good electrical, near the same as the ICONOCLAST series I even, but were made to be studio grade and thus very flexible and durable. I have a design proof on the BAV series if you are interested, just Email me at; ggareis@iconoclastcable.com
and ask for it.
For costing, highest to lowest;
XLR series II
RCA series II
XLR series I
RCA series I
BAV XLR
BAV RCA
Best,
Galen
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The power Industry has spoken for us.
Power dropped across a load is called Current Squared times Resistance loss. Notice that the current is SQUARED, ouch!
If we have low current we really avoid power drop across a device. The Power Industry converts all signals to 30 KVA for long runs to trade to get HIGH VOLTAGE and LOW CURRENT, not the opposite, and thus lower the line power drop.
At your house high voltage primary windings transformers convert the high voltage to a lower secondary winding voltage that trades the high voltage for high current we use in shorter runs where the current squared x resistance losses are better since the wire is “shorter” so resistance is mitigated.
Same approach with IC verses speaker cables. Which lead has HIGH CURRENT and which one has lower current? Which has lower resistance load that creates a higher current? Yep, a speaker cable has high current with the low impedance loads we see as speakers.
It is hard to beat near ZERO current in an IC cable. We design the 47 kOHM load that acts like an open circuit to transfer voltage only. We don’t need or want much current. We don’t even need a lot of voltage. Power loss is also calculated with AMPS x VOLTS so again, low current is key.
The series II RCA and XLR go one step farther than just Vp alignment. The four 30 AWG wires, although by themselves are REALLY high resistance, are in parallel a larger CMA area than a single 25 AWG wire and…we improve Vp differential using the 4 x 30 AWG wires.
No, lowering the DCR wasn’t the main squeeze to use the 4x30 AWG, better Vp linearity was, as I’ve shown in previous posts. It keeps looping back that better designs seem to support more than one isolated property of a cable. It is nice to get well balanced attribute designs and keep trying to balance them better and better. Here is another example of that.
The smaller 30 AWG also improve current efficiency through the wire by improving the skin depth, so yet another variable that keeps getting better along with the rest.
This is why cable design it is so hard to do, every design change needs to be looked at everywhere else, and what impact it is having. There is no free lunch on a variable. Every aspect of the design will be at the table expecting service if any other aspect of a design is changed. R, L and C reach through every nook and cranny.
I hope the design verification work in the series II shows you get a product that is really thought out. It is pure engineering all the way through.
Best,
Galen
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Good Morning All,
Sometime last week it got out that I was having health issues. For the first time in my life I took an ambulance ride to the emergency room. I found myself not being able to breath and where my oxygen level dropped to 68. Not recommended!
Today I sit in my office chair again able to breath and feeling much better from my bout with pneumonia. It’s surreal to look back over my 3 and one half days in the hospital. I was cared for by an incredible team of mostly “young” lady nurses and techs who poked, prodded and led me through the adventure. Prayers were answered and I am back among the living with a great appreciation for those who helped me along the way. I actually feel pretty good.
I want to express a heartfelt appreciation for the numerous customers/friends who reached out to express concern and extend good wishes. I am surrounded by very fine souls and am most humbled! Thank you!!
it’s great to see that Galen has “let the cat out” of the bag. Or maybe a more accurate, opened the food gates. I will say that these speaker cables are in many ways a “game changer.” We had a small amount of TPC material arrive at the plant. I am working to get an order in for additional TPC material and get an order placed for SPTPC.
The first challenge jumped right out. How do we prep the cables? Andrew and Jeff, our techs, found the hand prepping 384-each “very small” bonded individual strips to be a daunting. The Belden provided tool that we use on the 24AWG bonded pairs was completely ineffective on the much smaller conductors. This has been a 2-step process first separating the bonded pairs and then stripping the insulation from the individual conductors. It has always been labor intensive even when each pair involved only 192-individual preps. Now we double it. I learned yesterday late that we are possibly investing in a “thermal” stripper. Samples have been sent to the manufacturer of the tool to see what they can do. I watched a video on the tool and really like the potential.
Hoping to have my Beta pair on Saturday if all goes well. Can’t wait.
Stay tuned.
Bob
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Do the thermal strippers allow for stripping more then one conductor at a time?
Glad you are getting back on your feet Bob!
Thank you for helping me to obtain the Gen 2 Balanced Interconnects!
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Don’t push it too hard/get well soon.
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Thank you!
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They have have some models that do allow more than one conductor to be stripped at a time.We are hoping that it may also separate the bonded pairs in the process though that is probably a stretch. Samples sent should tell us more.
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@BobBJC - listen to your body. Don’t ignore it over the next few weeks. When you are tired, you do need to rest.
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Hi Bob,
Glad to hear you are much better and helping drive the team with the tools need to make that Quality Iconoclast product we all enjoy. The thermal strippers are pretty standard in aerospace wire harness assembly suppliers. Just let me know when you wish to discuss my Series 2 order and pricing. I just returned from FL this AM on business. Please keep warm with the cold front headed your way. No relapse please.
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Very glad to hear you’ve recovered Bob! These days it can be tough to even get a hospital bed some places. It’s great you were well cared for and back with us. Take good care and don’t push yourself too hard.
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Thank you Steve!
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Hi Bob
That’s quite the story and a scare. I’m glad that you’re back on your feet.
All the best,
Bob
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Great to hear you are feeling better!
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Wait… did you take my order for speaker cables laying in a hospital bed - that may be taking client service a bit too far!? Either way, I’m super happy you are doing better, and best wishes on full recovery- my wife is also recovering from a bout of pneumonia and it is no joke.
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You guys are taking orders for the next gen cables?
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Looks as though they, The Iconoclast Team, are in the development stage at this time. Not much info or ability to place a pre-order available on the Iconoclast website.