If you have ever baled hay with wire you know where the term gone haywire came from. 
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30 gage is roughly 0.010" so just over two times the size of a human hair. Amazing stuff.
The OFE series II all depends on how well we do selling cable, most everything has been rolled back into development for the series II speaker and IC cables as well as the power cable. As you can see, this is a VERY expensive process and not all is shown. Don’t forget the MANY, MANY hours on the PC designing all this so it actually WORKS. Yes, all those white papers are AFTER I KNEW what to write, it doesn’t include all the stuff that doesn’t!
And, we also have PROCESSES that didn’t work and we BOUGHT that BLUE machine shown below…it was scrapped. I determined that the number of ends to reach the proper Vp characteristics on the speaker cable were not going to happen with this machine and meet DCR and inductance. Again, a lot the customer never realizes is going on that has to be paid for. The turquoise precision tension and speed take-up survived! We aren’t perfect all along the way, we just get to near perfect and don’t stop till we get there. Our products are the measurements. We can’t cheat.
Best,
Galen
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Weaving machines as in 16 or 24 carrier Wardwell (expensive) and 24 carrier Niehoff (REALLY expensive).
Best,
Galen
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Yes, they were designed to make shoe laces originally. Strangely, my wife determined I go WAY back to the Wardwell family that developed the braiders called a “wardwell” design braider. Now if that isn’t weird I don’t know what is since she figured this out AFTER I worked in wire and cable for 35 years.
The Wardwell are still mechanical with a motor replacing a foot wheel or steam belt. The Neihoff is a mechanical wonder machine and is super high precision. It is not a Wardwell at all and we have ONE of these machines and it is used for ICONOCLAST speaker cable.
Best,
Galen
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Wow! Talk about the apple falling close to the tree. I think you bounced off the trunk!
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Barber-Colman produced weaving machines for fabric, not wire, Btw. Also pricey, but the company is no more.
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We are waiting until we have a fulfillment date from Belden when we will receive additional TPC and SPTPC Series II speaker cable before we add the information and pricing to the website. We feel it is unwise to promote what you can’t produce. We did let the “cat out of the bag” here and have been able to send produce to beta testers, a few reviewers, existing customers who “just had to have it” and a few who made the step of faith and placed an order without the data on our site.
We are not hiding or withholding information. We are waiting until we know we can fill orders and requests until such time as we actually can meet demand. Lots to look at here.
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Nope, nope and more nope. Never say never. Does that help?
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I’m old, lets don’t go there! 
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It took a lot of work for Galen to share and post only a part of the details that go into the manufacturing/production of Iconoclast cables. These images are from our (Belden) plant in Richmond, IN. NOT CHINA! You can’t buy a wire making machine. Much of the equipment, processes and programing of parameters originate from Galen himself. I’ve seen him being flown to other Belden plants in other parts of the country or continent to show them (process engineers) how to do things that they said “could not be possible.” In my 12-years at Belden, I was proud to be a part of the “best of the best.”
This was a rare treat in my opinion and not one that you will find over at Monster Cable 
or others to show you how things are done. Is it because the plant is in another country? I don’t know.
What I do know, is that if you place enough trust in us to simply “try” the cables that chances are that you will smile from ear to ear and become another “happy” customer.
Is good, good enough? Nope…
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I will try (and have) anything Iconoclast makes. It’s that good!
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The process makes me appreciate my Iconoclast cables so much more, and I will take loving care of them!
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Thanks Galen for that fantastic “tour”. This looks like a plant that i would love to tour in detail sometime.
“A picture is worth 1000 words” is clearly proved here. The pictures of the process easily make those who present as religiously devoted to cable denial seem all the more silly.
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The paper work has to become a reality in production. Can you make what the paper says you need? I help manufacture ALL the products myself so I know what I’m putting the process engineers through and the assembly people.
Every IC cable has to be assembled reliably and work instructions prepared. I walk their walk over and over to be sure we have a good process. Maybe a harder than normal one, but one wehere the steps can be taken and completed to perfection.
Nothing about ICONOCLAST was “easy” or a CERP, Cost Encountered Reduction Program. It os ONLY about the performance and that the process, as hard as it might be, is reliable and consistent…and of course, will customers pay for this level of effort.
Belden actually does things like this that is R&D and never goes ANYWHERE. It is all about the experience and learning. Small segments of major blue sky projects get used, like the BAV XLR was the main design out of the ICONOCLAST project and the one that was the most “Belden” in it’s customer base. But, even this amazing XLR cable was deemed better managed by Blue Jeans.
I know the machines are really cool, but the mental effort BEFORE a single machine is loaded is HUGE. It is WAY too costly to run machine totally blind. Even then set-up iterations have to be made to patch mistakes I make in tertiary estimates of EM field interactions in the cable. You have to now when you are off the path and STOP and quickly change the set-up to indicate that we are moving towards the paper work’s requirements. Not moving? STOP and start the design iteration to meet the numbers over again. The paper work is the nunmbers, not the design. We have TWO homework assignments. WHAT to do, then HOW to do it with a design. Last is DOING it.
L and C are log functions and a few mils can make or break the entire run if the singles insulation is not near spot on. We control that to 0.0005" but…was the TARGET correct regardless of how precise the dimensional variation is? You can end up with a precision made wrong answer.
The machines are really the desert compared to the CALCULATION (all the white papers) and DESIGN side of all this, and that’s just hours of calculations and physics. The DESIGN is not even in existence until it is slowly developed. That patented polarity weave was not even close to the first effort to tame R, L and C to make the speaker cable. Each electrical failure forced a better design if ICONOCLAST was to be really better. We even had a MACHINE failure that was not flexible enough make the design as it evolved and was scrapped.
The paper work is the boss…it is JUST “a set of numbers” true, but the physics says we have to meet every number to get what the calculations are showing.
Sometimes a small mini hand made experiments helps verify a properties influences in such tight tolerances. After all this is done…does it “work” when in-use as intended? The SOUND is ICONOCLAST. I agree, at this point it is no longer a numbers game anymore. Our tag line came from all this…
Sound Designs Create Sound Performance.
Best,
Galen
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Ok, Galen is without question, “the premier cable designer” on the planet. He has done an extraordinary job of presenting the sophisticated and complex (I’m over simplifying) processes that should be known when considering Iconoclast. But I want to make sure that everyone understands the nature of “my role.” It is no less sophisticated, complex or even less important in the process…
I have to take care of the “sometimes,” … “persnickety” audiophile. 
I absolutely love working with all of our customers!
I was going to take pictures and do a Powerpoint but… Lots of interest and orders today.
For those traveling to Axpona, please travel safely! Make sure you visit us!
Bob
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What…are…you…talking…about?
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Exactly!!
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A.D.D. + O.C.D. = Audiophile
Who else would spend the rent money on “wires” that cant possibly make any difference. But they do.
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A man with fiscal policy that mirrors my own !!
When you’re in NJ look me up and we can go to my local Hibernians Irish Club for a wee dram or two or three !
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