will
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Perhaps a side-track, or perhaps a compliment to the thread, cables mattering to the SDFB as much or more than with anything else. I could go on for a long time about different design considerations, nice ready-made cables with your selection of ends, etc, but I hope this helps answer your question Sean.
I remember looking at theories that with relatively high quality power cords longer can be better... A long time ago, so don’t remember details, but as I recall, a theory is that they are functioning as a conditioner/filter, and within reason, longer offers more. Thinking about it now, I can conceptually imagine this with these ideas: electrons with wire that allows easier/more fluid movement, along with less noise susceptibility due to careful/by-sound geometry, and in many cases, with shielding designs that hopefully do not degrade other aspects of the sound as they reduce noise… I can imagine this combo could condition/smooth the power by making the electron paths and activities cleaner and easier.
That said, I have made some good sounding cables that are pretty short, and recently, very short, making some “piggies” that are a little shorter than Mark's, cables that to me are more musical and complete than Mark’s already pretty transparent piggies. And one being in front of my power regenerator that feeds the amp and pre-stages, it is the beginning after a very transparent receptacle… and it was a system upgrade.
Also when I have added clear quartz filters in bags, or boxes, or cast, on cable ends or fitted in the cable wires near the ends, it changes the sound for the better...less noise and more complex resolution, speed and space… And other crystal rocks can be nice, clarifying and nicely colored, while others I have rejected. But smallish tumbled clear quartz crystal pieces are quite neutral, and do some nice magic.
I did not build those into my special “piggies,” but do have “a bag of rocks” under the AC end of the cables, helping the cable and the receptacle. Just a little thickish plastic bag some resistors or small caps came in. And these filters are cumulative in effect. Having explored them over many years, I have variations using different minerals I liked that lend different balances to the sound placed all over the place (over transformers, IEC and AC ends, under tube circuits….) each chosen by sound and pure quartz most used I guess, finding clear quartz to be most transparent, dynamic, and spacious.
At some point I started adding them into the structure of some power cables. Which leads me to length again. I had a, I think(???) 3 foot, MyAudioCable HC (high current) braided 10 gauge silver plate on copper cable that seemed very similar to Decware cables at the time. Bought on a promotion sale, it was pretty cheap, and was one of my early cable upgrades. I was no longer using it after finding 10 gauge in the case of this cable was a little too full/thick/slow sounding for me.
When he was upgrading his system some years ago, I wanted to express some appreciation for Dom for the work he does, and being a really good guy. So I decided to try to make this cable as good as I could... hopefully an upgraded addition to the Decware cable he had, and if it came out sounding really good, give it to him. It finally sounded quite good to me... not as good as cables I have made with design, materials, and geometry that more easily allow refined levels of speed, resolution, and tonal balances, but quite good. I used some Neotech gold plated UPOCC copper ends I got years ago at a good price when they were discontinued…After hearing them, I got a number of pairs over time… This was before UPOCC had been recognized like it is now, and they are really good sounding ends. But with that cable wires and geometry, I knew it could use a little more help to bring it out more fully, hoping for a little more speed and spaciousness/complexity. So I integrated some Orgonite-like quartz based filter pieces I had been experimenting with that I made specifically for audio. I think this was near the AC end (?) built into in the wire braid. Pretty sure I used small packets of quartz powder held in some pretty strong plastic near the cable/ends connections as well. To me, changing the brass ends to UPOCC, and the quartz filters, made an OK cable really musical and relatively complete. And it was pretty short!
So, if it is a good gauge for your sound needs, I guess cutting your what, 5-6 foot DHC-2 cable in half could work pretty well. But to make it better, I would encourage you to buy some small tumbled quartz rocks from a highly rated seller, and experiment with different amounts of it in little bags at both ends of the cable. Also I can’t tell for sure, but it looks like those ends could be brass(???), and if so, I would look for some nice pure copper ends, or pure copper with gold, silver, or rhodium plate… each plate having a different sound. And if you want to try some that are not very high cost, but can be quite good, check out Chinese made audiophile ends, perhaps on Ebay from a highly rated seller. I buy things relatively regularly from AliExpress and have not had any issues I could not solve, but I get that the added security of Ebay/Paypal together if there is an issue feels more comfortable to a lot of folks. Hope this helps.
Will
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