Doug Schroeder Method, Double ic

A couple of experiences to share, all on 1.5M interconnects between my DAC and preamp:

I tried a double run of AQ Fire with two AQ F-shaped splitters. One cable 1.5M and the other 1M long. I noticed a meaningful improvement over a single AQ Fire cable, in all the dimensions described by others. The improvement was enough to prove to me the results of the method. Is the improvement enough to justify the cost of another set of AQ Fire cables? Maybe.

I also tried a double run of Mogami neglex star quad wired into Neutrik connectors. You may be thinking, is it possible to fit four runs of Mogami neglex into a Neutrik XLR connector and the answer is yes, it is possible, but only after radical surgery on the back of the connector. I don’t recommend trying this, it’s a pain. The results, using this cable in place of my regular AQ Fire... different but not better. Possibly it wasn’t worse, but I ended up going back to the AQ Fire after a few days.

I then decided to try building a set of double-run cables using 12 ga. Duelund hook-up wire and Rean RCA plugs, which is what I had on hand. If you are thinking "is it possible to fit four 12 ga Duelund wires into a RCA plug" the answer is yes it is possible, but it is a colossal pain in the ass. I really wish I had paid Bill Dion to do this job and spent the day doing literally anything else. It took me about 7 hours and I never want to see my soldering iron or this Duelund stuff and its cotton insulation again. Argh.

The results though... totally worth it. Wider soundstage, better separation, tighter bass. I’ve only had them in for an hour, and I can’t remember if the cables I cannibalized for this project were broken in or not, so we’ll see what happens there.

I hope all that is helpful for someone.

@douglas_schroeder Thanks! Sadly my Aesthetix Callisto is back at the mother ship right now, so I'm testing with the Romulus Eclipse DAC and a Quicksilver Line Stage. But it still sounds great.

And for the avoidance of any doubt: Yes, I built four 12 gauge wires in one RCA plug. And again, this is not recommended with Duelund wire, the shell of the jack is going to tear up the insulation when you take it on/off, which you're going to do a thousand times trying to cram the solder joints in there. It's a nightmare.

Question: Has anybody tried 3 pair of signal wires in a single XLR connector? Or have other sets of no-splitter triples been built and are they found to beat doubles?