Soundlab M1 and Alpha-Core cables

Sean, thank you for your reply. At the risk of appearing argumentative, wouldn't it be possible to twist these tubes in such a manner so that the same side of each coductor would maintain contact? The only reason I suggest this arrangement is because Alpha-core suggests that "purling" has some advantages. Perhaps we could even abandon the idea of twisting. Would hollow oval tubes have an advantage over solid oval conductors?

Sean,

Thanks for the clarification. I have rather enjoyed the AC MI-2 cables over the last year or so. However, I have been interested in doing A/B comparisons against the AC MI-2 just for the heck of it. The Magnan's were on the list, but now I think I'm going to give the Supra Swords a listen instead.

Unsound: If you look at how Alpha does their "purling", the conductors are "stacked together" and THEN twisted. As such, their impedance remains consistent and they are not configured as a standard "twisted pair" configuration. Maybe i misinterpreted what you were saying i.e. the twisted pair configuration and ended up putting words in your mouth, but that's what came to mind. It would be hard to keep "hollow" cables "stacked together" when using some type of core, hence my "logical deduction".

Clio09: As far as the Magnan's go, they might well be worth a shot. The reference might have some slight theoretical advantages over the Goertz and it would be an interesting comparison. The foil would have even less skin effect than the "strapping" that Goertz uses, although i see the potential for a far less consistent impedance in that specific configuration. That is, the Goertz conductors tend to cling together relatively tightly in the way that they are bound. I don't think that the Magnan's are built in similar fashion.

On top of that, it would be easier for the foil to kink, bend, crinkle and / or seperate from one another, potentially introducing other electrical side effects. All of this is besides the previously discussed comments pertaining to how the foils themselves are terminated.

As far as speaker cables go, there's a comparison that i wanted to make for quite some time. I purchased the necessary parts quite some time ago, but never got around to it. Once i could put these cables together, the end result would be a conductor that was nearly equivalent to the Goertz MI-2's in gauge with a similar, but slightly higher nominal impedance. Due to the materials used, skin effect should be slightly reduced and treble speed may be slightly increased.

This is all theory though, so until i can get around to doing this and performing the associated tests, it's all a moot point. As we all know, there can sometimes be major divurgences between theory and reality : ) Sean
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PS... When making comparisons, try not to confuse "different" for "better". It's an easy thing to do because of the "newness factor" : )

Thanks again Sean. Dave is 40 miles down the road from me. Maybe I'll give him a call and chat with him to see if I can get a pair on a trial basis.

BTW - Did the prices drop on the AC MI-2 cables. I was looking to get a 6 ft. pair (silver spades) as a result of reconfiguring my system and the cost came out to a whopping $209 with shipping.

Clio09: I have NO idea what Alpha-Core or their dealers are charging for their products nowadays. I haven't purchased any cabling in quite some time.

Other than that, i don't know who "Dave" is, but if he's chosen to carry Goertz speaker cabling as a product line, give him a pat on the back for me, will ya??? : ) Sean
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