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24.87.41.101
The PureAv cable is 16AWG and of twin axial geometry, with two PE insulated speaker cables enclosed in a thick gray PVC jacket. Each cable is made up of PCOCC copper strands of varying gauges which Belkin calls "hybrid" geometry. I bought a 100' roll for just $36 + shipping from Provantage.com (part number AV53102). At only $0.36/ft his is perhaps the best deal in bulk pcocc cable anywhere in the world!My Quad 22L speakers are AWG hungry, so I decided to use one set of PureAv for the HF terminal and three sets of PureAv for the LF terminal - in "twisted triad" form as depicted in the picture. This gives an aggregate of 11.5 going to LF. (Previously I had been running DHLabs T14 and Q10 speaker cable in external bi-wire configuration, with one set of T14 going to the HF and one set of Q10 going to the LF).
The PureAv cable required about 20 - 25 hours of run in to remove the initial congestion, after which it started to sound smooth and articulate. Doing an A/B with the DHLabs Q10 combo, I found the PureAv to be more articulate in the midrange to midbass region. It was filling in a huge gap that the DHLabs Q10 seems to be "glossing over". This particular difference was more than subtle. Even on deep bass notes, I found the PureAv to be a tad more delineated, revealing more timbre.
I found the DHLabs emphasizes the treble more, with female vocals sounding a bit more forward than the PureAv. Also, the DHLabs seems to have a bit more of the top end sparkle.
The PureAV's treble is detailed but does not have the added forwardness. The top end extension is pretty good, with the sparkle not as apparent as the DHLabs.
In the end its in the midrange where the PureAv really excels, bringing out body and details that the DHLabs simply glosses over. I find the soundstage from the PureAv fuller when listening to full range ensembles. Overall, the sound of the PureAv is natural, detailed, musical and non-fatiguing. Listening to the PureAv,I find there's no sugar coating or silver lining, just pure relaxing, music.
Because of DHLabs extra smoothness and top end sparkle, it might be appealing choice to many. But I find it hard to put back the DHLabs on my system. The PureAv stays on for now.
Canadian buyers note that TheSonyStore carries this cable for $79 CAD ($70 USD) per 50' roll. Provantage, who sells 100' rolls for $36 USD, ships via DHL whose brokerage fee is very modest compared to UPS. (They charged me just $7 CAD for the brokerage fee plus $5 GST).
Stripping the cable can be a bear, so please check the links at the bottom of this post for some tips. The central strand, of about 22AWG, is individually insulated with its own PE jacket and must be stripped before terminating.
___________C N Machani
Follow Ups:
When you terminated the wire, did you use only the solid core wire or did you also wrap the stranded speaker wire around the solid core ?
I wrapped the stranded speaker wire around the solid core. Note that there were three cores per terminal. The three cores plus strands fit into each Vampire spade only after some twisting with a pair of pliers. After inserting the wires and crimping, I applied Cardas solder by heating the joint and letting the solder flow through.
___________C N Machani
My poor step-son easily has over 100 hrs on his new Nordoest cables and they are still congested. I am really uneasy about going to solid copper wire. He has very long runs, but I pulled his speakers up close to the amp and used my AN Lexus cable to see if maybe the problem was not somewhere else. The difference was night and day. It's those bloody cables.I think I'll try one of the litz construction cables already suggested.
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK Belkin PureAV review
_______________________________________*Analog fans may be blind-but digital fans are deaf*
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82495693@N00/
I've been listing to my two runs biwire DH Labs T-14's for a few years now on my Usher CP-6371 monster tower speakers. 4ohm 89db's.I really want to upgrade them badly for awhile now but the alternatives so far cost so much. Must like the Harmonic technology Pro 9 Plus speaker cables. Another attractice choice is VH Audio's new Neotech UP-OCC Bulk Speaker Cables in BULK. NES - 3004 at $50 a meter cable. Thats very expensive. That's $300 for a set of 9' pair speaker cables! Same cost at used HT Pro 9's. sigh.
Maybe your speaker cables is a nice cheap alternative. I wonder what Jon Risch thinks of these Belden cables compared to his JR DIY 89289 cables.
_______________________________________*Analog fans may be blind-but digital fans are deaf*
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82495693@N00/
I think Belkin has got a basic good design in their bulk PureAv pcocc speaker cables. They use a "precision formulated" PE dielectric and the strands are of varying gauges. The individual PE insulation on the thick solid-core thick center strand is perhaps to prevent "strand jumping" to that strand. IMHO, this cable does an excellent job of carrying the frequencies accross the audio spectrum.On the negative side, the thick PVC outer jacket may contribute negatively.
This could also be an excellent DIY cable. Just strip out the PVC outer jacket and you've got yourself two 16AWG bulk wires with PE dielectric as low as $0.18/ft each (@ $36/100ft from Provantage).
___________C N Machani
I see that you twisted 3 sets of these cables to your midrange. Why 3 and not 2 sets? Seems like an odd random number. If I wanted to build a bigger cable than the 16awg that comes stock I would think to double up on it. Why did you go with 3 cables?
_______________________________________*Analog fans may be blind-but digital fans are deaf*
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82495693@N00/
StylinLP,From past trial and error experience, I figured my Quad 22L's needed at least 12AWG going to the LF terminal. (Note these speakers are crossed over at 3KHz, so one run of 16AWG or 14AWG is more than sufficient for the HF terminal).
If I doubled up the 16AWG, I would have got just 13AWG. Hence the three runs, which gives an aggregate of about 11.5AWG. To tell you the truth, I did not compare 2 runs versus 3.
Is there any particular reason I should use an even number instead of odd?
Thanks,
___________C N Machani
Oh, I was just curious trying to learn something. I didn't know what the awg came out to till you just told me. Makes sense to want the awg to be below 12awg. Thanks
_______________________________________*Analog fans may be blind-but digital fans are deaf*
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82495693@N00/
Doesn't come as much of a surprise since the slightly sterile aspect of the DH Labs Q10/T14 is the weakness of that wire, though it does seem to do the frequency extremes well compared to price competitors. I'd rate the T14 a very good buy but as Q10 doesn't seem to bring much extra to the table I wouldn't vouch for it. Perhaps in a overly romantic sounding system T14 would be just what the Dr. ordered.
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
bjh,
To be fair, I did enjoy the DHLabs T14/Q10 combo for over a year. Like you said, they handle the frequency extremes well. However, I never did realize what was missing in the articulation of the mids until I tried the PureAv.It might just be a matter of synergy. The DHLabs Q10 with its thick silver coating is perhaps too "fast" for the midbass driver of my Quad 22L speakers.
Cheers,
___________C N Machani
I terminated the PureAv with Vampire SPD spades and Cardas solder. Note that the termination of the "twisted triad" has three red and three black speaker wires going to each spade.In this external biwire configuration, I have the "twisted triad" of PureAv going to the LF.
If this image looks confusion, its because I have a single DHLabs T14 cable going to HF. Using T14 for the HF seems to bring back a tad bit of the top end sparkle. There's a very, very slight discontinuity at the top end, which does not bother me much.
___________C N Machani
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