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DIY Hydra

marvan

On the banks of the Tay
Hi
I have had a little adventure with this using 2.5 mm copper wire in a braided configuration however it is very stiff I have concerns of it popping out of the back of the units.

I have looked at the orange belden cable, which gets good reviews, however the citicism of the is that it is stiff.

I am looking to upgrade the cable that came with the machines

Does anyone have any suggestions? or even any spare cable they would be willing to sell?

Many thanks
Marvan
 
The '50's style' cloth covered kettle cable is pretty good. There's one made of silicon rubber so it's very flexible. Got some in a DIY shop years back but unfortunately cannot remember the name. Might be worth a trawl around DIY shops and fleabay?

- John
 
B&Q do a very flexible 2.5mm2 three core industrial cable available in blue or yellow.

I don't know if it sounds any better than anything else but if its heavy duty and flexible you're after than its a good candidate.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.j...refview=search&ts=1282570966193&isSearch=true

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.j...refview=search&ts=1282571058016&isSearch=true


I use 4mm2 "YY" cable, once burned in it gives excellent results both sound wise and pretty easy to use.

Chris N
 
I spent ages trying out different cables, and ended up with some 4mm cable from a computer installation that is fairly flexible.
 
Hi
Thanks for the replies

The orange Belden cable I referred to was the 83803. There is a cheaper Belden cable the 19364. Does anyone ahve any experience of this?

Paul
I am into listening. I am also happy to use your ears! May I ask what you tried and the make of your cable?

Chris
I can only find 30 50 and 100 m quantities of the yy. I only need 5m. Do you or any one else have 5m to sell?

Cheers

Marvan
 
I tried Belden, some yellow and some blue from B&Q and others (it was a while ago, so the memory is a bit hazy). I tried two shielded cables (inc. Belden) and expected them to be great but they weren't.
The one I ended up with appears unbranded, but was from a HP computer installation and is 16A cables.
I use a B&Q junction box to join them, and I have a Naim shoebox case that I intend to put the assembly into (when I get around to it...).
I also tried re-wiring some Olsen mains plugboards, but they were disappointing.
In the end, I probably spent more on bits than a Grahams Hydra would have cost, but at least I had a bit of fun bodging.
 
I tried two shielded cables (inc. Belden) and expected them to be great but they weren't.

It is also my experience, that shielded power cables sounds worse, than unshielded :)

Tried many cables, finally ended with some "Oelflex 3x2,5mm" from "Lapp" and it sounds great.
 
Hi
Thanks for the replies

The orange Belden cable I referred to was the 83803. There is a cheaper Belden cable the 19364. Does anyone ahve any experience of this?

Paul
I am into listening. I am also happy to use your ears! May I ask what you tried and the make of your cable?

Chris
I can only find 30 50 and 100 m quantities of the yy. I only need 5m. Do you or any one else have 5m to sell?

Cheers

Marvan



Hi Mavan.
i got my YY cable from Gibbs&Dandy,they do short lengths off the reel & deliver.
Give Terry Murrey on 01234 244786 a ring, he's G&Ds wire &cable manager & very helpfull

HTH
Chris N
 
Hi Everyone
Thanks for all the interest.
It has got me thinking.
Does anyone know what makes a mains lead good? For example, what makes the new Naim Powerline better then the standard lead?.
Cheers
Marvan
 
After my investigations, I haven't got much of a clue...

I think that these are good:
- thick core (eg. 2.5mm).
- flexible.
- loose connectors.

These are bad:
- connections.
- stiff wires.
- tight-fitting plugs.
- different metals.
- screened cables.

I'm not sure about soldering...
 
It is also my experience, that shielded power cables sounds worse, than unshielded :)

Tried many cables, finally ended with some "Oelflex 3x2,5mm" from "Lapp" and it sounds great.

I've found the cy oflex classic 100 very good ......showed a clean pair of heals to some missing link mains cable at a fraction of the cost
 
Is there any consensus about minimum length of lead/hydra?

The bit that runs to the mains socket is only about 10 inches long on my Hydra - sounds fine; the leads that go to the equipment are the actual mains leads that came with my gear so about 1.2 metres.
 


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