Mega IC Shootout

[G401fan]

If you follow recent posts on the Jeff Day blog, you'd get the impression that Duelund is the last word in cables, a musical epiphany of overwhelming proportions, and that all other cable manufacturers should pack up and go home.

http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/

 

[prem]

G401fan, I have both the Duelund 16 awg and the original Western Electric 16 awg speakers cables. They are both very very good. The magic I think is because of the tinned copper. In fact Western Electric 16 awg speaker cables are used by many high end audiophiles in Japan having very expensive rigs. I too have owned expensive cables in the past but there is something magical about these 16 awg tinned copper cables. Definitely worth a try. For once I think the hype is justified

 

[Soundstage]

In my earlier post I had related my disappointment in ordering ICS from M/s Promedia long distance.

Well, I still needed to buy some ICs and happened to be in Andheri last weekend, just 10 minutes away from their office, so decided to give them the benefit of doubt and try again. I mean, what could go wrong if I just confirmed the availability over the phone, walked across to their office and made a cash purchase?

So, I called them up on Friday evening, spoke to the gentleman in question, asked him if 4 nos. were available, accepted the price quoted and told him I would come over in person to collect the items the next day by 12 noon. He agreed, asked for my telephone number to text me his address. Next morning, at 11 am, there being no SMS, I called him again and told him I'd be at his shop/office by 1 pm. At 1 pm, called him again to get his location, but found the phone just ringing with nobody answering at the other end. Kept trying till 2.30 pm, but to no avail.

Incredible way of running a business!

 

[amit11]

I too had some similar experience. Seems they are less interested in retail selling.

Anyways...coming to IC,..i too had tried many options, brands, hand made etc. I had finally got mogami 2803. After that i needed one more and i thought i will go for a cheaper one.. purchased two - three different ones..but finally once again i ended up buying another set of mogami 2803. I was thinking to myself if i would have gone for it in the first place itself.
So my point is mogami 2803 is such a good cable that i dont think cables twice its price can compete with it. There is something to mogami 2803 which makes it so likeable and after listening to it, it is difficult to like any other cable.

Sent from Note5

 

[jls001]

IAt 1 pm, called him again to get his location, but found the phone just ringing with nobody answering at the other end. Kept trying till 2.30 pm, but to no avail.

Incredible way of running a business!

That's seriously unprofessional of Promedia:sad:

 

[jls001]

In my case I run the 30 gauge from buffer to power amp so that it benefits both the digital and analog chains.

I'm facing a curious and strange problem with the Duelund 16 gauge IC I made. I was away for quite some time from home (5+ weeks). When I came back, I switched on my setup but couldn't hear a sound from either analog or digital sources.

After isolating everything in the chain I found that the Duelund 16 gauge IC were showing open when tested with a multimeter continuity beeper. Curious, I checked further and found that one wire showed about 56 kOhms and the other nearly 70kOhms. An IC shouldn't be more than a few milliohms so needless to say this IC behaves like an open circuit and is useless. I'm at a loss how to explain this. Oxidation of the tinned copper wire?

 

[panditji]

That's seriously unprofessional of Promedia:sad:

And then they will complain that Indian customers don't buy from them...

 

[Nikhil]

I'm facing a curious and strange problem with the Duelund 16 gauge IC I made. I was away for quite some time from home (5+ weeks). When I came back, I switched on my setup but couldn't hear a sound from either analog or digital sources.

After isolating everything in the chain I found that the Duelund 16 gauge IC were showing open when tested with a multimeter continuity beeper. Curious, I checked further and found that one wire showed about 56 kOhms and the other nearly 70kOhms. An IC shouldn't be more than a few milliohms so needless to say this IC behaves like an open circuit and is useless. I'm at a loss how to explain this. Oxidation of the tinned copper wire?

Josh,

That is really interesting ... I guess you might be right.
Mumbai's humidity in the monsoon is very high and could be the reason.

Something to keep in ming with the unshielded Duelands I guess.

Regards

 

[blackscorpio]

Where could we get the Duelund Coherent Audio DCA 16GA?

any place in Hyderabad?

 

[prem]

It's only available from Parts Connexion in Canada or from Hifi Collective in U.K.

 

[dheerajin]

It's only available from Parts Connexion in Canada or from Hifi Collective in U.K.

Prem,

I can bring it from US. What do you think about it compared to Mogami 2803 IC.

 

[sann]

Hi Joshua,

Do you think the WE16GA would also exhibit this characteristic?

 

[prem]

@Dheerajin, the Duelund 16 awg is a speaker cable.

@Sann, I dont know why Joshua had this problem with the Duelund 30 awg ic. If its got to do with moisture, then its unlikely WE cable will have the same problem. WE cable has some rubber or could even be pvc sheath around the wire. The cotton covering is over and above this sheath. In case of Duelund there is no sheath. Theres just a cotton covering. So I guess its more susceptible to picking up moisture

 

[dheerajin]

Dheerajin, the Duelund 16 awg is a speaker cable.

Oh my bad..
By the way my speaker cable is tinned plate copper(supra quadrax) supplying only low and mid frequency to speakers. Do you think tinned plated copper exhibit the same characteristics as duelund.

 

[prem]

I wouldnt know Dheerajin. I have only heard WE and Duelund tinned copper speaker cables. I like both of them. Both these cables are fairly similar sounding

My suggestion is if you like what you have right now, leave it as it is. Cables are a never ending thing. Every cable will bring its own, small differences to the sound

 

[SwaroopKS]

Josh,

That is really interesting ... I guess you might be right.
Mumbai's humidity in the monsoon is very high and could be the reason.

Something to keep in ming with the unshielded Duelands I guess.

Regards

I feel we are missing something here. Tin does not oxidize due to moisture. In fact tin coating is used in some cables to prevent the oxidation of other metals like copper.

So 1. Not sure if the issue is due to oxidation and
2. That such oxidation could be caused due to moisture

Also the cable description itself says it has high affinity for moisture and cable would not have static charges because of it.

 

[jls001]

I don't know what's the cause, but I too feel that tin should not oxidise to form some other compound that has very high resistance. I have used tinned copper cables in the past and they work flawlessly. In fact my favourite wires are tinned copper (and solid core copper too).

Also, there are three pairs of cables besides mine made from the same stock of 1m Duelund 16 AWG wire and they're working perfectly (so far).

Two of these cables use Neutrik REAN RCA connectors, one uses Neutrik gold plated XLR. Mine was using Neutrik ProFi RCA. I've tested my ProFi plugs after desoldering and they're all normal.

I've also checked the resistance values of the Duelund wires again after completely desoldering from the RCA plugs and they still show the same high resistance as mentioned before. My point being, proceed with some caution if you're keen to make your own cables with the Duelund wires. Or just buy the Belden 8402 from btpa.com

 

[dheerajin]

Other vendor any idea please?

Sent from my SM-N9208 using Tapatalk

https://www.fruugoindia.com/audio-cable-2-x-034-mm2-black-helukabel/p-5708464-12737787

 

[amit11]

Shipping is 3600 +
Cable Rate is 130

Sent from Note5

 

[dheerajin]

Shipping is 3600 +
Cable Rate is 130

Sent from Note5

that means, it is shipped from abroad , site name is misleading