Zu Cable Oxyfuel any good?

[Walker]

Hi, I'm looking for new interconnects, does anybody have experience with the Zu Cable Oxyfuel interconnects. I’m also looking at the Belden 1505F with Canare plugs (Blue Jeans Cable). The interconnect will be used to connect a Cambridge Audio azur 540 amp with a CA azur 540 cd-player.
Please advice.
Thanks,
Walker

[Tony_Montana]

I would go with Belden 1505F cable with Canare connectors. Very high quality stuff :)

[Bill L]

I use Zu WAX speaker cables and BoK power cables. Really nice for the money. Zu sells on Ebay and includes their 60 day money back guarantee. You just pay shipping if you decide to send them back.

[ToddB]

If the cable geometry you've decided you want is coax, another option is the IC from VH Audio (http://www.vhaudio.com/), which uses teflon as the dielectric instead of the polyethylene used in the Zu and the BJC, and it's priced between them.

The most similarly designed ICs I've used that allowed a comparison of sound quality between teflon and PE are the Kimber Tonik and Timbre. The Tonik was .5 meter longer, and the Timbre had upgraded connectors, but overall the Timbre was such a subjective and qualitative sonic improvement over the Tonik that I simply don't believe the improved connectors were solely responsible, but rather, that it was the use of teflon that provided much of the improvement. And this is in a system with an integrated amp/CD player combo that's probably at or below the general resolution range of the combo you're using.

All of the companies have at least 30 day return policies, so you could demo them all against each other to see which one hits the best price/performance ratio for you. You'd be out the shipping, obviously, but a direct comparison is an option, if you're so inclined.

[Tony_Montana]

The most similarly designed ICs I've used that allowed a comparison of sound quality between teflon and PE [polyethylene] are the Kimber Tonik and Timbre. The Tonik was .5 meter longer, and the Timbre had upgraded connectors, but overall the Timbre was such a subjective and qualitative sonic improvement over the Tonik that I simply don't believe the improved connectors were solely responsible, but rather, that it was the use of teflon that provided much of the improvement.

If you look at dielectric properties of Teflon and Polyethylene (Constant K), they are almost identical...Teflon having Constant K of 2.1 and polyethylene's Constant being 2.2. So saying that sound improvement was because of Teflon (vs Polyethylene), might be a little over statement :)

[ToddB]

I totally forgot about the coax ICs built upon the Jon Risch recipe that uses Belden 89259 cable, LOL. They also use teflon, and should cost in the same price range your looking at.

[ToddB]

If you look at dielectric properties of Teflon and Polyethylene (Constant K), they are almost identical...Teflon having Constant K of 2.1 and polyethylene's Constant being 2.2. So saying that sound improvement was because of Teflon (vs Polyethylene), might be a little over statement :)
It's easy enough to find comments from other people who've also done listening comparisons between cables and agree that teflon sounds better than PE, so I'm comfortable with my conclusion.

[FLZapped]

It's easy enough to find comments from other people who've also done listening comparisons between cables and agree that teflon sounds better than PE, so I'm comfortable with my conclusion.

Teflon has it's drawbacks too. It is more sensitive to static build up, suffers from greater piezo electric effect, and will cold flow if damaged.

-Bruce

[Tony_Montana]

Teflon has it's drawbacks too. It is more sensitive to static build up, suffers from greater piezo electric effect, and will cold flow if damaged.

Agree :)

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/prophead/messages/8392.html

[FLZapped]

Agree :)

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/prophead/messages/8392.html

I did some tests that show this ringing under various loads vs polyethalene:

http://members.fortunecity.com/flzapped/ouch_intro.html

You'll want to shut off your javascript before going there as they have become absolutely pop-up nuts, including using windows messaging service to defeat pop-up blockers. One day, I'll find another host.

Make sure you read the intro carefully first before going to the data......

-Bruce

[E-Stat]

You'll want to shut off your javascript before going there as they have become absolutely pop-up nuts, including using windows messaging service to defeat pop-up blockers. One day, I'll find another host.
SP2's popup blocker worked just fine.

rw

[FLZapped]

SP2's popup blocker worked just fine.

rw


That's good. At work I cannot shut off or defeat the Windows messenger service....at home, though.......

-Bruce

[ToddB]

Teflon has it's drawbacks too. It is more sensitive to static build up, suffers from greater piezo electric effect, and will cold flow if damaged.

The question, then, would be whether the sonic benefits of using teflon outweigh those drawbacks. To me they clearly do, but if you have experience to the contrary, I'm sure Walker would like to hear about it.

[FLZapped]

The question, then, would be whether the sonic benefits of using teflon outweigh those drawbacks. To me they clearly do, but if you have experience to the contrary, I'm sure Walker would like to hear about it.

Considering there are no sonic benifits, that makes the answer easy.

[Walker]

Thanks for the input, somewhat technical but I know much more now.
Last week I bought the Belden 1505F interconnect (Canare plugs/ Bluejeans.com).
After over 200 hours of continues play I’m unimpressed with them. I compared them with a pair of AR pro-series and a pair of Stinger cables (both cheaper cables). I tried many different cd’s, played them on low and high volumes and I made detailed notes of characteristics so I could compare.The Belden/Canare cables sounded a better and cleaner than the AR cables, but I could not tell any differences between the cheap Stinger cable and the (for me expensive) Belden cable.
I did hear a noticeable difference between the AR and the other 2 cables, so I “believe” cables can make a difference.
So, the Belden is probably going back and I’m still looking for an affordable interconnect.
Any suggestions (DIY?)
Thanks,
Walker

System:
Cambridge Audio Azur 540A Amp.
Cambridge Audio Azur 540C CD Player
B&W DM 603-S2 Speakers

[ToddB]

Thanks for the input, somewhat technical but I know much more now.
Last week I bought the Belden 1505F interconnect (Canare plugs/ Bluejeans.com).
After over 200 hours of continues play I’m unimpressed with them. I compared them with a pair of AR pro-series and a pair of Stinger cables (both cheaper cables). I tried many different cd’s, played them on low and high volumes and I made detailed notes of characteristics so I could compare.The Belden/Canare cables sounded a better and cleaner than the AR cables, but I could not tell any differences between the cheap Stinger cable and the (for me expensive) Belden cable.
I did hear a noticeable difference between the AR and the other 2 cables, so I “believe” cables can make a difference.
So, the Belden is probably going back and I’m still looking for an affordable interconnect.
Any suggestions (DIY?)
Thanks,
Walker

System:
Cambridge Audio Azur 540A Amp.
Cambridge Audio Azur 540C CD Player
B&W DM 603-S2 Speakers

Hmm, I wouldn't have expected that result. What Stinger IC did you use, and what are you using for speaker cable? Also, what length ICs are you using? What is it about your current ICs that you don't like or are wanting to change?

DIY will undoubtedly offer you better bang for the buck than a commercial offering, but the drawback is that you're not going to be able to return a DIY cable if you don't like it.

[Geoffcin]

I did hear a noticeable difference between the AR and the other 2 cables, so I “believe” cables can make a difference.
So, the Belden is probably going back and I’m still looking for an affordable interconnect.
Any suggestions (DIY?)
Thanks,
Walker

System:
Cambridge Audio Azur 540A Amp.
Cambridge Audio Azur 540C CD Player
B&W DM 603-S2 Speakers

I use Homegrown Audio Silver Lace. You can purchase these fully assembled, or DIY. I have done ABX with my cables, and some pretty good cables from Audioquest, and the Silver Lace trounced them. Homegrown Audio is very well known on AudiogoN.com, I would look for a pair over there.

[ToddB]

I use Homegrown Audio Silver Lace. You can purchase these fully assembled, or DIY. I have done ABX with my cables, and some pretty good cables from Audioquest, and the Silver Lace trounced them. Homegrown Audio is very well known on AudiogoN.com, I would look for a pair over there.

LOL, I actually had included a reference to the DIY sets available at Homegrown Audio, as well as the Jon Risch DIY set available from DIYCable.com, but deleted them so my post wouldn't be so convoluted. Additionally, the HGA braided designs aren't shielded, which might be a problem if he's in a high-RFI area. I haven't had any problems with braided ICs, but if he does, he won't be able to return a DIY purchase.

Which Audioquest IC of yours was it that got trounced by the Silver Lace?

[Walker]

Hmm, I wouldn't have expected that result. What Stinger IC did you use, and what are you using for speaker cable? Also, what length ICs are you using? What is it about your current ICs that you don't like or are wanting to change?

DIY will undoubtedly offer you better bang for the buck than a commercial offering, but the drawback is that you're not going to be able to return a DIY cable if you don't like it.

I used the "Stinger Hyper series OFC Directional Twisted" (3 feet)
The Belden/Canare is 2 feet. My speaker cable is Monster M-series (bi-wire) this was a big improvement over the Home Depot cables I was using.

Don’t get me wrong, the Belden/Canare sounds very good but surprisingly the Stinger sounds very good as well. I have been using the Stinger interconnect for years in my HT- system, maybe the Belden needs more time, or … perhaps Stinger cables are pretty good.
Thanks for input.
Walker

[Tony_Montana]

Additionally, the HGA braided designs aren't shielded, which might be a problem if he's in a high-RFI area.

Not only that, but any metallic objects [or current carrying wires] that are near these type of cables can effect the cable and degrade their performance...hence shielded cables :)

[Geoffcin]

Not only that, but any metallic objects [or current carrying wires] that are near these type of cables can effect the cable and degrade their performance...hence shielded cables :)

Using these cables at all. As a matter of fact I switched from using a shielded cable to these. The Litz braid inherently rejects RFI, and a lot of cable manufactures use this design just for that property. My audio installation is electrically busy, but I get dead silence out of these cables even at full gain. Homegrown has a 30 day trial period, so if there's any problem it's easy to get a refund.