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Van Den Hul TIPS
& HINTS
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Van den Hul cable length markers:
Measuring cable lengths is easy since all our cables are marked with a brand and
type name printing every 25 cm. (10 inches).
Cable life and bending:
Try to avoid sharp bends in - or often bending of - any of our metal cables.
Heavy and frequent bending induces a change in the conductors crystalline
structure by displacement and fracture of their metal crystals. This gives rise
to increased Cross Crystal Distortion (CCD), causing your audio system to
gradually loose its natural clarity and start to sound harsh.
Although in our HYBRID cables the metal conductors are embedded in a Linear
Structured Carbon ® layer which is able to bridge crystal defects, it
is of course still advisable to handle your cables with care.
If you mount connectors to our cables
yourself:
- To prevent mechanical damage to the
conductors, whenever possible strip your cables with a thermal stripper, for
example your soldering device.
- The optimal soldering temperature is around
260 degrees Centigrade (around 500 degrees Fahrenheit). A lower temperature
will make a cold (brittle) joint, while higher temperatures will give you
oxidized solder. Soldering should be a matter of seconds, not minutes.
- After you have made the soldered joint, wait
5 seconds longer than normal and don’t move anything. This will make sure that
your joints are made well and will last longer.
- When available, use silver-saturated solder
(commercially available Tin/Lead/Silver (Sn/Pb/Ag) types with a 2 to 5.8 %
silver content). Or, if you can afford it, replace the tip of your soldering
device with a silver tip; This way it is guaranteed that your solder is always
100% silver saturated.
- Solder at the right temperature and don’t
apply heat too long else the cable conductors’ insulation will melt. This
increases the risk of a short circuit occurring anytime during the cable’s
life.
Please note:
Our HYBRID type interconnects use Linear Structured Carbon ® inside
the cable which, when incorrectly assembled, can cause an (intermittent) low
ohmic short circuit inside the connectors. This can give rise to all sorts of
noise, loss of sound, distortion or coloration. When mounting connectors to
our HYBRID type interconnects therefore make sure that:
- The black Linear Structured Carbon ®
layer covering all internal conductors is removed so that it can not cause
any low ohmic short circuit.
- The cable shield contains black conductive
helically wound tape, which when not removed at the ends may also cause a
low ohmic short circuit inside the connectors.
When having mounted a connector always verify with an ohm meter that the
resistance between any contact combination on the connector measures
“infinite” (open circuit). Slightly twist/bend the cable near the connectors
when performing this tests to also verify that no movement can induce a short
circuit.
- Close the cable ends as much as you can to
avoid air penetration. In the industrial world all air is polluted with
corrosive gases. Due to each day’s temperature variations the contaminated air
tends to flow in and out of your cables where in the long term it can do harm
to your audio quality.
We use the best jacket and insulation materials available, and the silver
coating on our cable’s strands makes an excellent protective shield. But
prevention is always better than replacement.
RCA connector terminated multicore cables:
shield grounding:
All our screened twin core, quadruple core and triaxial (i.e. balanced)
interconnects that are ready-made with RCA type connectors for unbalanced/asymmetric
signal transport have their shield connected to the RCA connector’s shell (=ground)
at ONE side of the cable only.
In connecting the shield to ground only at one side of the cable and lifting it
at the other side it functions as a true screen: It does not carry any audio
signal; It screens the inner conductors and drains away unwanted noise to one
location.
The location at which the cable shield is connected to the RCA connector’s shell
(=ground) generally is chosen to be at the signal source, however in few cases
better shielding performance can be obtained by reversing the cable, thus
grounding the shield at the signal receiving side.
When reading the “Van den Hul” printing on our ready-made RCA connector
terminated multicore cable types from left to right, the grounded side of the
shield is at the left hand side connector. Additionally, (as from May ’99) we
have marked the grounded side of the shield with a special sticker. This side of
the cable needs to be connected to the signal source.
If you wish to mount RCA type connectors to one of our multicore interconnects
yourself we advise you to use the same system; I.e. connect the shield to the
RCA connector’s shell (=ground) only at the “Van” side of the cable’s “Van den
Hul” printing and leave the shield disconnected at the “Hul” side.
Connectors: Clean metal contacts with our
RCA type connectors:
All our male RCA type connectors have a cut in the centre pin and multiple cuts
in their ground contact shell. Rotating them in the female connector every once
in a while and when you plug them in cleans the contacts and will collect the
removed dirt in the connector’s slots. From now on you can always work with
clean metal contacts.
Connectors: Contact treatment and protection
fluid:
Use a protection fluid like our The SOLUTION
to coat your audio, digital audio and video connectors’ contacts. Since this
fluid allows no chemical actions to take place it prevents your contacts from
oxidizing or getting dirty. Furthermore, by lubricating the contact surfaces
subtraction and insertion wear on the connector’s precious metals is reduced.
Both properties help to maintain high quality signal transfer for a long period
of time.
Interconnect versus loudspeaker cable length:
If you are using high quality cables in your system, longer interconnects and
shorter loudspeaker cables produce the best sound quality. If you’re using
lesser quality cables it’s the other way round, short interconnects and longer
speaker cables being the best combination. This because the greatest signal (quality)
loss is at the lowest levels, rather than at speaker level.
Loudspeaker cable general advice:
- It is advised to have your left and right
channel’s loudspeaker cables of equal length; This way the cable’s impedance
is the same for both channels.
- It is better to run your loudspeaker cables
as straight as possible from amp to speaker; Avoid loops and meander excessive
lengths.
- Whenever possible keep your loudspeaker
cables (but also your interconnects!) separated by some distance (at least 10
cm. (4")) from your mains cabling. Also avoid running your audio wiring in
parallel with your mains cabling.
Loudspeaker biwiring and biamping cable
advise:
Biwiring is advisable. Because the production quality of our twin-lead
loudspeaker cables is very consistent, we advise you to combine for example The
MAGNUM HYBRID with the D - 352 HYBRID or the CS - 122 HYBRID.
The D - 352 HYBRID can be combined very well with the CS - 122 HYBRID, The ROYAL
JADE HYBRID or The CLEARWATER.
In our product range we however also have special quadruple lead biwiring
loudspeaker cables available.
When biamping our above mentioned cable types of course are also equally
applicable.
When biwiring always make a good electrical connection between the two cables at
the power amp end and if possible solder them together.
When biwiring or biamping keep the two different twin-leads separated by some
distance to minimize their mutual electric interaction.
Loudspeaker cable connections:
The contact resistance (and its linearity) occurring at your loudspeaker and
amplifier’s terminals is an often overlooked point. The contact resistance of
bad connections can easily exceed the loudspeaker cable’s low resistance and
hamper your damping factor. (Mind you: there are four contact crossings in each
loudspeaker channel’s electrical current path). The use of good connectors and
being able to firmly clamp them is important.
- We strongly disadvise against simply
connecting the bare (twisted) loudspeaker cable ends directly to your
loudspeaker and amplifier’s terminals. Not all the loudspeaker cable’s strands
will make a good contact this way. They also may fray and cause a short
circuit and they even may corrode; Such connections are prone to introduce
distortion.
- If you don’t want to use proper connectors,
at least make sure that the cable ends are decently twisted and saturated with
solder (preferably silver-saturated solder, see “If you mount connectors..
(4)” above ); This guarantees that all strands make a good electrical
contact. Furthermore the cable end is now rigid and thus can be firmly clamped.
- If you prefer screw or nut type
connectors, remember that there is still air in between the two contact
surfaces. If you want to have absolutely the best connection, solder these
metal to metal contacts to seal the joint. Solder well and use
silver-saturated solder (see “If you mount connectors.. (4)” above).
(Note: You may have to use a heavy soldering iron here.
Before soldering remove any plastic connector parts that can otherwise melt!)
Cable length regarding change of connectors
and/or frequent use:
Never make your cables too short. When e.g. after intensive use you want to
change your connectors, it is easier to start with a fresh cable end by removing
a short length. It is also better; as during their use cables are most often
bent close to their connectors, the cable’s internal strands may have been
exposed to stress there. Removing some length will make more sure that you start
at a point where the internal strands haven’t been exposed to stress before and
are less prone to break.
Cable life and temperature:
For a longer lifespan, avoid running your cables near to places where high
temperatures can arise, like power amplifier heatsinks or tube equipment.
Cable life and floor placement:
Don’t stand on or walk over your cables. Especially interconnect cables with
thin internal strands can be damaged. The cable’s electrical capacitance locally
can change too. In digital audio interconnects this can worsen jitter
performance by introducing signal reflections.
Cable life regarding environment and
handling:
Bear in mind that the purest copper is only classified as OFC (Oxygen Free
Copper) directly after it has been produced and that it won’t retain the same
quality after time, especially if the wires are unprotected. As a result, the
initial quality of signal transfer does not stay forever, but rather is
influenced by all kinds of environmental and handling factors.
At our side we have taken all possible design measures to protect our cables’
conductors as good as possible. This together with your handling your cables
with care will ensure their long and pleasurable performance in high quality
listening.
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mercoledì 02 luglio 2014
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