September 27, 2012

• DIY Cable Elevators

  The subject of today’s review is DIY cable elevators.  There are a variety of products commercially available that address this topic ranging in price from a few dollars each to $30 apiece, or more.   

  I’ve gone the Do-It-Yourself route using 7-ounce plastic drinking cups.  You could also use toilet paper rolls with notches cut out of them and painted any decorator color you wish, three chop sticks tied together wigwam style, etc.  The limiting factor is your imagination. The plastic drinking cups were purchased at a local supermarket at a cost of 3¢ each.  I buy them periodically anyway for home use, so no special purchase was required in this case.  I used 8 cups to elevate my current set of Sanders ESL speaker cables, for a resulting total investment of 24¢.  While these may not be very attractive, they are functional.  

  There is also the question of whether this approach might be susceptible to an electrostatic charge build-up on the cables being suspended.  As a result, I may be substituting one problem, namely the dielectric effect of having my speaker cables resting on my synthetic fiber carpeting, for another.  

  According to one cable lifter manufacturer, Shunyata, this is a problem with all products of this type other than their own Dark Field Cable Elevator's and Dark Field Mini Cable Elevator's.  Readers interested in these technical aspects, are directed to the links provided.

   

  Left Channel                                                                                       Bridge to Right Channel
       
  

  Although it isn’t clear in the photographs, the speaker cables do not touch the ground and the apparently coiled portion is also free standing with no contact between the wire.  

  Waterfall
  
  

  The set-up of the Waterfall is not optimal and when I play LPs, there will need to be some adjustments made, but for the moment, this is what it looks like.
   

  How does it work?  Surprising well, actually.  There is a subtle but noticeable increase in clarity.  Lower level detail comes to the fore and as a result, the sound stage benefits as well with images embedded a little more solidly.

   

  Do these plastic cups work as well as the more expensive elevators?  I don’t know as I’ve never tried them but this may be a good place to start, and, if you’re satisfied with the results, it could be a good place to finish.  They’re certainly not as attractive as some of the commercially available elevators but if aesthetics aren’t of much importance to you, and you just want to experiment and discover whether there’s a difference in your system, then give them a try.

   

  NB:  If you'd like to read my impressions of the Sanders Sound Systems ESL speaker cables, you can find it here:  review.
  

   

  • 9:11 am
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