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Post by istari_knight on Feb 7, 2015 12:19:43 GMT
LC-OFC, anyone care to share their experience ? So the story goes... 1975, Hitachi developed their own method for reducing grain or crystal boundaries. LC-OFC is Hitachi's patented process and their exclusive product. After extrusion, the copper wire is re-heated, or annealed, which reduces impurities between the crystal boundaries as the copper crystal grows and leads to a longer grain length. A typical crystal (or grain) in a 1mm diameter LC-OFC conductor is 130 mm long. Heres the patent for those interested in the nitty gritty: www.google.co.uk/patents/US4582545At present I use Brian's MS Audio / Klotz phono cables & Van Damme 2.5mm speaker cable, the Klotz were a definite upgrade over the Van Damme IC's I was previously using and I've had the VD speaker cable for 10 years now. Basically, I purchased a CD player the other day that came with some cables which on arrival turned out to be "Hitachi SAX-102 LC-OFC" - I thought nothing of it at the time yet having plumbed them in this morning it was quite possibly the greatest change in sound I've ever experienced a cable make [for the better] I'm now wondering how the Hitachi LC-OFC speaker cables stack up ? Anyone tried them ? I originally purchased the VD's out of despair with "foo" and firmly believed that once you had OFC copper of a decent gauge with quality connectors anything more was simply frivolous... I cannot understand why these Hitachi cables aren't bigger in the hifi world, they simply sound better  |
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Post by John on Feb 7, 2015 13:11:08 GMT
I remember someone recommending them years ago but never tried them
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LC-OFC ?
Feb 7, 2015 14:36:18 GMT
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Post by Sovereign on Feb 7, 2015 14:36:18 GMT
Interesting, can you still buy the interconnects ?
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Post by jammy on Feb 7, 2015 14:54:10 GMT
A typical crystal (or grain) in a 1mm diameter LC-OFC conductor is 130 mm long. (istari-knight) Thats a long crystal indeed.  |
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LC-OFC ?
Feb 7, 2015 15:03:22 GMT
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Post by Mr Whippy on Feb 7, 2015 15:03:22 GMT
The Belkin PureAV Silver speaker cable that had everyone at AOS hoopin' an' hollerin' which Frank aletered them to, was of PCOCC construction, which is also a long-grain process. It's not available now but you can get AV RGB Component PCOCC lead (5m) for £10, which might be worth a try:
180932945934
There is a flat speaker lead but no mention of it being PCOCC:
121372649520
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Post by istari_knight on Feb 7, 2015 15:09:05 GMT
Not sure if they can still be bought Sov - I doubt it new but theres seems to be loads on hifido.jp if you do a Google search. I've tried Van Damme's own LC-OFC cables Stephen & its not a patch on this Hitachi stuff... Not heard of PCOCC though, I don't think all LC-OFC cables are born equal & I want the genuine article  |
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LC-OFC ?
Feb 7, 2015 15:30:44 GMT
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Post by Mr Whippy on Feb 7, 2015 15:30:44 GMT
Well, PCOCC is good enough for 6moons, James!
A tenner for 5m - what have you got to loose?
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 7, 2015 17:46:56 GMT
Not tried it but remember it is a big favourite on Wigwam and Breckland Audio used to sell the speaker cable, maybe they still do ...
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Post by istari_knight on Feb 7, 2015 19:25:00 GMT
Fair point Stephen, I didn't realise it was that cheap !
I've just emailed Breckland out of interest... IIRC it used to be like £25ppm or something ?
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LC-OFC ?
Feb 7, 2015 20:46:13 GMT
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Post by Mr Whippy on Feb 7, 2015 20:46:13 GMT
It is an interconnect cable though and not a speaker cable.
There is an older version which is still PCOCC at £7.50 for 4.9m:
231145052600
If you search "Belkin Pure AV" you'll see what there is.
Not sure if this is what Martin (Macca AoS) uses. He's mentioned Belkin Component leads in his system before.
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Post by ChrisB on Feb 7, 2015 21:40:56 GMT
I use the Belkin Pure AV Silver cables right through my system except for tonearm cables - I've done with all of that nonsense messing about with cables. I spent years paying silly money for them, then I spent even more years making them out of more and more exotic bits and pieces. One day, I woke up thinking I'd had enough messing about and set about finding a sensible and cheap solution. The Belkins were it and I have stuck with them for a few years now, never wanting anything different. Very happy.
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LC-OFC ?
Feb 7, 2015 21:56:03 GMT
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Post by Mr Whippy on Feb 7, 2015 21:56:03 GMT
Well… can't say fairer than that!
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Post by istari_knight on Feb 7, 2015 22:20:13 GMT
I shall look into trying some of the PureAV Silver speaker cable... There's some on eBay.de but it works out around £50 delivered for a 2.4m pair.
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Post by ChrisB on Feb 7, 2015 22:38:09 GMT
Crikey, that's a lot more that I paid!
I think that Belkin had a new range and so they dumped a huge amount of them on the market in a hurry. The the laws of supply and demand took a grip and some of us did well - I got mine from several sources, one of which was particularly fruitful, as I got some that had been seperated and were being sold as digital coax. I got 10 single cables for a pound each, plus postage!
I rewired my entire system for under 80 quid and that includes plumbing up a full function pre-amp, 3 sets of speaker cables and two tape decks, one of which required 2 pairs of 7 metre cables. I'd say I may have hit the sweet spot with regard to timing!
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Post by John on Feb 7, 2015 22:43:39 GMT
Yes I was lucky too I still use the speakers cables and when I get the TT back up will use the interconnects
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LC-OFC ?
Feb 7, 2015 23:39:55 GMT
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Post by Mr Whippy on Feb 7, 2015 23:39:55 GMT
CableShark.Com have the 50ft reels for CAD 17.00 - £9. I think the postage from Canada will be more.
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Post by istari_knight on Feb 8, 2015 18:02:42 GMT
Just received a reply from Breckland: "Unfortunately no. Hitachi stopped manufacturing it, probably 10 years ago. Occassionally, it appears on Ebay."
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Post by John on Feb 8, 2015 18:08:00 GMT
Thought that might be the case, but one to look out for
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Post by istari_knight on Feb 8, 2015 19:30:31 GMT
Yes likewise, I'll keep an eye on eBay for either the Hitachi or the PureAV silver... I'm sure something will come up before long.
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LC-OFC ?
Feb 8, 2015 20:37:18 GMT
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Post by Mr Whippy on Feb 8, 2015 20:37:18 GMT
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