Product: TNT Triple T speaker cable
Company: not for sale, TNT-Audio free DIY design
Approx. cost: few Euro/$, depending on configuration/lenght
Author: Stefano Monteferri

Many of you have already tried and built our original TNT Triple T speakers cable and got interesting and quite satisfactory results. Anyway, the Triple T hasn't always been a bed of roses and some reader has found it not adequate for his system.
As a general caveat, please let me remind you that the CAT 5-based speaker cables have quite a high capacitance, making them unwelcomed by amplifiers without Zobel output network like Naim's and NVA's.

Since I am well aware of the fact that varying the role of the cables "into" the Triple T braid different sonic results could be achieved and considering how many different sounding HiFi set-ups are available I've finally decided to propose 8 different configurations, so to satisfy (hopefully!) everyone's taste.

Many (Italian) readers have already experimented these "Triple T variations on a theme" and found them quite interesting, depending on the system used. The good news is that you don't need to "unlace" the big Triple T braid to test these different configurations! All you have to do is play a little with terminations and "pairings" (color codes of wires).

I'm not going to describe every single configuration sonic behaviour, as you can discover these by yourself. I'd only comment that twisting (pairing) techniques applied to the internal conductors give a more controlled and focused sound while - otherwise - the sound can be more relaxed and "easy-going", which could be a "plus" for certain razor-sharp or dry set-ups.

Here we go with the variations.

Coloured marks for configurations  "n. 3-4-5-6". Note the marks! Green  for the tweeter and red for the woofer.

Configuration n.1

I shall consider as Configuration N. 1 that of the original TripleT cable: a symmetric bi-wiring scheme which makes use of the same conductors for woofer and tweeter with the usual "twisting pairs" technique.

Configuration n.2

This is essentially the same as in N. 1, but for monowiring. Hence, terminations at the speaker's end must be the same as at amplifier's end.

Configuration n.3

This variation "breaks" the Triple T simmetry and uses (for bi-wiring) two pairs for the woofer and 1 pair for the tweeter. This means the bass range uses a larger cross-section than the high range. In some sense this seems natural, considering the bass range requires a larger amount of current. You should change the terminations at the loudspeaker's end only, while at amplifier's end nothing changes (refer to the picture for color codes).

Configuration n.4

This is similar to the previous one, for biwiring, but the "pairing technique" is used only for the high range. Hence, for the woofer, you make use of white and coloured wires paired together for the + pole and the second pair for the - pole. This means that the high range configuration is the same as in N. 3.

With this configuration you need to change the termination even at the amplifier's end since these are different from the original N. 1 configuration. Warning! Use a tester to avoid electrical contacts between + and - poles!

Configuration n.5

This is, in some sense, opposite to the configuration N. 4: you still use two cables for the bass and 1 for the highs but this time the "pairing technique" is applied to the wires for the bass. The tweeter is hence connected with white and coloured wires joined together.

Of course, even with this configuration, you need to change the terminations at amplifier's end.

Configuration n.6

This variation is similar to the previous ones but uses no "pairing technique" at all. Of course, even with this configuration, you need to change the terminations at amplifier's end.

Configuration n.7

This is for monowiring without "pairing techniques". It is similar to the N. 6 with the very same terminations both at loudspeaker's end and at amplifier's end.

Configuration n.8

This is again for monowiring but uses the original Triple T (N. 1) configuration, without "pairing technique".

Conclusions

It is clear that, considering the 8 different configurations, our TNT Triple T DIY cable is like a jolly. Actually, with imagination at work, you can even find new different configurations especially with respect to the bass range.

This wide range of configurations allows the audiophile to experiment and find the one that fits best with his system, by trials and errors.
This is what DIY and tweaking are all about, after all!