Speaker cable test video

[admin_exported]

Check out this video of speaker cable testing:

http://www.townshendaudio.net/

(scroll down to bottom)

Comments? EDIT - please do not discuss banned posters - Mods

jules.

 

[gbhsi1]

I have just seen the video. It is the first time I have actually seen a video regarding the differences in standard cables and high end ones. It was interesting but is this the only way to measure that one speaker cable is better than another? what about the listening aspect?

 

[fatboyslimfast]

I think the point is that not everyone agrees on what sounds better, but a 'scope graph is sort of definitive.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

jules153:Check out this video of speaker cable testing:

http://www.townshendaudio.net/

(scroll down to bottom)

Comments? EDIT - Please do not discuss banned posters - Mods

jules.

Fantastic. And it was good to hear him say that uneven lengths is fine too.

 

[Anonymous]

I think the interesting thing is that it's usually the cable-sceptics who use 'science' in their arguments to prove that cables make little or no difference. Whereas the cable-believers (like WHF) say that if it sounds better you don't need 'science' to prove it.

This guy IS using 'science' to prove that they do make a difference by the looks of it.

jules.

 

[Anonymous]

Can't argue with that really. Different cables have different charateristics and therefore DO affect sound. Different cable manufacturers play on these characteristics to produce a certain level of distortion to achieve the sound they were after. End of!

 

[gbhsi1]

I agree! don't get me wrong, the video was an eye opener. Most hifi experts talk about measurments- but actual seeing someone do the test is great! I truly believe that one should invest in good cables anyway! Bravo Townshend!

 

[aliEnRIK]

Cheers for that. I love stuff like this

 

[Anonymous]

Fascinating stuff.

Two questions come to mind:

1) If you
gathered together a selection of cables, from the budget end to the top
end. Then did a blind test, where you just saw the output measurement
screen and not which cable it was, then you heard that cabe (again not
knowing which one it was). Would the screen output influence your
listening evaluation?

2) What (human ear detectable) effect on sound do those spikes actually have?

Serenity

;-) (Dont let the Bug**rs get you down)

 

[Anonymous]

I see he starts with a pretty long length of bell-wire, against a short run of his own. Not a good test.

There is no doubt there is a difference between cables, just how much and how audible. Obviiously bell-wire is woeful, prtimarily because it is far too thin, and offers too much resistance.

Also. This test is very flawed, or does he say that his cable is perfect (completely flat line), and that all cables that produce a flat line are equal?

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting but not new. (Shades of Peter Aczel)

The last time we discussed this on the forum a few of us said that you want a cable that adds nothing and subtracts nothing. The man from Townsend demonstrated that his cable does this at least at one frequency. This is better than nothing. It would have been nice to see a few more spot frequencies tested.

The people who like to judge by listening still have a vaild argument. The other cables all modify the signal slightly so if your ears are good enough you'll hear the difference. Now you might like what you hear or you might not like it. But if you like it then that's still great for you.

A few points on the science though

I noted that his cable seemed to be kept fairly straight.

I noted his cable looked shorter.

I noted that he seemed to like to coil the other cables or have them in a loose jumble. This will increase their inductance.

His demo of what you can do with multiple strands of 50 ohm coax (cheap as chips if you are prepared to make your own cable) was interersting. It also proves that good cable and expensive cable are not the same thing which sort of makes the argument the magazine guys have been putting forward from the start.

What is clear is that some cables colour the sound (distort the signal if you prefer) You can choose if this colouration is truly what HiFi is about. I am a believer that Fi stands for fidelity which to me means that there is no colouration of the signal at all. Therefore the highest Fi for me is the one the reproduces exactly what is on the source media.

'Course once you deliver this signal to the speakers it all gets far to complicated to even think about.

 

[Anonymous]

pudley:

Obviiously bell-wire is woeful, prtimarily because it is far too thin, and offers too much resistance.

No actually - bell wire does not offer too high a resistance - if it did it would be useless for making the doorbell ring and it would overheat in use.