Speaker cable

[Al ears]

I believe they use the rare mineral tellurium in all their speaker cables, this probably explains why they're so costly.

Is it better than mono single crystalline copper?

Tellurium???
What? That brittle, mildly toxic metal? I very much doubt it.....

 

[ninanina]

I'd agree although only use his interconnects

I also have a Mark Grant interconnect and it’s just lovely

However I now own a Naim amplifier so have purchased a genuine Naim RCA to DIN cable to go between my streamer and the Naim XS3 and it works perfectly … is it better than the Mark Grant cable? well probably not but I do love the Naim DIN input on the XS3

 

[ninanina]

Chicken feed

Odin price is just crazy… I’m sure it’s good but it ought to be for that price....it’s probably more than most people spend on a car

 

[Gray]

To whom it may concern.
Speaker cables. Any cables.
Blind test.....YES or NO?
It REALLY is as simple as that.

 

[woodbar]

Here's the dilemma, do we trust the graphs that map out the frequencies or do we trust our ears?

Hifi has always been a creature that dwells in the realm of the subjective.

Yes, I do believe that the graphs may well point you in the right direction with most things in our hobby and at least possibly steer you clear of a poor performing item but I do not believe it tells the whole story?

If you perceive that one product sounds better, or more to your liking, than another although the measurements infer it should sound identical does it matter? If you are satisfied, for whatever reason, and you are happy with the performance then surely that's the main criteria?

I ordered 2 sets of Fiio balanced headphone cables the other day based on a lengthy session of testing my cans with the various cables I had and I came to the conclusion that one particular variety sounded ever so slightly better. Maybe I have wasted my money, time will tell, but they were very reasonable priced for a good quality cable anyway.

 

[ninanina]

To whom it may concern.
Speaker cables. Any cables.
Blind test.....YES or NO?
It REALLY is as simple as that.

I would take a blind test of speaker cable no problem as long as one of the cables was TQ Ultra Black as I believe it’s that good

 

[davidf]

Not really. To make a recording, you have to place one or more microphones in the room, and/or take the output from electronic instruments. In the first case you have many variables including microphone number, direction and position and the room acoustics. Then when you play back the recording you are using only two point-ish output sources, perhaps with a sub-woofer and rear speaker ports, and you have the room acoustics which play a huge role. My system sounds different when the curtains are drawn and pulled, for example. And then we have the recording engineer, who insists on clipping the recording when transferring it to the final medium. So many Motorhead albums are clipped, it really pees me off. Jazz recordings from the fifties and sixties often sound amazingly good.

In fact many of my recordings played on my system sound better than concerts I’ve been to. Classical music can sound surprisingly realistic and quite sublime. But it does require excessive volume to get realism, which is not healthy.

You're forgetting that science knows everything, and everything can be measured, so not only can you build the perfect loudspeaker, you can also capture live performances perfectly.

 

[davidf]

It tells you that a) they got them for free or at a discount from Van Damme for promotional reasons since they are a world renowned studio or b) they buy expensive equipment to impress customers or c) someone in the studio thinks they are better. Evidently Van Damme should give them to the studio for free because you prove that it would be an excellent advert,

I’ve heard well respected photographers say they use a Hasselblad camera, or a Leica, not because they get better results, they don’t, but because it impresses clients and hence helps them get work. After all, if you’re paying tens of thousands of squids for a photoshoot, you don’t want them using cheap gear, you want them to use ‘the best’.

Do we think that Abbey Road pay for their B&Ws? Some things are chosen for a specific reason, some are association.

 

[davidf]

I would take a blind test of speaker cable no problem as long as one of the cables was TQ Ultra Black as I believe it’s that good

I would if I could choose the two cables.

 

[Al ears]

I would if I could choose the two cables.

Why only two ?
🙂

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

and evidence that planets around distant suns have atmospheres suitable for life.

Can you point me in the direction of that one? I read The Sky at Night and Science Focus every month, and I didn't think we were that far along (yet - JWST should make big strides).

 

[abacus]

You're forgetting that science knows everything, and everything can be measured, so not only can you build the perfect loudspeaker, you can also capture live performances perfectly.

Ask any scientist and they will always tell you there is more to learn, that's how science works and why it is used to test theory's that are not yet proven, cables however are proven and unless somebody can provide verifiable evidence to prove otherwise, which as no one as yet done it is effectively closed.
As to recording, experience and preference of the ones doing the recording come into play, which is why some people prefer one producer over another.

Bill

 

[davidf]

Why only two ?
🙂

It's a comparison, which is easier with two cables. For demos/auditions, I always recommend people try two products at a time - any more at the same time confuses things.

 

[davidf]

Ask any scientist and they will always tell you there is more to learn, that's how science works and why it is used to test theory's that are not yet proven, cables however are proven and unless somebody can provide verifiable evidence to prove otherwise, which as no one as yet done it is effectively closed.
As to recording, experience and preference of the ones doing the recording come into play, which is why some people prefer one producer over another.

Bill

That's not how people present science for forum arguments...

 

[Revolutions]

It tells you that a) they got them for free or at a discount from Van Damme for promotional reasons since they are a world renowned studio or b) they buy expensive equipment to impress customers or c) someone in the studio thinks they are better. Evidently Van Damme should give them to the studio for free because you prove that it would be an excellent advert,

I’ve heard well respected photographers say they use a Hasselblad camera, or a Leica, not because they get better results, they don’t, but because it impresses clients and hence helps them get work. After all, if you’re paying tens of thousands of squids for a photoshoot, you don’t want them using cheap gear, you want them to use ‘the best’.

My point was that Van Damme blue is relatively inexpensive compared to other alternatives. Especially when you’re connecting a £10,000 mic to a £200,000 mixing desk, for example.

 

[GroeneLeeuw]

That's not how people present science for forum arguments...

Maybe because some science are solved problems?
There´s no need to keep re-inventing the wheel.

 

[woodbar]

Now, about this "Flat Earth" theory?? 😉

 

[Al ears]

It's a comparison, which is easier with two cables. For demos/auditions, I always recommend people try two products at a time - any more at the same time confuses things.

Precisely!

 

[Jasonovich]

Science, there's room for improvement!
If we can map the brain, only then we can lay the cable debate to rest 😁

View: https://youtu.be/U4MTgjNkfyI?si=v3TeMzyZqjMaAyZ2

 

[abacus]

Science, there's room for improvement!
If we can map the brain, only then we can lay the cable debate to rest 😁

View: https://youtu.be/U4MTgjNkfyI?si=v3TeMzyZqjMaAyZ2

Used to love those adverts when I was younger.

Bill

 

[Jasonovich]

Used to love those adverts when I was younger.

Bill

Ah classic. Still draws a laugh 😄

 

[ninanina]

Ah classic. Still draws a laugh 😄

Yes a fantastic advert… even today it’s still funny

 

[Gray]

I would take a blind test of speaker cable no problem as long as one of the cables was TQ Ultra Black as I believe it’s that good

Start selling your tickets to the event now then 👍
Seriously, congratulations, you're the first person that hasn't dismissed the idea of blind testing...you could be the first to prove your cable claims 😉

 

[ninanina]

Start selling your tickets to the event now then 👍
Seriously, congratulations, you're the first person that hasn't dismissed the idea of blind testing...you could be the first to prove your cable claims 😉

Absolutely Gray I would put the TQ Ultra Black (original) cable against anything else and I’m pretty certain I’ll be able to pick out the Ultra Blacks… honestly they were that good

However the Ultra Blacks were incredibly expensive and I got a great deal on them which is why I sold them for a tidy profit

Do I think they would now sound better than my NACA5 with my current Naim amplifier? No I don’t think so but at the time I owned the Ultra Blacks I had a very revealing system…. SET amplifier with very sensitive speakers so any tiny improvement was very clearly heard

 

[Al ears]

Absolutely Gray I would put the TQ Ultra Black (original) cable against anything else and I’m pretty certain I’ll be able to pick out the Ultra Blacks… honestly they were that good

Perhaps in your case with Naim equipment but you are, of course, entitled to your opinion.