Throwing the cable cat amongst the pigeons!

[TrevC]

The thicker the cable, the lower the resistance. The lower the resistance the better the sound.

 

[Deleted member 188516]

The thicker the cable, the lower the resistance. The lower the resistance the better the sound.

thats what i thought so i'm just wondering why / whats the reason for rick recommending the qed 79 strand ?

(the 500 strand product is not really that expensive for a once only purchase).

 

[Al ears]

i believe the 500 hundred strand would have a lower impedance compared to the 79 strand hence should work / sound differently as a result ?

looking at the pic of the 500 strand cable i'm guessing that it costs at the most £5 per m ?

(i would expect these cables to be included in the cost of a system purchase or given away free).

I have found, if you're buying most of your kit from one dealer then a bit of haggling can get you speaker cables or an interconnect thrown in...... pretty tricky to do online though...

 

[MUSICRAFT]

may i ask whats the reason for sometimes recommending 79 strand and other times 500 strand cable ?

If basic 500 strand speaker cables are not practical to use for eg. with spring clip terminals then use basic 79 strand speaker cables instead.

 

[Deleted member 188516]

If basic 500 strand speaker cables are not practical to use for eg. with spring clip terminals then use basic 79 strand speaker cables instead.

thanks for the reply - all now understood !

 

[Mike Hunt]

Would anybody know which are the best cables I could buy for this?

M12 SWITCH GOLD - JCAT . next-gen computer audio

WORLD'S BEST NETWORK SWITCH FOR EXTREME AUDIOPHILES. FREE WORLDWIDE DELIVERY

jcat.eu

Would these enhance my spotify playlist?

Signature LAN Cable GOLD M12 X - JCAT . next-gen computer audio

Most likely the best sounding Ethernet cable available. World's best RJ45 connectors exclusive for JCAT. Now compatible with world's best network switch for hi-end audio - M12 SWITCH GOLD.

jcat.eu

 

[Fstein]

Right - serious question and intended just to see what people think and have experienced - if possible I'd prefer it if people didn't feel the need to put the boot into each others' opinions - I realise that this might be a forlorn hope Italics for important emphasis to the statements.

I don't think there's any way of inserting a poll here, but just wonder whether people feel they best fit into these four cat-and-pigeonholes:

1) Cables make no difference whatsoever. As long as the material is a good conductor that's all there is to it - bell wire and freebies are all you need.

2) Cables can sometimes make a difference, sometimes subtle, sometimes less so - but you are highly sceptical of very big price tags.

3) There's always something to be gained from 'better cabling', though the law of diminishing returns applies.

4) Cables are more important than any other aspect of hifi - Russ Andrews/Kimber is a bargain.

FWIW, I am a 2. Not a number 2, mind...

2 but a difference is not necessarily an improvement

 

[BrownLuther007]

I'll choose number 3 in case of long runs. It will surely save some.

 

[djh1697]

I thought mains leads couldn't make a difference until i tried a Titan STYX, which is modestly priced.

The new Kudos KS2 speaker cable I believe is another winner, two of the people who work at my local HiFi dealer have upgraded it on there own personal systems, one of whom also upgraded his mains cables to the aforementioned Titan STYX

 

[izools]

I definitely fall in to a Category 2.

When transcieving an analogue signal especially, the signal path is susceptible to EMI and RFI. The signal path is subject to degradation and loss along the length.

The longer and thinner a cable, the lower the highest frequency it can reliably carry along its length without loss in signal strength. This coupled with any interference picked up along it's path affects SNR.

SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) is the difference between the "noise floor" of the signal (The unwanted noise and interference) and the strength of the signal you want to receive. Shielding a cable reduces its susceptibility to EMI / RFI, and lowers its noise floor.

Thickening and shortening the conductors in a cable reduce the losses they incur.

Thickening, shortening, and shielding an interconnect cable increases it's SNR.

Speakers also carry a current concern. I.e., amperage. They draw current. They draw current at low voltages and relatively high amperages. RFI / EMI picked up along the length of a speaker cable are so insignificant they are rarely perceivable by even the most honed ear.

Then we have parasitic capacitance. Also known as capacitive coupling.

What is capacitor? It's two sheets of a conductive material separated with a dielectric. It blocks DC and allows AC.

What's a long, straight speaker wire? It's two lengths of a conductive material separated with a dielectric. Depending on where grounds exist in your setup. running a length of speaker wire parallel to a main cable can result in capacitive coupling and 50Hz hum.

What can we learn from this?

Analogue interconnect cables are susceptible to signal loss, degradation of SNR, and a frequency response curve that depends on the makeup of the cable. Make the analogue interconnect out of thick, shielded copper cable, and keep them as short as possible. That's it. You needn't do any more.

Digital signals are different. A low SNR on a digital cable can result in degradation of signal if there are some serious sources of RFI / EMI but on the whole, much more so than analogue signals, a digital signal either reaches the other end with sufficient SNR to be decoded, or it doesn't. There's no grey area in between.

Optical digital especially.

A different piece of digital interconnect cable can't colour an audio path. It either works, or it doesn't. There's never any character attached to an optical fibre or digital interconnect cable other than that created by the placebo effect in the listeners mind.

Speaker cables - thick copper, not run parallel to mains cables. That's it. A big chonky piece of 10mm Twin & Earth usually used by your friendly sparky to install your power shower will sound no different if used as speaker cable to Nordost Valhalla.

I'd bet a months pay on that on a blindfold test so some audiophiles who aren't told what components are being switched out to identify any difference.

 

[Gray]

....A big chonkypiece of 10mm Twin & Earth usually used by your friendly sparky to install your power shower will sound no different if used as speaker cable to Nordost Valhalla.

I'd bet a months pay on that on a blindfold test so some audiophiles who aren't told what components are being switched out to identify any difference.

What do we have here?
At last, someone willing to put his money where his mouth is.
Any "golden-ears' willing to take him on?
We need to know the venue and it must be filmed. People are going to want to witness this event.

 

[Mike Hunt]

I thought mains leads couldn't make a difference until i tried a Titan STYX, which is modestly priced.

The new Kudos KS2 speaker cable I believe is another winner, two of the people who work at my local HiFi dealer have upgraded it on there own personal systems, one of whom also upgraded his mains cables to the aforementioned Titan STYX

Really? Two salesmen who are trying to sell you things? They have these things on their own system? And they can't believe how amazeballs they are? Who would have thunk!

I don't know if you're being serious or on a wind-up but either way...

 

[Gray]

Really? Two salesmen who are trying to sell you things? They have these things on their own system? And they can't believe how amazeballs they are? Who would have thunk!

I don't know if you're being serious or on a wind-up but either way...

Exactly what I thought when I read the post.
Wouldn't want to tar all salesmen with the same brush but......discussing morals (or lack thereof) with one in a past job, I was told "it pays the mortgage".

 

[TheJoker]

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