How much space between cables is enough?

Something called tuberollin writes:

@millercarbon from tuberculin
You are a troll.

Wait a minute. Audiogon spell check turns tuberculin into tuberculin and you blame me?!?!?!
I typed your name by the way. Spell check turned tuberculin into tuberculin. See? Did it again! How is that my fault? And don’t call me troll. That is insulting. I am the troll master.

@millercarbon telling us how great his system is again. He is a broken record. Oh! and look at the photos. He's so proud, he wants everybody to know how cool he is.

Well let's see now.... its been two full days since I mentioned the rubber band tweak, and how well it works, with even a photo showing how-to. All it takes is a few rubber bands. Can't take more than 5 minutes beginning to end. 

So tell us tuberollin, how did it go? When you tried it? Oh, what's that? You didn't? So you really have no idea what you're talking about then, do you? Because that is but one of a very, very long list of improvements, the vast majority of which most around here are just like you, blather blather blather but never bother. Never bother to try.

So I am not only fine and happy but proud of what I have accomplished. And yes it does sound fantastic. Can't say it often enough, because its true- and because I keep making it better and better. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367

People really should study it. There's a lot there to learn. For those who want to walk the walk. For you, something tells me its talk the talk.

(Oh now this is delicious. When I first type tuberollin the sites spell-check tries to change it to tuberculin. Heh. Good one.)

I would love to know why these guys wouldn't work almost as well:

https://www.supplyhouse.com/sh/control/product/~product_id=MP-3E

A very common mistake. Why does why matter? What matters is if. Not why. If. You can go round and round to infinity fantasizing about why. Or you can get spend five bucks and in five minutes listen and know. One way you find out. Other way you never know.

Choose wisely.

And when you find out, let us know.

Interesting, I wonder what effect suspending cables from weak springs or 'floating" them on 6" inner tubes would have.

Try it and let us know.

But doesn't that make the material and design of the elevator somewhat irrelevant? The principle focus is to have the cable suspended by the rubber band.

We don't know that to be the case. Not for sure anyway. When I first tried this many years ago anything that raised cables up off the floor was an improvement. Cable Elevators were by far the best. Cable Elevators are ceramic insulators, designed specifically to prevent electric charges migrating along the surface and since they worked the best it seemed logical to assume it had something to do with insulating from static or electric charges. 

But then I tried a thin coat of Total Contact on them and that was remarkably better. TC is extremely conductive. So there goes the insulation theory. Several very credible people say suspending on fishing line from the ceiling is even better. One of them I asked, what if you use fishing line to suspend them from a sort of trellis? Not as good. Why? Don't know. Tried it, not as good. You have to hang em from the ceiling.

Now I'll do a lot for sound but having to weave around a bunch of wires like Tom Cruise on a Mission Impossible that's where I draw the line. 

But I keep thinking about it. Why? What is different about fishing line hung 8 feet from the ceiling vs fishing line hung a few inches? Well fishing line is sort of elastic. It stretches. But not very much. Its not very springy over a short distance, but over a long one it is. Maybe that's what's going on. Its acting like a spring. 

Well a rubber band is basically a spring. Stretched over the Cable Elevator it suspends the cable like a spring. But its also close enough to still get whatever effect there is from TC. Which believe me, there is. 

So it would seem we have our answer. Its vibration control. Suspending cables in a way that allows their free movement without picking up vibrations from the room is a big improvement. Insulation may have something to do with it but the biggest difference would seem to be due to vibration control.

We're still not sure but a lot of evidence sure seems to be pointing this direction. Still, you never know until you try. 

Cable Elevators are ceramic insulators commonly used on telephone poles. The top has a cradle or saddle shape with the cable normally laying in the saddle. Yellow rubber bands are stretched across this saddle. The rubber band stretches and supports the cable just above the saddle. There's not a lot of space, but if you look at the earlier photos you can see the cable is resting down more in the saddle. They don't have free range to bounce like the speakers but the bands do hold the cable away from the elevator leaving it free to vibrate on its own. 

The cardboard tunnels are PPT eMats cut and shaped into tubes and painted with Taytrow TDF.

No rule, not the same- and belief and reality, depends on who we are talking about. There's way more going on here than space. Check out my system. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 A long gradual process of trial and error going on there. Those cables are routed the way they are because it keeps them at a good distance, from each other and components, keeps them off the floor, and suspends them where they are largely free of floor-borne vibrations. 

The last picture in my system pics is a close-up of the most recent thing I have learned, that cables sound a whole lot better when suspended in free air. Having them away from each other reduces electrical interference. This is critical with phono leads, important with interconnects, somewhat important with power cords and speaker cables. Keep at least a few inches space around them, and where they must come close its better to be at right angles than parallel. 

Aside from phono leads, with line level interconnects, power cords and speaker cables the biggest improvement by far is the rubber band trick shown in my system. Elevating them off the floor is second. Interference runs a distant third. It may make more of a difference if yours are all tangled in a mess but if they are already fairly far apart then dressing them a little better won't do much. Rubber bands however, different story.