Interconnects—Just a thought.


Like what I’m guessing is a good number of people on this forum, at least the less wealthy members, I have a CD player (NAD C538) sitting on top of an integrated amp (NAD 316). Speakers are KEF LS50. Classic junior audiophile setup. Just bought a new set of interconnects: Schiit Audio RCA cables. $20 for six inches. 


I have no idea, nor do I much care, whether these cables are any good. Being a Schiit product, I assume that they’re solid and a good value. I believe that their strongest selling point is their length. On the off chance that cables make a difference, I’ve got to believe that—even though these were cheap—they can’t do much damage in six inches. Seems to me that an awful lot of people have three meter runs when they can get away with much less. And to beat Mies van der Rohe’s maxim ifurther into the ground, I have to believe that when it comes to cables, less is more. 


Anyway, whatever part the interconnect is playing, the system sounds great.


(Actually, while I’m genuinely trying to be helpful, I have to confess to faux ignorance above. I know exactly how much cables matter and so does anyone else that has studied acoustic science for 10 minutes. I can’t understand how this controversy has raged for so long when the answer is both simple and obvious. Google “perception of sound,” read a little, and, whichever side you’re on, make fiends with the person across from you.”


paul6001
Schiit don’t make the interconnects. They’re made by others and sold by Schiit.
I confess that while I had a very small slice of audio information to impart, my main goal was to further edify this already well educated crowd  The last man to know everything was a British polynath named Thomas Young (1773-1829). He found a flaw in Newtonian physics, discovered the Rosetta Stone, and was a brilliant surgeon. 

But as the Age of Enlightenment caught speed, even Young was lest in the dust. And given all the knowledge that the technologiCal revolution has dumped in our laps, I would consider knowing 1 percent to be an unattainable goal. 


But the field of accoustics would seem to be near and dear to the hearts of the people that frequent these regions. Below, I’ve cited a few of the first few hits that Google returned today. 

A few of the basic concepts of a science that got it’s start with Pythagoras in the sixth century B.C., a field that has benefited greatly from recent landmarks established by brain science. 

The power of this science cannot be overstated. This forum would be roiled; combatants in the lost running cable war could lay down their arms and embrace. “I love this new hi-res.” “I think it’s all hype. You’re not listening to hi-res even when you think you are. And there’s no way that you can tell hi-res from Redbook. 

I suppose we could have new fights about who has the fastest neurotransmitters or the thinnest skull to permit sound vibrations to penetrate the fastest or the most neutons in auditory-centric regions but those fights should move to, I don’t know, a medical site  perhaps. Meanwhile, the rest of us can study the really important issues like when KEF is going move the new mete material to the Blade? Is every speaker with a Uni-Q going to get it? That’s pretty much their whole line. Strong move. 

A half hour is all I ask, my compatriots. Thirty minutes devoted to an activity in which you already have a strong interest. You won’t find many win/win situations like that to often. 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroscience_of_music

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5819010/

https://www.cognifit.com/science/cognitive-skills/auditory-perception

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/perception-auditory/