John Dunlavy On "Cable Nonsense"

That should be 12 gauge. That's the second time I've made that mistake here. 20 WOULD sound bad.

My last statement? This looks like another confusion about "lamp cord" and lamp cord. By "Lamp cord" [in quotes] I mean zip cord, I probably should have called it that in the first place. I've never paid atention to the innards of lamp cord [no quotes] proper, so I said I wasn't sure if there was a physical difference between it and zip cord.
And why are "plastic" and "speaker cable" in quotes? Now this is getting really confusing. That's real PVC, and they are used to connect speakers to amps.

Sean wrote about lamp cord...

Lamp cord is not bad per se, as it is 12 ga copper stranded wire, which is adequate for most speakers as a conductor. The 20ga mentioned in Grungle's post is too small for most speaker applications.

The problem with lamp cord, as I mentioned before is two fold: the insulation and the geometry. While some published tests have shown that lamp cord *measures* pretty good for use as speaker cable, I disagree. I feel that the geometry and the insulation DOES dictate sonic signature(s) that are audible on systems of sufficient quality. You may or may not be able to detect a significant difference depending upon your particular listening situation. It is entirely possible to make a very expensive and "colored" speaker cable - so expense or looks do not mean that it is better than mere lamp cord.

_-_-bear

I think you have it right. Nobody really wants to pay more money for no improvement, but it does happen with cables. I have access to almost everything that John Dunlavy has for measurement. So what? I still hear the difference, even if I don't have the equipment to measure it properly, at least with respect to my ears.

I have to agree with Dunlavy. Beyond a reasonable limit, spending HUGE bucks on fat, fancy, and colorful cables is a waste of money.

If you want a real laugh, check out the thread here on Audiogon titled "Nice Warm AC cord for a PLC".