chakster1,919 posts10-16-2018 3:53pmPhono cable must be shielded, good cables have low capacitance anyway, so we don't have to worry about it.
With unshielded cables anyone can listen to a radio in the speakers, it's a free bonus of unshielded cables, i don't think this is what we need.
I hear you Chakster. Then again, I think the most learned and intelligent person here is Atmasphere. If he speaks in definitive terms, I believe him. And he said:
atmasphere6,625 posts10-16-2018 3:08pmThe reason you can make an unshielded cable work in a phono situation is that the cartridge is a pretty low impedance. Its hard for radiated noise to impinge the cable when such a low source impedance is present.
A further advantage is that unshielded cables have lower capacitance per foot, which is really helpful when dealing with the resonance that develops due to the cartridge inductance and the cable capacitance.
If Atmasphere says not to worry about it, I'm going to heed his advice and worry about something else. And, BTW, in my own experience, I am using unshielded silver cables, and they sound fantastic between my vintage TT and Manley Chinook. I don't hear the local radio station because I don't have a tuner.
Therefore, it's not a fact that a phono cable MUST be shielded. There may be specific situations where a shielded cable works better, but it isn't an absolute, and in fact may work better if NOT shielded for most situations. IMO, and based on advice from Atmasphere.
