2. cables
  3. 177568-172594

Sharing my experience with cables

Almost 40 years ago, a dealer in Montreal loaned me a pair of MIT cables. My scientific background refused the idea that cables would have any impact on electrons propagating at the seed of light.

The impact on the soud was so evident that I bought them. Since, I have tried many cables of all kinds and spent over 20 K on cable for two systems, one in Montreal and the other on the lake.

My criteria for all my components is physical:  if my arms and neck hair are raised by the music, it works for me. The other critical aspect I discovered over the years is distortion, which I think has a lot to do with crossovers. I beleive that crossovers are powerful filters whose job is to kill music.  Electrostatics are clean because they don't use such filters. But i still prefer normal drivers, , 2.5 ways because somehow the roll off frequencies are away from most of the music is. 

My latest speaker are Wilson Sophia 3, Raidho X3 and Q Concept 500 .

The Transparent speaker cables work fine with Wilson and Q Concept. For the Raidho I use  Luna Red for speakers and usb from the Aurender to the Devialet amp.

All of this just to give you context on what I a m about to say.

The cables I foud to have the most impact is the Power cable to the power amps (solid state)!  Here are my recent experiments:

Audioquest Blizzard makes the Raidhos sound dark, as if the riboon tweeter were dead !  

My most expensive cable is a DR Acoustics Red fire ultra ( 5K).  It makes  the Qconcepts too bright.   

Custom made Furutech are  much better with the Q Concepts.

I will try the DR power cable with the Raidhos next week.

They are all way better than the 5$ cords supplied with electronics. 

Finally, I have found litthe effect of cables on Aurender streamers and Dacs. This is aanother subject though.

 

Thank you for any suggestions. This is my first post here, so be indulgent !

 

lucmichaud1
cey's avatar
cey
275 posts
 

man, ive had a bit of a learning experience around cables reently. i always used 16 or 14 AWG zip wire/extension cords for spear wire. if its long or higher wattage i use 12/2 landscape cable--pure copper, stranded, 12AWG. been happy. also used 12 AWG speaker cables for high power PA systems in my home stereo as well. 

used some cheap interconnects and used some blue jeans cables. 

bought some morrow audio recently. set up my smaller system entirely with morrow audio level one for components and level 2 between preamp and amp. usin level 2 or 3 speaker cable. the speaers im usin are really midrange foreward with plenty of detail in the upper register to use for nearfield monitors. lately theyve sounded harsh. 

well somethings happened. that hardhness has steadily been going away. im not getting used to it--the sound is getting smoother and sweeter ,and i dont know what the heck it could be other than burn in. 

my brother came over today and said its the best goddam desktop system hes ever heard. 

my source components are 

rega 3 w/ sumiko blue point #3, laptop -> moon audio 100D DAC, cheap DVD player-> moon audio 100D DAC

-> audio by van alstine fet valve RB preamp, stock jj tubes -> adcom GFA-535-> halford loudspeaers margaritas

hey, somethings happened. its defnitely sounding sweter and other folks have, unprompted, noticed. 

mike_mcf's avatar
mike_mcf
2 posts
 

Many years ago I owned a Bryston 4B.  My friend had a Threshold 400A which sounded better. Passing through an audio salon I found a used 400A that I manged to obtain for a great price. I got the dealer to throw in a SEAC cable (litz wire, rhodium connectors) for free.  I was astonished to discover that the $100 cable made more of a difference in my system than the $3000 amplifier. This experience mad a believer out of me.

kellyp's avatar
kellyp
104 posts
 

Your scientific skepticism toward cables was justified, as few still understand them.  First, electrons do not travel at light speed. While the EM wave travels at 50-80% c, after Feynman and applying the index of refraction for skin depth effect at frequency we find, for example at 20 Hz, the Vp, velocity of propagation, is 1.83 m/s.  Therefore the wavelength is 0.30 ft, therefore cable length matters at AF. Secondly, what you are hearing with different cables is the result of matching impedances with amplifier circuits.  To prove and measure this, watch the reflected pulse on an oscilloscope to prove this to yourself.  Better yet a spectral analyzer to see the intense noise remaining on your cable.  Cables are active places, while amplifiers are relatively quiet.  These tools are far less expensive than a single audio component yet who has them.  

Third, power cables have a different application.  To be brief again, a very low inductance is desired, yet I have yet to see this parameter advertised.  Secure connections with a high clamping force are essential.  The bandwidth should also be wide because of the switching delay from the forward bias of the diodes, among several other factors.  

Not enough time to address your several concerns.  Also I don’t know how to respond to responses as I comment infrequently.  

 

ghdprentice
7,051 posts
 

@buckhorn_cortez

 

Thanks for sharing. Great hearing observations from your experiences.

buckhorn_cortez
81 posts
 

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