The Science of Cables


It seems to me that there is too little scientific, objective evidence for why cables sound the way they do. When I see discussions on cables, physical attributes are discussed; things like shielding, gauge, material, geometry, etc. and rarely are things like resistance, impedance, inductance, capacitance, etc. Why is this? Why aren’t cables discussed in terms of physical measurements very often?

Seems to me like that would increase the customer base. I know several “objectivist” that won’t accept any of your claims unless you have measurements and blind tests. If there were measurements that correlated to what you hear, I think more people would be interested in cables. 

I know cables are often system dependent but there are still many generalizations that can be made.
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I love the "scientific" silhouette of a man sitting in Lotus position - perhaps uttering a mantra - at the Mogami Cable site. Real scientific.

Mogami will give you a religious experience, all right. You'll feel holy and clean as you consider yourself brilliant to be using such "scientific" cables. 

Does Mogami do Electrical and Mechanical Characteristics comparisons to other cable brands/models? Have the published any such comparisons? If not, why not? Wouldn't you think it would be a great advertising scheme to publish such comparisons? 

Or, maybe such things are mostly for marketing. 



http://www.mogamicable.com/additional/best_cable.php
Note also the myriad of factors Mogami says go in to a cable: 

"There is no single magic bullet for cable design. Superior design is a mix of conductor material, dielectric, conductor and shield geometry, jacket stiffness, along with fanatical dedication to manufacturing quality. Only technical expertise combined with years of experience can result in the kind of performance that transcends the ordinary."

Funny; when users of aftermarket cables appeal to such factors in sound with cables they are mocked and charts/graphs are demanded. They are called unscientific. But look, Mogami has verified the uncertainty of cable making. 

Huh, "no single magic bullet" for cable design. That from the cable that skeptics believe in. 

Let's get scientific. Measure the crap out of a cable. Precisely how much does that tell you how it will sound? Not very much, imo. Why would I say that? Because I actually USE cables in comparison. I don't let Pro marketing dictate what I do, and what cables I select.  :) 
No one ever mentions the color of the jacket. White is the best color for the sound. Think outside the box. Please, no outraged angry emails.

When you assume something you make a fool of me and Uma Thurman.
When aftermarket cable makers measure, that's not good enough, huh? David Salz at WireWorld, Grant at Shunyata... No good, eh? When Mogami measures, that's good enough. 

Hyprocrites. Imo, you're cheapskates. Your wallet rules your decisions. You don't compare because you can't stomach the idea of spending anything on it. Defense of Pro cables is to guard your money. You love them because their cheap, and you bought the marketing. LOTUS POSITION, EVERYONE! Do you guys sit with your legs crossed to get the most out of your Mogami cables?  ;) 

Chintzy. That's closer to the truth. 

I know, I used to be a cable skeptic.  :) 

So, who among our skeptics wishes to try Schroeder Method of Interconnect Placement? 
I'm sure that at this point our cable skeptics are really appreciating the gross generalizations I have made. i.e. cable skeptics are chintzy. 

It's not so different than gross generalizations characterizing persons who use (even expensive) aftermarket cables with negative religious allusions or calling them unscientific. 

Perhaps a bit of mirror gazing would be helpful for our skeptics.