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Which cables go with what?????

I never fails to amaze me, the questions people ask on this forum, always trying to find some synergy between cables and their components/speakers.

The fact is: there are two classes of cables:
1) Those that are neutral
2) Those that impose a sonic signature (tone controls of a sort)

If the average audiophile spent his time trying to weed-out the tone control cables and get some neutral cables, then all that would be left is to determine the right synergy between his or her components. This may mean elimination of an offensive component, as painful as that sounds.

Component synergy is real. Amps and speaker combinations definitely need to be selected carefully. In some cases also preamp-amp synergies are important. If you are using tubes, then there are even more compatibility issues. But cables, forget it. If you are trying to compensate for a poor component or speaker design by using tone control cables, you will probably never be happy and likely compromise the sound of the other components in the process. You will certainly never approach a live or "master-tape" sound. There, that's my editorial. Hopefully some will learn from it.
audioengr
audioengr OP
3,282 posts
 
Flex wrote:
"In response to the original post, cable differences go deeper than coloration. Two cables can be equally neutral on chromatic scale, yet differ greatly in macro/micro dynamics, noise floor, speed, clarity, detail resolution versus smoothness, and quality of imaging."

I agree completely. The confusion has to do with the definition of the word "neutral". In this sense, I use it to mean a cable that imparts no sound of its own. This is much more than just a flat steady-state spectral response.
audioengr OP
3,282 posts
 
Sean - what I do in my own reference system to eliminate most of the "dynamic loading effects" is the following:

Preamp with very low-impedance output - 7 ohms
Power amps with very low impedance output
Speakers with flat impedance response - 3 ohms
Cables with extremely low loss and dielectric absorption

This way, I have a reference system that is extremely tolerant to differing loads. The interaction between components is small. This way when I mod different components, I can insert them into the system and really hear the improvement and not spend all of my time troubleshooting and swapping other components to get a good synergy. I want to eliminate as many variables as possible.

I do have one known issue. The power amps need significant current to stay dynamic. A passive linestage proved to be dissapointing to me.

At HE2003, I used all tubed components in our active system. Here, synergy between speakers and amps was very significant. Once we found this synergy, the magic happened. However, as always, using our cables avoided having the cables "add" any sonic signature of their own. And we used 15-foot unshielded IC's too.
flex
292 posts
 
Keep at it Audioengr. This is an area long overdue for both measurements and some consistent engineering thinking on how to put systems together intelligently. Most audiophiles can probably agree that the wire game, including and especially power cords, is beyond reason.
corona
132 posts
 
Long before Copernicus,mathematicians were trying to predict the movements of the planets; their efforts never proved successful. Galileo arrives and proves the movement of the planets can never be predicted until the solar model has the sun at its center. Your arguments are like the mathematicians of old; you will never find the answer because your basic premise is incorrent. Traditional engineering principals do not work with cable design.
Our discussions about cable design problems with physicist and engineers have always reached the same conclusion: "To solve these problems you must develop a new technology and ultimately your own science". After 10 years of research we have succeeded, but the answers lie far outside the box of traitional engineering. Faulty methodology never yields successful results.
lemec5b2
67 posts
 
if a 15 foot run of cable can be readily had from Empirical, why does everyone else have so much trouble making a standard 3 footer that should have 5 times less 'signature'?

steve
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