2. cables
  3. 184733-96626

Why Do Cables Matter?

To me, all you need is low L, C, and R. I run Mogami W3104 bi-wire from my McIntosh MAC7200 to my Martin Logan Theos. We all know that a chain is only as strong as its' weakest link - so I am honestly confused by all this cable discussion. 

What kind of wiring goes from the transistor or tube to the amplifier speaker binding post inside the amplifier? It is usually plain old 16 ga or 14 ga copper. Then we are supposed to install 5 - 10' or so of wallet-emptying, pipe-sized pure CU or AG with "special configurations" to the speaker terminals?

What kind of wiring is inside the speaker from the terminals to the crossover, and from the crossover to the drivers? Usually plain old 16 ga or 14 ga copper.

So you have "weak links" inside the amplifier, and inside the speaker, so why bother with mega expensive cabling between the two? It doesn't make logical sense to me. It makes more sense to match the quality of your speaker wires with the existing wires in the signal path [inside the amplifier and inside the speaker].

 

 

kinarow1
stuartk
2,886 posts
 

@audphile1 

"... You simply don’t want to hear the difference"

+1 

 

 

macg19
940 posts
 

It's been so entertaining watching the ladies get into a cat fight over the OP's rhetorical question that I may cancel NetFlix.

tjag
131 posts
 

How about I hear a change in sound when I change banana plugs or replace a fuse.

And I have an Atoll In200, Aquarius DAC, and 'heavely' modified Infinity Beta 50 speakers 😁

 

 

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,174 posts
 

asctim
493 posts
 

That’s hilarious! Are they trying to kick over a trash container with a weighted bottom?

 

I’ve got a pair of Klipschorns that are sitting mostly unused in my living room. They are temporarily hooked up to a receiver with two very different cables. One is thick and fairly short. The other is much longer and extremely thin gage. It’s just whatever was sitting around. I kind of expected to hear a little image shifting due to the cable difference but it doesn’t do that. Center panned vocals are dead center no matter how loud I turn it up. That may come down to the efficiency of the speakers and the relatively low amount of current that has to be pushed through that crazy thin and long speaker wire. 

The speakers sound to me like they've always sounded in this room, regardless of amp or cable I've tried. Someone highly experienced with hearing cable and amp differences may notice the changes but I'm too distracted by the overall speaker/room interaction effect to hear more subtle effects as important.

More to discover