Cable Controversy


I love the cable forum. Discussions about cable can really generate sparks among the mature audiophiles. Regarding cable design: Other than the basics of resistance, impedance, and conductance, it seems that there is very little firm ground upon which one can form convincing conclusions. Witness the bewildering array of cable designs, incoporating network boxes, magnets, biased shields, liquid conductors, solid core, braided strands, exotic metals, air dialectrics, to name but a few. In contrast: Regarding balanced cables, at least one experienced poster and equipment designer has stated here that all balanced cables perform identically, once a few basic design parameters are met.  I ask for the voices of experience and sanity to offer their theories and experience on the topic of cable design and performance. Thanks in advance.
psag
Psag, it's all system dependent. It's a great goal to come up with something that won't hurt the signal but isn't that the goal of most cable makers? There's no magic bullet of a cable that can be all things to suit everyone's needs. Simply changing out a speaker or amp can render a great SC to a merely good SC since you've now altered the output of the amp or the input characteristics of the speaker.

You can have the "best" wire and mess it all up with lousy connectors as well. Not to mention should they be cold crimped or soldered or just bare wire.

Try as many as you can until you're satisfied. You'll know it when you hear it. :-)

All the best,
Nonoise
IMO, there are numerous things to say about cables in general.  First, absolutely no one, perhaps outside The Cable Company, has heard even a fraction of what must surely be hundreds, if not thousands, of brands and designs.  I would include from this observation that there is no "expert" when it comes to having vast knowledge of cables.  Just be prepared to get as many answers as responders when you post questions on online forums as to which cables are best.  Second, the single biggest reason for all of the cables is that they are of relatively standard designs and require little capital investment.  Recently, at a medical device show I wandered over to a medical cable manufacturer's booth during one of many slow periods, and they told me they private label manufacture cables for numerous audio companies.  Third, everyone changes the basic designs to some degree to have a marketing edge.  Fourth, I am confident that price markups on cables are among the highest among products in the audio industry.  Fifth, in my experience I am absolutely terrific at buying cables at a good deal and pathetically poor at selling them without taking a big financial bath.  So that indicates the used cables market is a buyers' market.  Sixth, yes, cables can make a significant difference and finding the best is probably a lifetime project.
Most discrepancies in results or abberations in SQ can be easily explained by wire directionality.