Cable Controversy

So devilboy... according to your position there is no faithful reproduction of music.  It will be colored by the very microphone and microphone cables as it is recorded.  No argument about that from me.  My point is all we can do in this endeavor of ours is to minimize the damage to the musical signal as it passes from one component to another and then ultimately to the transducers to which we listen.  Heck, many would argue that even hearing a performance live in a music hall of some sort is colored by the acoustics of the hall and your relationship to the hall based on where your seats are located within that venue.  This is on my mind as I just purchased tickets for a live show last evening and was thinking about how our location in that hall will impact our listening experience.

That's why (for instance) changing the wire in your speaker cabinet is like designing a new speaker.   I spoke to Vandersteen who agonizes over all the different wire that goes into his speakers to make them what he wants them to be.

stringreen
3,852 posts
08-01-2016 9:28am
That’s why (for instance) changing the wire in your speaker cabinet is like designing a new speaker. I spoke to Vandersteen who agonizes over all the different wire that goes into his speakers to make them what he wants them to be.

I would be quite interested to know if Vandersteen agonizes enough over wire inside his speakers to worry about wire directionality. Or if ANY speaker manufacturer considers wire directionality. I will give Tannoy props for cryoing their flagship speaker's crossover network, at least that's a step in the right direction.

@hifiman5,....... VERY interesting, I must say. Never thought of it from that perspective.

@devilboy  - This conversation takes me back to the "original" audio press argument over whether or not something called "The Absolute Sound" existed.  Back when Harry Pearson was at the helm of TAS he asserted that "the absolute sound" of a musical event as reproduced by our systems was what the audiophile quest was all about.  I think we are both in agreement that there is no "absolute sound".  The most we might, as audiophiles and music lovers hope for, is to put together a sound system that reproduces music that sounds as much like the real thing as our ears are capable of perceiving.  

As much as I think I am close to that realization, I am certain I could find plenty of audiophiles who would find my system "colored" in some way as their perception of reality or "good sound" is different.  Example...I have been embracing the Vandersteen sound for the past 30 years.  My ears like the version of reality that RV employs in his designs.  I know audiophiles who embrace the electrostatic sound of Martin Logan speakers.  While I hear many virtues in the sound those speakers produce, my ears don't connect that sound with what I hear when listening to live unamplified music.  My Treo CT speakers do that for ME, but it certainly is not "the absolute sound".