DO CABLES REALLY MATTER?

@elizabeth ,

In another thread, you mentioned that you live in an apartment and that you move every 10 years.

On your history alone, that’s quite a bit of changes to have a quantitative opinion on any one device in the audio chain. Most of us live with our components/room for our lifetime. This is a basis for a recommendation that holds "more water".

BTW, I have always thought that your moniker is a personal familial way of honoring a close family relation.

@handymann

I would certainly expect that there would be a significant difference changing from cables such as your Transparents, which incorporate a network of unknown design, to just about any non-networked cables. Especially given the considerable length that is involved. I would not want to speculate, though, as to whether that difference is likely to be for the better or for the worse, regardless of the cost of the replacements.

Also, I noticed that you mentioned in a recent thread that you use an Aesthetix Calypso Signature preamp. Stereophile had measured the balanced output impedance of the non-Signature version of the Calypso as being 112 ohms at mid and high frequencies, and 3900 ohms at 20 Hz. The doubled capacitance of the output coupling capacitors in the Signature version will reduce that 3900 ohms by approximately a factor of 2, while the output impedance at higher frequencies is low for a tube-based design even in the non-Signature version. I would expect those impedances to result in less sensitivity to differences among long balanced cables than many other tube-based designs. But there are of course other unknown component-dependent variables involved (for example, whether the cable shields are connected to circuit ground or to chassis ground in the preamp and the amp, and how those grounds are interconnected within the components), and so I wouldn’t want to speculate beyond that.

Good luck. Regards,

-- Al

@almarg I will have to take a meter reading between the outer connector and chassis ground. When, I don’t know, but will try to let you know. One thing I know, I have no hum at all, with the gain turned up 3/4 of the way. I made a new set of phono interconnects, using two conductor with shield and at first thought I missed the boat somehow. Upon looking closer, I realized my ground wire from that TT, was loose. Reconnected it and have bliss. 👍

@handymann

For line-level balanced interconnections, ground-related factors that will act in the direction of reducing sensitivity to cable differences are:

(a) Pin 1 of the XLR connectors on each component (which is the pin that is used to connect the cable shield) is connected directly to chassis (i.e., via essentially zero ohms), and therefore presumably also to AC safety ground.

You may need a flashlight and a magnifying glass to be able to see the numbers adjacent to the pins of the XLR connectors.

(b) Circuit ground, which is presumably present on the ground shell of RCA connectors, is **not** connected directly to chassis/AC safety ground, but instead is connected to chassis/AC safety ground via a resistance of at least 10 ohms (and perhaps much more).

If and when you make these measurements, be sure that all interconnects are disconnected from the component being measured, or the results may be misleading.

Regards,
-- Al