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The Science of Cables

It seems to me that there is too little scientific, objective evidence for why cables sound the way they do. When I see discussions on cables, physical attributes are discussed; things like shielding, gauge, material, geometry, etc. and rarely are things like resistance, impedance, inductance, capacitance, etc. Why is this? Why aren’t cables discussed in terms of physical measurements very often?

Seems to me like that would increase the customer base. I know several “objectivist” that won’t accept any of your claims unless you have measurements and blind tests. If there were measurements that correlated to what you hear, I think more people would be interested in cables. 

I know cables are often system dependent but there are still many generalizations that can be made.
128x128mkgus
shkong78's avatar
shkong78
1,485 posts
 
I majored in physics.

Actually I have a Ph.D in Biophysics from UC. Berkeley.

But I do not believe in measurement in audio.

0.5 % Thd tube amplifiers tend to sound much better than .001 Thd SS amplifiers.

Cable making is a mixture of science and art.

I am impressed with Teo Cable in definition and clean decay although it falls slightly short of detail compared with silver or silver plated cables,


I am not sure whether liquid metal play lot of role or not.

You have to depend on your ears rather than numbers.
mkgus's avatar
mkgus OP
324 posts
 
“Own a hifi and you are required to be part of the customer base for cables.”

Yes, but if one fails to realize that the quality of the cables matter, or refuses to believe it, they might use the free cables that came with their equipment the entire time and never really hear what their system is capable of. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it doesn’t help increase the cable market, and a bigger market means more competition, better designs, more discovery and better cables for everyone (who chooses the buy them.)
mkgus's avatar
mkgus OP
324 posts
 
“Because if everything was spelled out to the uniformed these cables couldn't be sold with over the top prices . Have to keep the uniformed in the dark to be able to charge the ripoff prices.”

What if the secret to cables is that there is no secret. It’s just gauge, material and geometry and anyone can make a “world class” cable at home. Maybe that’s why cable manufacturer’s don’t give us every last spec. Ha!
mrdon
109 posts
 
@BSMG, 
THAT DESCRIPTION OF EARS AND HEARING DIFFERENCE WAS TOO FUNNY. 

cheeg's avatar
cheeg
247 posts
 
@tarras22 — thanks for the mini lecture! Best discussion I’ve heard on why cables matter. Have you considered teaching?
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