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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
itsjustme
682 posts
 
I know you didn't ask me, but i took a quick look at:
Could you please do us all a big favour and take a peak at the following thread....

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/doug-schroeder-method-double-ic

....and give us your ideas about what all the hub-bub is about.
I cant even figure out what the OP is saying.  he doesn't provide  schematics (step 1 IMO), nor define which "IC", nor define the characteristics of those ICs.. or does he mean "interconnect", at which point its just less resistance and more capacitance and I'll stay out of relative subjective judgement-land.
But if we don't know the characteristics of the source, media and termination we don;t know much.
Sounds like a very expensive tone control to me.
G
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cd318
2,636 posts
 

@jhills, "Not sure how gallium, indium and tin, a semi liquid goop, 1/15th the conductivity of oxygen free copper, is somehow superior to pure grade, oxygen free copper as a conductor for cables. I guess whatever makes a great sales pitch and you can stick the highest $$$ to.
 
While there are a lot of bogus claims of all kinds of miracle insulative coatings and shieldings for audio conductors, in reality, the best material, as an insulator for either data or audio signal conductors, is either PTFE (Teflon) or polyethylene, with as little shielding and protective covers as necessary, for a particular situation."


Thanks for putting it as clear as it possibly can be as of 2019.

Perhaps one day things might actually improve...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconductivity


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cleeds
6,021 posts
 
itsjustme
How does it prove nothing when subjects reported substantial differences, which, according to the test, could not have been there?
It wasn't a valid "test." It was a deception, an illusion, a misdirection intended to produce an invalid result. That's not even remotely a scientific test.
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cleeds
6,021 posts
 
defiantboomerang
The real science of "cables" is too difficult for most audiophiles to understand. Don't believe me? Try reading this book ... If you get through Chapter 8 and solve the problems in it (I have), then you can claim the moral right to talk about the science of "cables".
Pardon me, but no one here needs to fulfill any requirement specified by you in order to acquire a "moral right" to talk about cables.
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