The Physics of Electricity


Can anyone explain clearly in either common parlance or technical terms the difference between a $1,000.00 cable and/or speaker wire versus a $20.00 (or so) one? What does wire "do" in an expensive cable/wire that an inexpensive cable/wire does not? Does it conduct more or "better" electricity?
llanger
@williewonka  These PS Audio articles are good primer except for possible errors like this:
The electromagnetic field is strongest nearest the wire, decreasing with the square of the distance moving out away from the wire.
It is not the square of the distance but just distance (linear fashion).

Magnetic field of wire carrying current  B = I x u0 / (2 x pi x r)
where I is magnitude of the current in the wire and u0 is permeability of free space.  Inverse square law applies to single point magnetic field and not to long wire carrying current.


Uh, PS Audio is an amplifier and cable manufacturer, right? “A good primer except for the errors.” So funny! 🤗
@kijanki - OK - it’s got one little error (or perhaps he has a different perspective on things ?) But the rest of the info seems valid - hopefully? Perhaps you can take it up with Galen Gareis ?

@geoffkait - if you actually read the first article you will see that they are written by an Engineer from Beldon Wire. They are simply posted on the PS Audio site

Belden has applied all their design and manufacturing capabilities to high-performance audio cables for the audiophile market. Engineer Galen Gareis is the lead on the Iconoclast line of high-performance audio cables, and is happy to explain the science behind cable design.

Regards - Steve :-)
if I were PS Audio I wouldn’t have posted the error-fraught Belden engineer article on his website. Maybe he didn’t know any better. Maybe he assumed it was accurate since it was an engineer from a wire company and was trying to give credibility to his web site. Who knows? Maybe he was letting the Belden engineer speak for him. That’s the perception.
Geoff - One error is hardly "Error-Fraught" 

Except for that ONE error -  the other points covered are valid considerations when designing a cable don't you think?.

Regards - Steve :-)