Does raising speaker cables off the floor really make a big difference?


My cables are laying on the floor (in a mess), would raising them off the floor really make much of a difference? The problem is they are quite wide and too long  http://mgaudiodesign.com/planus3.htm so any suggested props are appreciated!  Cheers
spoutmouzert

I have a question. Those of you who call things like cable risers snake oil and BS, what do you call amplifiers costing tons of money based on super heavy chassis? The chassis obviously closes in the soundstage. So does having big transformers next to sensitive electronic parts qualify as BS? What about metal chassis period?

And what about crossovers? You do know the reason you use crossovers is (excluding sub) to fix driver cabinet flaws.

You guys playing the snake oil/BS cards probably have several audio scams in your systems right now yet you choose to pick on something as simple as risers to spout off about. I chuckle at your lack of understanding the very hobby you have bought your way into.

pretty funny stuff, a little weird funny to be honest

mg

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drbarney
Has anyone calculated what difference such things done to make cables unreasonably expensive makes? Let us take an example. Many cable manufacturers warn us of high frequency rolloff caused by skin effect. They make cables like ribbons or bundle them in litz configuration where each strand of wire in individually insulated so every conductor is too thin to be affected by skin effect. But here is some physical calculation of how much rolloff can be expected with 8 gauge speaker wires in series with a 4 Ohm speaker. (I use magnetic planar speakers which do not vary in their reactance the way dynamic drivers do.) Skin effect will cause 4 meters of 8 gauge wire to have a resistance of 0.0164 Ohms at 20 kHz compared to a DC resistance of 0.00842 Ohms where more current can go through the center of the wire. Put this in series with 4 Ohms and calculate the difference between 4.0164 and 4.00842. Take the ratio and the log of this ratio times 20 and the skin effect attenuates the signal less than 1/200 dB.

That is why I am a little suspicious of over-priced cables and the questionable physics describing why you need them. The placebo effect is another matter which does not help.
That is why I think blind testing should be used more often. Can the dielectric effect of the floor on a cable induce a large enough fraction of a micro-volt to hear in the speakers? I do not claim some things could never make a difference one can hear but let the claims be reasonable.

>>>>While those are interesting points no one is saying that skin effect OR a change to dielectric characteristics is responsible for the degradation of the signal when cables are lying directly on the carpet or floor. The consensus is that the degradation is caused by static electric charges and/or structureborne vibration.
@geoffkait   Geoff, your thoughts on using anti-static wipes or similar products? Thanks.
" What sucks are the people that peddle this stuff for "stupid money" prices while making all manner of empty claims (subliminal mental suggestions in this case) that are complete and total BS. That really sucks "
  GK my hat is off to you for being an entrepreneur and recognizing a fool will soon be parted from his money and why not help him and put it in your pocket. They abound here at AG so farm your field.

" That is why I am a little suspicious of over-priced cables and the questionable physics describing why you need them. The placebo effect is another matter which does not help. "
True words and if people insist on being idiots and unable to use logic take their money. Zip cord works fine for me and Heaven forbid sometimes it might even have a loop in it. Can the sharpie you use for CD's be treated in some way to improve things before use?:D