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If Cables Are Not Tone Controls...

I can't count the times audiophiles have said "Cables are not tone controls".  But if we audition (remember that?) two sets of speaker cables and decide that one sounds "better" than the other, aren't we using it as a tone control?  You can call it whatever you want, but in reality we are deciding which cable contours the sound to our liking?  Or should we just buy the speaker cable with the lowest resistance, inductance and capacitance we can find and if it sounds like crap, change other components until it sounds good?  Then we're just using the other components we've swapped out as tone controls. Just asking.  
chayro
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
They are if you can't afford them. I can't afford NOT to have great  cables, the difference is, are YOU willing to learn, either how to build a great cable, OR let someone do it for you...  I'm pretty nifty with my hand for 15-20 min two or three times a day. 

I build my own, and have found some pretty good sources for materials..

BUT I learned none the less, 

The better the power supply, the easier it is on the power cabling... Inside and outside the case.. It starts there, it sure doesn't end there.. Speaker IC being last in the "swappable", chain..

Tone control? NO! More like a fine tuning and refinement for YOUR ears.. LOL Everyone has different likes and dislikes.. Pretty simple really..

Regards
petg60
1,486 posts
 
Cables are not eq, they may sound different like speakers and components do. One size does not fit all. I would rather agree that caps and tubes act more like tone controls.

G
jperry
2,450 posts
 
I have not found the cables I use to be tone controls. As I have moved higher up the line I find they reduce provide a more quiet blacker background, reduce noise, and what I would call glaze (minor distortion) that you did not realize was there until it is gone, which increases resolution.
duffyd
5 posts
 

Cables affect the tone.

If you swap cables to alter the tone, you are using cables as tone controls.

If you refuse to swap cables to alter the tone, cables are not tone controls.

Said another way, a hammer is a hammer if you use it to bang nails.  Hang it on your wall, and it’s a work of art. 

It is what it is, according, to each individual. 


mammothguy54's avatar
mammothguy54
951 posts
 
jperry has it correct.  I found the exact same thing as he did.  As I moved up the line I continued to find a more quiet and black background.  Not a tonal difference, but a better transfer of signa.  The better the cable the less intrusive it is (or, is supposed to be) to the signal.  I am not going to endlessly swap out cables in order to compare and try to find the holy grail.  I am so satisfied with the sound of my system.  For me, I have landed on the right ones and have made the correct choice.  Maybe I am just fortunate for that.  Either way, so much less stress in life when satisfied.
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