Cables ... no longer opinion

flaxxer,

Thank you seriously for the dose of humor. It is quite obvious that Max has forgotten a lot about engineering. Some would say, evident by his paper, that he has forgotten everything about electrical engineering. Given Max is from the UK, I expect he involvement with Nasa is non existent, but selling a screw to Nasa does not make you a rocket scientist. I would expect there are many on this forum, that have far more experience and knowledge than Max in many areas of audio, likely not limited to electrical engineering where his weakness is substantial.


The Goertz cables were based on the conductors from their Alpha Core inductors is my understanding and they are not a penny thick. If they were, that would be a benefit, though difficult to handle. They introduced the concept of low characteristic impedance cables 30 years before Max stumbled on this idea. Max even makes the same mistakes in his claims of impedance they do. In this case, two wrongs, do not make a right.

I found this on a website. It matches almost very closely the specifications I have found for the Townsend cables. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery:

The configuration places the heavy, solid conductors only 0.003 inches apart. The cables are 0.4 or 0.8 inches wide, and only 0.04 inches thick. As thin as a penny.

I will assume you have no personal relationship with this company. There is no point getting riled up. I am not making up my statements. They are simple, but true.

See a picture of the Isolda cable at this link:  https://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/townshend-audio-isolda-edct-speaker-cable-speaker-cable
Simple wrap around one conductor, loosely in the sheath.  I will point out one item.  The wires on both ends are about 25mm apart. If the goal was an impedance matched cables, the two ends will cause a failure. A similar failure would occur inside the speaker, typically wired willy-nilly.  The result may be effective, the reason appears beyond Max's understanding.

😂😂 None so blind as will not see! 😂
Thanks for the link. I read the review. Did you???!😂

I choose to review equipment and listen to music with them because they are consistently more revealing of space within a recording and produce extraordinarily good stereo imaging, Take my word for it, you have not heard truly 3D holographic imaging if you are not using a cable with this geometry. But that’s not all, this is also the best cable for bass that I have ever encountered, it can produce genuinely bone crunching lows when connected to amps and speakers that are up to the job. It won’t make your compact stand mount shake the furniture but it will let you hear just how low any speaker will go in a superbly controlled and highly entertaining fashion. This applies whether it’s a kick drum, an organ or a synthesiser, often it’s the latter that deliver the lowest notes. If you enjoy electronic, orchestral or rock music the bottom end is crucial to the full visceral experience. I’d say it is crucial whatever the music, even chamber orchestras or folk bands need to have headroom in the bass if they are to sound real, if the acoustic character of the venue is to be reproduced.

This cable is not only about bass however, I wouldn’t have been using it to review amps and speakers for over ten years if that was the case. It is also extremely revealing in an even handed way, there does not appear to be an emphasis on a particular part of the audio band, which is what a lot of supposedly detailed cables do to give the impression of transparency. There are plenty of cables that emphasize leading edges to give a strong sense of pace and many others that have a prominent midband which brings out fine detail, but it’s always at the expense of other aspects of the sound. This is fine if you want to use cables as a tone control but less so if you want to hear all of the music. The character will eventually become audible and result in a preference for particular recordings or music types because others don’t sound so good. Then the tail is wagging the dog and you lose sight of what this pursuit should be all about.

Isolda EDCT is very revealing of detail, tone colour, timing and soundstaging, you can clearly hear what a change in hardware or software is doing to the sound whether it be lowering the noise floor, improving the dynamics or making you jump about with excitement. In many ways its surprising that so few cable companies opt for this geometry, one reason is that it’s not available off the reel from an industrial cable company, Townshend has to build Isolda from the ground up and that’s very rare. It’s also not as robust as conventional stranded cables, if you bend it too much or tread on folds it will eventually die. I did abuse one cable enough to do this once, the constant equipment change of reviewing and the fact that the cables crossed a walkway was the problem, I’ve since figured out how to protect them

If you find yourself going round in circles trying to find a speaker cable that’s perfect for your system this should knock that habit on the head. If you want a filter/tone control in the form of a cable this however is not for you. Townshend Audio Isolda EDCT will show you what your system is capable of doing to an extent that might well come as a surprise. The first thing that hits you is the sense of calm that is presumably brought about by the reduction in RFI, then when the music gets going bass extension and power make themselves known, eventually however it will become apparent that you are getting more music from the system and that is easily worth the asking price. Isolda EDCT is sold in terminated pairs, below are the current prices for common lengths but pretty well any length can be supplied. Controversially Townshend also claims that uneven pairs work as well as those of equal length which will represent a saving in most systems.

This is the cable you are talking about. Someone clearly has their engineering down. I know who my money's on.

Maybe someone can get some of this: https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Adhesive-Speaker-Conductor-Sewell/dp/B079NTKWS2/ref=asc_df_B079NXCN6B/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=242022044358&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1065699303853200423&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031186&hvtargid=pla-475459224229&th=1 
 and wrap it in something nicer and sturdier and get back to us with the results.

All the best,
Nonoise

That has the ribbons running side by side. That is missing the whole point of Townshend's design, which is to have the ribbon conductors extremely close together. Finding a thin enough tape, with desirable dielectric properties, and placing the ribbons the correct distance apart is the difference. All the difference, apparently, at least according to the people I talk to. Which btw, thanks for that, flaxxer

This video demonstrates it is the geometry. The ribbons that aren't close have the spike distortion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9HrYAyVItY