Science that explains why we hear differences in cables?


Here are some excerpts from a review of the Silversmith Audio Fidelium speaker cables by Greg Weaver at Enjoy The Music.com. Jeff Smith is their designer. I have not heard these cables, so I don’t have any relevant opinion on their merit. What I find very interesting is the discussion of the scientific model widely used to design cables, and why it may not be adequate to explain what we hear. Yes it’s long, so, to cut to the chase, I pulled out the key paragraph at the top:


“He points out that the waveguide physics model explains very nicely why interconnect, loudspeaker, digital, and power cables do affect sound quality. And further, it can also be used to describe and understand other sonic cable mysteries, like why cables can sound distinctly different after they have been cryogenically treated, or when they are raised off the floor and carpet.”


“One of the first things that stand out in conversation with Jeff about his cables is that he eschews the standard inductance/capacitance/resistance/impedance dance and talks about wave propagation; his designs are based solely upon the physics model of electricity as electromagnetic wave energy instead of electron flow.


While Jeff modestly suggests that he is one of only "a few" cable designers to base his designs upon the physics model of electricity as electromagnetic wave energy instead of the movement, or "flow," of electrons, I can tell you that he is the only one I’ve spoken with in my over four decades exploring audio cables and their design to even mention, let alone champion, this philosophy.


Cable manufacturers tend to focus on what Jeff sees as the more simplified engineering concepts of electron flow, impedance matching, and optimizing inductance and capacitance. By manipulating their physical geometry to control LCR (inductance, capacitance, and resistance) values, they try to achieve what they believe to be the most ideal relationship between those parameters and, therefore, deliver an optimized electron flow. Jeff goes as far as to state that, within the realm of normal cable design, the LRC characteristics of cables will not have any effect on the frequency response.


As this is the very argument that all the cable flat-Earther’s out there use to support their contention that cables can’t possibly affect the sound, it seriously complicates things, almost to the point of impossibility, when trying to explain how and why interconnect, speaker, digital, and power cables have a demonstrably audible effect on a systems resultant sonic tapestry.


He points out that the waveguide physics model explains very nicely why interconnect, loudspeaker, digital, and power cables do affect sound quality. And further, it can also be used to describe and understand other sonic cable mysteries, like why cables can sound distinctly different after they have been cryogenically treated, or when they are raised off the floor and carpet.


As such, his design goal is to control the interaction between the electromagnetic wave and the conductor, effectively minimizing the phase errors caused by that interaction. Jeff states that physics says that the larger the conductor, the greater the phase error, and that error increases as both the number of conductors increase (assuming the same conductor size), and as the radial speed of the electromagnetic wave within the conductor decreases. Following this theory, the optimum cable would have the smallest or thinnest conductors possible, as a single, solid core conductor per polarity, and should be made of metal with the fastest waveform transmission speed possible.


Jeff stresses that it is not important to understand the math so much as it is to understand the concept of electrical energy flow that the math describes. The energy flow in cables is not electrons through the wire, regardless of the more common analogy of water coursing through a pipe. Instead, the energy is transmitted in the dielectric material (air, Teflon, etc.) between the positive and negative conductors as electromagnetic energy, with the wires acting as waveguides. The math shows that it is the dielectric material that determines the speed of that transmission, so the better the dielectric, the closer the transmission speed is to the speed of light.


Though electromagnetic energy also penetrates into and through the metal conductor material, the radial penetration speed is not a high percentage of the speed of light. Rather, it only ranges from about 3 to 60 meters per second over the frequency range of human hearing. That is exceptionally slow!


Jeff adds, "That secondary energy wave is now an error, or memory, wave. The thicker the conductor, the higher the error, as it takes longer for the energy to penetrate. We interpret (hear) the contribution of this error wave (now combined with the original signal) as more bloated and boomy bass, bright and harsh treble, with the loss of dynamics, poor imaging and soundstage, and a lack of transparency and detail.


Perhaps a useful analogy is a listening room with hard, reflective walls, ceilings, and floors and no acoustic treatment. While we hear the primary sound directly from the speakers, we also hear the reflected sound that bounces off all the hard room surfaces before it arrives at our ears. That second soundwave confuses our brains and degrades the overall sound quality, yielding harsh treble and boomy bass, especially if you’re near a wall.


That secondary or error signal produced by the cable (basically) has the same effect. Any thick metal in the chain, including transformers, most binding posts, RCA / XLR connectors, sockets, wire wound inductors, etc., will magnify these errors. However, as a conductor gets smaller, the penetration time decreases, as does the degree of phase error. The logic behind a ribbon or foil conductor is that it is so thin that the penetration time is greatly reduced, yet it also maintains a large enough overall gauge to keep resistance low.”


For those interested, here is more info from the Silversmith site, with links to a highly technical explanation of the waveguide model and it’s relevance to audio cables:


https://silversmithaudio.com/cable-theory/


tommylion
Just like those super expensive speaker makers, none of them has the courage to go through blind tests.
Clearthinker, I think you are being a bit too harsh on the
englishman-in-newyork. He is just making generalizations that are more true about the individuals in this group than other groups excepting mahgister because I am not quite sure which group he fits into.
If someone insult all a group of people indiscriminately for example : "audiophiles", it is truly wrong, and not very subtle...

The reason is simple, nobody can describe this group, composed of too many people with complex experience and history, including musicians and even many engineers....Then insulting all an indefinite group speak more about who is the personn throwing insults than about those who are insulted...








Most people audiophiles or not, think that we listen to the sound coming from the audio system...Then they point to the importance of electronic design...It is not wrong at all for sure.... It is a half truth though, it miss the other part of reality: embeddings controls and acoustic especially....


Secondly, you are right about me....

I am an audiophile because of my listening experiments, but i am  first a music lover and i think the opposite of the majority of audiophiles:

I listen the sound coming from my speakers/room/ears mainly....Not from the gear mainly....

This explain my position concerning the useless obsession to upgrade BEFORE embedding rightfully in their working dimensions, mechanically, electrically ands especially ACOUSTICALLY all the electronic designed pieces of gear....The urge to upgrade is re-inforced by marketing method from the engineering perspective in the audio community...

The basic history of electronic design is mature for the last 50 years... It is then easy to buy a good piece of electronic design at low cost...Out of the new hype ....




Myself I think against the "objectivist" and the kind of people who vouch ONLY for measurements like the anti-audiophiles that room/ears/speakers acoustic and psycho-acoustic science and ART are more important than electronical measurements of the gear to reach S.Q. nowadays... We are no more at the Marconi era...


For example room microphone connected to an electronical equalizer measurement are a secondary tool only an help, not the  ONLY way to tune and fine tune a room for  the speakers AND our ears  at all...

That is my experience, not an opinion of an audiophile or the dogma of a non audiophile...

My experience is not based on soldering or computer driven dials evaluation, but on listening experiments then on acoustic art and Helmholtz mechanical method...

I dont reject measurements, but some of the uses which are promoted in some circle about what is audio and musical experience...

I dont reject the necessity and the importance of a very good piece of electrinical engineering design, i only say that nowadays it is easier to purchase one than to LEARN how to LISTEN acoustically speaking and also musically speaking...









In one scientific word: Timbre is not spectrum....Physical acoustic science is not psycho-acoustic scence...our ears are the missing and always present  link between these 2 in audiophile experience...


Or in brief:

I always listen WITH my system or any other one , THROUGH the controlled and mechanically and psycho-activated room/speakers, i listen to the the "RECREATED  acoustic translation" of a past lived event recorded and  which become always an ACTUAL "different" acoustical event in my room or in any room anyway ...


Most people think the opposite:

They think they listen WITH their uncontrolled and passive room/speakers ,THROUGH their system the "magical" electronical "REPRODUCTION" of a lived PAST event, identical or almost to the original lived event....Because they imagine the recording microphones naively like a true memory not like a string of choices and TRADE-OFF which will modify the original performance anyway....
It's not very different than some of the golf threads I read. 

"A brand new set of irons or a new driver will definitely improve my game."

Scientifically, it might. Then again, if you think it will, it might. 

Can it be measured? Yes, the spin, the flight, the carry distance. But does that mean it will help lower your score? No. 

But how does the iron feel? Fantastic. Like a forged buttery smooth iron should. Measure that. (I'm not going to get into how some like the sound their driver makes, as that is too close to what we are discussing. )

And then you go out with your new gear and your partner outscores you with a set of (quality) 10 year old mixed bag equipment. He has better skills. That might be learned, that might be due to biological genetics. He just prefers this equipment. It's all about synergy.

And that person who outplayed you is a senior, with a reduced swing frequency response, and cannot see past 150 yards.

Analogous to many recording engineers who produce masterful recordings. 
You're slowly getting sucked in again, stop before reach the point of no return. The rabbit hole is deeper than you think.
Hmmm...and I was so sure the sound of cables had to do with the Higgs boson coming into and then going out of existence as a back-beat in the music...oh...well...