Here's another analogy...without good cable a cable car would plunge to the ground. Also, I have a Pangea cable running from the wall to my conditioner (and a few other "fancy" cables here and there because I do want to be as "audio hip" as possible based on likely incurable insecurities), and it almost didn't work as it's so damn thick, like a water hose...I tried replacing it with an actual water hose and that simply will not work as you really need some sort of esoteric adapter for that. Also, a 1" think AC cable will NOT work as a garden hose...trust me...
Why Do Cables Matter?
To me, all you need is low L, C, and R. I run Mogami W3104 bi-wire from my McIntosh MAC7200 to my Martin Logan Theos. We all know that a chain is only as strong as its' weakest link - so I am honestly confused by all this cable discussion.
What kind of wiring goes from the transistor or tube to the amplifier speaker binding post inside the amplifier? It is usually plain old 16 ga or 14 ga copper. Then we are supposed to install 5 - 10' or so of wallet-emptying, pipe-sized pure CU or AG with "special configurations" to the speaker terminals?
What kind of wiring is inside the speaker from the terminals to the crossover, and from the crossover to the drivers? Usually plain old 16 ga or 14 ga copper.
So you have "weak links" inside the amplifier, and inside the speaker, so why bother with mega expensive cabling between the two? It doesn't make logical sense to me. It makes more sense to match the quality of your speaker wires with the existing wires in the signal path [inside the amplifier and inside the speaker].
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" gs55561,155 posts Here’s an analogy. Suppose you have to run 100 feet of hose to a lawn sprinkler from a hose bib. The instructions say to use a 1-inch diameter hose for that length of run in order for the sprinkler to spray the design water pattern. You say that does not make sense because the 2 foot pipe from the water main to the hose bib is only 1/2 inch. The reason is the pressure drop is lower to the hose bib because of the short 2 foot le"ngth. Taking that out 100 feet will reduce the pressure by a factor of 50 and there will not be enough pressure for the sprinkler to work as advertised. To counteract the pressure loss, a larger diameter hose is needed. The hose bib's 1/2 inch pipe is not the weakest link -- it sets the initial condition of water pressure. This is similar for hose bib/amplifier, hose/speaker cable and sprinkler/speaker." What an excellent analogy!!! Well done! |
I have no real idea as to why ables matter. I hear all the arguments for and against. What I do really know is that I can hear the difference and so can others. Therefore, I invest in cables. I’m not saying that everyone should do the same. It’s or ears, your system, and your wallet; it’s your decision and no one else’s. |
From what I’ve experienced, the further up one goes in quality level within a manufacturer’s line, the law of diminishing returns applies. Most manufacturers have a sweet-spot offering that gets 90-95% of the performance of their reference line. Above the sweet-spot, any further improvements seem harder to discern. Certain cable brands seem to have a ‘house sound’. I personally like Nordost cables for the perceived speed, openness, clarity and resolution that is the Nordost house sound. Some feel that Nordost wire is a little on the lean side. Can someone explain why high efficiency horns / compression driver systems seem to be less affected / dependent on cable quality? I’ve heard such system with basic wire sound really superb. |
*L* But @nonoise , has anyone Really looked into...(sorry, Listened To...) a definitive analysis of the string/cup interface? The quality of the cups, and the interface twixt cup & string? The string itself, the length, thickness, the number of threads, the composition of ? Probably buried in a Pentagon document file somewhere...."Untapable Communication Systems", or something like that.... 😏 It’s just sad to open a forum to the first 4 posts being deleted....🤨 "Ooouhahhhooou....’excitable boy(s)’....." ’....after X long years, they let them out on their own...’ ;) |
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