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].

 

 

kinarow1

Just a wild guess, less than $2,000 a pair? If so, who in the right mind would spend $2,000 on speaker wire for speakers costing a few hundred bucks? 

I once had $3k cables on speakers that cost me ≈$400 forty years ago.

Kimber BiFocal and bi-wired, XO recapped Spica TC-50. Scarily musical.

I laugh when I hear $50k speakers. Mostly because they are badly designed wrt to time coherence.

It's been so entertaining watching the ladies get into a cat fight over the OP's rhetorical question that I may cancel NetFlix.

How about I hear a change in sound when I change banana plugs or replace a fuse.

And I have an Atoll In200, Aquarius DAC, and 'heavely' modified Infinity Beta 50 speakers 😁