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

@gs5556   YES! 

@nonoise Sounds much like Kenjit doesn't this poster.  

@jasonbourne71 Your history does omit some important facts.  Monster 300 (the original, not further Mark versions or Monster 400s) was simple in design and well executed.  For some reason, the future cable designer/manufacturer (I forgot his name & company) was entrusted with Monster's first interconnect.  It is a success over the typical really cheap and common RCA ICs at the time.  It has a bloomy and full bottom end, mostly neutral mid and rolled off highs, very pleasant, not highly resolving, but at the time, it was a step in the right direction for improving audio sound.  

So, don't tell me it's a bunch of baloney.  Sure, I've heard excretable, extremely expensive high cost/end cabling but I also have heard bad/cheap Pangea power and IC cabling in even high end systems where the owner typically was an electrical engineer and until shown the value of a quality higher end cable, said cabling doesn't matter (usually just power cabling).  

I'd be ready to make a poll and I'm pretty sure that, in 2023, the vast majority of audiophiles agrees on the fact that cables matter, that it's completely normal to hear differences and that spening a certain amount of cash on cables is, in fact, healthy.

Naysayers may think they are smarter than the rest, they are mostly unable to hear the difference and frustrated, due to diminutive hearing or a lousy system. 

Threads like this belong to 1971 when all amplifiers were thought to sound "alike".

I’m a dealer for Infigo audio. The company has experimented with the best copper and implements shielding that keeps outside noise out and are less likely to be affected by outside factors to just let the signal flow.  We do this in our USB cable for example. 

Pay little attention to those who rant and yet cannot share which brands/models of  higher end design cables they've actually tried or owned in a worthy system. 

Is there some magical difference that occurs to the electricity after it comes out of the wall?   

Maybe that's the "special" electricity.  All the miles of electricity before the wall outlet doesn't matter.  We'll fix it at that last six feet before the amp.  

Power cables  are psychoacoustic nonsense.  Placebo effect and expectation bias.  The owners and sellers of these don't want to hear that.  Especially the sellers.

On the other hand, the placebo effect does work.