Anyone with experience having cables made using Amorphous Metals/Alloys

@audio_phool - RE...

So have you measured the capcitance of same conductor (of same lenght, geometry, width/diameter, thickness) with different dielectric used as insulation material. I thnk thats what is making the audible differences.

Turns out, the Dieletric Constanct (Dk) of the insulation has little to do with the capacitance of the cable. The capacitance of the cable is measured between the signal conductor and the neutal conductor and is governed more by cable geometry, (e.g. number of conductors, space betwen conductors etc...)

• so, the capaciance of the cable can impact sound quality by impacting the magnitude of impacted frequncies within the audble frequency range
  • e.g. more Treble or Middle or Bass
• whereas the Dielectric Constant of the insulation governs how much noise is generated within the cable itself
  • i.e. as the signal alternates from +ve to -ve, the insulation is charged in one direction and then charged in the other direction. The switching to and fro causes noise that imapcts the signal being conveyed and reduces clarity and details
  • so clarity and details can be improved by using an insulation having a lower Dk value

I have measured the capacitance of my interconnect cable with each change in insulation material and there was little to no change in the value of its capacitance.

• certainly not enoungh to impact treble and bass response
• But the improvement in clarity and details was easy to discern as the value of DK of the insulation was reduced

Hope that makes sense? - Yep, I also had to research this aspect of cable design because I initially thought the Dk of the insulation on a wire would impact cable capacitance, but my measurements did not support those thoughts.

Regards - Steve

@williewonka Thank you for your response. I am actually intrigued by the mechanism and it's explanation of how dielectric can affect the conductivity. I would like to know about your thoughts on how dielectric induces noise in the signal, a more indepth discussion. Feel free to PM me if you think this is not the appropriate forum to discuss it.

Audio_phool

@audio_phool - the basics are

• if you apply a positive voltage/current through a wire, the insulation will adopt a positive charge
• if you then apply a negative voltage through that same wire, the insulation will adopt a negative charge
• but if you apply an AC signal through a wire, the continuous back and forth from +ve to -ve changes the charge in insulation but not at the exact same time as the frequency of the signal
  • the change in the charge held by the insulation lags the AC signal
    • during that time lag the signal will encounter some "resitance" due to the insulation having the opposite polarity
    • this is where the distortion creeps into the signal
    • it is very small, but discernible, even in the most basic system
    • the lower the the Dk of the insulation then the faster the polarity of the insulation will change
      • and a lower level of distortion will be achieved
• ​​​​​​​it tends to be more noticeable in the higher frequencies as opposed to the lower frequncies.

These articles may be of assistance

https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-1/

https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-2/

https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-3/

I think there is another article dealing with this topic only that I will try to find

Regards - Steve

@audio_phool - this link confirms the distortion effect of insulation with high Dk

The Impact of Insulation on Wire and Cable Performance (energy5.com)

But I think there is a better article that describes the details - ill keep looking

Cheers

@williewonka Thank you very much. I appreciate the knowledge share.

Regards,

Audio_phool