Soundlab M1 and Alpha-Core cables


Hello Everyone,
My understanding is that Soundlab speakers are high impedance speakers, and that is why they are hard to drive. Alternatively, my understanding is that Alpha-Core MI and AG series speaker cables are low impedance and high capacitance. Would this mean that these cables would be a good match electrically with the Soundlabs? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Regards,
Dennis

dgclark0007
Unsound: If you look at how Alpha does their "purling", the conductors are "stacked together" and THEN twisted. As such, their impedance remains consistent and they are not configured as a standard "twisted pair" configuration. Maybe i misinterpreted what you were saying i.e. the twisted pair configuration and ended up putting words in your mouth, but that's what came to mind. It would be hard to keep "hollow" cables "stacked together" when using some type of core, hence my "logical deduction".

Clio09: As far as the Magnan's go, they might well be worth a shot. The reference might have some slight theoretical advantages over the Goertz and it would be an interesting comparison. The foil would have even less skin effect than the "strapping" that Goertz uses, although i see the potential for a far less consistent impedance in that specific configuration. That is, the Goertz conductors tend to cling together relatively tightly in the way that they are bound. I don't think that the Magnan's are built in similar fashion.

On top of that, it would be easier for the foil to kink, bend, crinkle and / or seperate from one another, potentially introducing other electrical side effects. All of this is besides the previously discussed comments pertaining to how the foils themselves are terminated.

As far as speaker cables go, there's a comparison that i wanted to make for quite some time. I purchased the necessary parts quite some time ago, but never got around to it. Once i could put these cables together, the end result would be a conductor that was nearly equivalent to the Goertz MI-2's in gauge with a similar, but slightly higher nominal impedance. Due to the materials used, skin effect should be slightly reduced and treble speed may be slightly increased.

This is all theory though, so until i can get around to doing this and performing the associated tests, it's all a moot point. As we all know, there can sometimes be major divurgences between theory and reality : ) Sean
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PS... When making comparisons, try not to confuse "different" for "better". It's an easy thing to do because of the "newness factor" : )
Thanks again Sean. Dave is 40 miles down the road from me. Maybe I'll give him a call and chat with him to see if I can get a pair on a trial basis.

BTW - Did the prices drop on the AC MI-2 cables. I was looking to get a 6 ft. pair (silver spades) as a result of reconfiguring my system and the cost came out to a whopping $209 with shipping.
Clio09: I have NO idea what Alpha-Core or their dealers are charging for their products nowadays. I haven't purchased any cabling in quite some time.

Other than that, i don't know who "Dave" is, but if he's chosen to carry Goertz speaker cabling as a product line, give him a pat on the back for me, will ya??? : ) Sean
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Sean, I had a couple of ideas on the twisting, but, its not really that important. I admire your ambition, and hope you share your results.
>> Skin effect / impedance related high frequency losses definitely come into play in the audio region. This is well documented and has been known since the 70's. You can find independent measurements and test results all over the place if you look around. Sean <<

Well, as suggested by Sean, I *did* look around a bit. I still stand by my previous assertion. The losses that were demonstrated were on the order of .02db at 25KHz, and approx. half that value at 10KHz. I challenge ANY human to prove he can hear a .02db loss at ANY frequency. It would appear that skin effect is of no practical consequence at audio frequencies.

This is not intended as a slam to Sean, he's a great guy and very well-informed. However, in this case, I feel that the skin effect is grossly mis-represented and of no real effect upon a cable carrying audio frequency signals.

Go to this link:
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scots_Guide/audio/skineffect/page2.html to read the following:

"For the example chosen, at low frequencies the bulk resistance of the copper wire causes a power loss of around .008dB. At 10kHz the loss rises to .009dB if the internal impedance were absent, and .016dB with the internal impedance taken into account. At 25kHz these values rise to .012dB and .028dB respectively. Hence the change in relative signal level from near-d.c. to 25kHz, with internal effects taken into account is around .020dB."

-RW-