John Dunlavy On "Cable Nonsense"

Doc - the copper used is supplied with some type of coating on it and is single stranded solid core. From this point the cable is "braided", "twisted", whatever one would call it using materials in between each strand. This process is proprietary in nature and I am unaware of the exact winding scheme but I can tell you that it is all wound by hand. A final outer sleeve is installed and then the terminations are soldered on. Economies of scale are not realized at this time as these guys are doing it as a sideline and therefore are not relying on it for daily income. The prototype "return" cable I mentioned earlier differed in internal construction but I can attest that each and every time the difference was audible. So in the end, I guess these guys qualify as Category #3 but the entire cable is hand constructed less the coating on the copper as supplied from the copper source. I would imagine that the DIY people here can appreciate what goes into hand constructing cables but as I am not one of them my explanations may leave out key technical terms and I apologize for that. I believe that Paulwp has coined some of the phrases I was looking for in my original post and I thank him for that. Bottomline is that in my experience there was a distinct difference when the negative post cables were swapped - but only as a result of the fact that these cables differed in construction. If I have the chance to do this "test" again I would take the time to single wire the speakers (not bi-wire) and alternate the different negative post cables to see (hear) if there are any differences. If any of you guys happen to pass through Alberta this summer please advise and I will arrange the same demo so that my experience can be refuted or corroborated. I thank the recent posters for the opportunity to offer my cable story without what had been expected (many negative votes...)

Harmonic Technology has a specific process for drawing the wire through the die in a cooling process so as not to do violence to the crystalline structure. In fact, their process creates the "Single Crystal" copper wire for all of their product. I am not going to continue messing up this explanation. You can go read for yourself at their website.
But they may still have the process performed to specs at some off-shore site. You cannot afford to do any of these types of processes in this country. Could they be pulling our legs? Sure!( It would take quite a large pulley to get all of our legs at once ). But the results that I have had with the Harmonic Tech Pro Silway II make me realize that they are on to something.

Audio Tekne draws there own silver wire and does the complete assembly process themselves. This is how they are able to maintain there high quality standards and keep there prices affordable. If you need an explanation of how cable is twisted and covered I would suggest contacting Brian at BMI (or if he's reading this he could help out) for he hand assembles all his power cords. It's not a huge mystery or so difficult only a machine can achieve it. Machines are for the mass production, for example computer cables, VCR and low/mid-fi audio, T.V. lights.......

Why is everything in high-end audio a conspiracy to some?

It is easier to understand line cord differences if you think of them as religious articles. You cannot mass produce a religous item and expect it to have any power. It has to be hand made and of only the highest quality materials.

I have been reading up a bit on cable as I will be experimenting with DIY IC's with a friend. It seems to be common knowledge that the signal not only passes through the wire but along its surface as well (in a different manner which is called "skin effect"). The sound is also influenced by the type of insulation(s) being used and how the insulation(s) meets (or does not meet as with an "air" surround) the wire. Impurities "in" wire may just be another obstacle for the signal to overcome (this is not saying that there cannot be "specific" impurities that would actually improve the sound). An example of this would seem to be silver oxide forming on silver cable based on the observations of others. Why limit it to just this? The types of connections and connectors used influence the sound (this I have already observed with a few DIY IC's). Also, getting back to "skin effect", how the surface of the wire is formed and finished should also have an influence as well. There is a lot to study and experiment with (and many different design features to take into consideration) if one keeps an open mind as well as an open ear(s). I consider the projects to be a fun and inexpensive ventures. As with most everything, it all depends on your outlook.