Do materials alter frequencies and speed?

El: The simpler the speaker i.e. the lack of a crossover or less complex of a crossover, the more apparent changes are in speaker cables. The more demanding the load of the speaker on the amp ( i.e. very low impedances ), the more apparent the changes are in speaker cables. The more complex the speaker system i.e. number of drivers and / or crossover parts, the more meaningless signal purity and differences in impedances become.

Other than that, i don't have a problem with forwarding these cables to you to check out in your system. Having said that, i would like to wait until i get some type of formal response from Rsbeck on the matter. He's accused me of jumping to conclusions in the past due to a lack of responses, so i'll wait it out a while. It is possible that he's simply been too busy to log onto Agon and follow up on the threads that he's involved in. We all know how that can be. As such, i don't want to "ass-u-me" anything one way or the other.

If there's no response from him by this coming Sunday night ( 05/11/05 ), i can have them in the mail to you on Monday. This will have given him a week to publicly confirm or deny his willingness to participate in such "testing". He's been so adamant that there are no audible differences in speaker cabling ( unless the cabling is defective or of phenomenally poor design ), that i'd really like him to be the guinea pig. This way, he and the other "cable naysayers" can't cry foul about the lack of integrity in choosing an individual to make such a comparison. Then again, these folks are already crying foul due to the lack of an ABX box and blind listening condititions for this type of "test".

Having said that, i'm willing to overlook the negative bias factor that Rsbeck has already made quite public about the lack of sonic differences in cabling and accept his findings as they may come after such a comparison has been made on his own terms, in his own system and at his convenience. I think that this is more than fair and shows that i'm more than willing to meet the "naysayers" half-way. For sake of clarity, my comments are based on comparing some inexpensive Nordost to standard heavy gauge zip cord. Any other comparisons will only complicate the matter and possibly corrupt the findings due to a lack of auditory memory.

For sake of compatibility, would you prefer spades or bananas ( aka Nordost "Z plugs" )? I have both types of cabling. By the way, both sets are 3 meters in length ( appr 10' ), so i hope that this is long enough for you and / or Rsbeck to be able to use within the confines of their normal system installation. Sean
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By the way, i'm not saying "Nordost is the best", i'm simply saying that i think it provides a very audible contrast to the sonics of zip cord. Sean
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Sean...Thanks. I hope I get to try them.

The Maggie MG1.6 crossover is about as simple as it gets. Low pass is 12 dB and high pass is 6 dB. I replaced the inductor with AWG10 air coil, and the capacitors with Hovlands. Three meters is long enough, as I will throw together a special hookup (amps and wires on the floor) for the test. I will drive the Maggies full range, using my Kenwood LO7M amps, which are spec'd flat from DC to 150,000KHz +0 and -1.5 dB. Bananas would work.

For the record...I am a skeptic because the "scientific" explanations don't impress me, but on the other hand I have not listened and heard nothing and thereby formed a firm opinion.

Objective laboratory analysis of different cable materials and not existing commercial cables would be an appropriate starting point. Defining constants, testing and publishing the results would generate an empirical baseline. The additional analysis of configuration, cover material and conductor mix would be invaluable when selecting a cable "family" for listening evaluations. The audio market place is ridden with tweaks and methods that each developer feels enhances the aural product. Some product developers will use confirmatiom bias to capriciously select isolated test values that "confirm" their beliefs and bolster their claims. The determinants for product purchase will continue to be inviolate...did I spend as much or as little as possible (bragging rights), is the appearance right (looks great on and off) or is the sound what I want (subjective perogative)? I will personally buy or make new IC's and speaker cables in the next 2 months. The search continues for a flat response, broad bandwidth wire and connector combo that doesn't require robbing a bank.

El: You can try them one way or the other. The only variable is when that will occur. Even if Rsbeck responds and says "yes", so long as he wants spades, i can send the bananas to you. As a side note, take a look at the Nordost version of banana plugs ( Z plugs ) as found in the picture near the bottom of the page to see if you think they will work okay for you.

Out of curiosity, what speaker cables are you using now? If you tell me reasonably heavy zip cord, i'll be somewhat elated : )

Deckhous: You can find a multitude of posts about speaker cable bandwidth, linearity, power transfer characteristics, transient response, etc... in the AA and Agon archives. Interconnects are somewhat different as the input and output impedances between the mating gear can vary quite drastically. As such, the design parameters for interconnects are a little more less specific depending on the circumstances involved. The use of high quality materials is always of benefit though. Sean
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