Do materials alter frequencies and speed?

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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Sean...They look a little strange, but if they fit in banana sockets they will work.

At present I am biwired with 12 AWG for the woofer and 18 AWG for the tweeter. (The lighter tweeter wire started out at 24 AWG so as to serve as a tweeter padding resistor, but one of those wires developed a short and were scrapped). The present wire is "sourced" from Home Depot (sorry about that). It is "speaker wire" not "zip cord" and the conductors are further apart which likely results in lower capacitance.