What is Low Impendance for an interconnect?

Can you provide a link to what you are referring to? The section of this page on interconnects seems relevant, but there is no mention of low impedance (just low resistance, which IMO is not as critical for an analog interconnect as Mr. Sanders seems to be indicating), and the only mention of braiding is in reference to the shield.

Also, interestingly, I see no mention of capacitance in the section on interconnects. Depending on the length of the cable, and on the output impedance of the component driving it, in some cases that can certainly be an audibly significant parameter for an interconnect cable, much more so than resistance or inductance.

Finally, while I completely agree with the first of the following two statements he makes, I (and I believe a majority of other A'goners) would not agree with the second:

There is a great deal of misinformation, hype, and marketing nonsense surrounding interconnects. This makes it very confusing to know what is important in the design of interconnects.

... The fact is that all well-designed interconnects sound identical. Only poorly designed interconnects will reveal differences in sound.

Regards,
-- Al

Well said Al!

According to that second statement, most expensive interconnects are poorly designed since they will reveal differences in sound. Maybe there are also poorly designed amps and speakers out there too that will reveal differences in sound. ;)

In that link you provided Al, he does address capacitance in the section titled Capacitance under speaker cables towards the top of the page, where he says:

Capacitance should be low. This is not as critical as inductance, but it is important.

Cheers,
John

Thanks, John.

As you probably realize, my reference to the non-mention of capacitance pertained to the section on interconnects, not speaker cables.

For the OP's info, generally speaking:

1)In the case of analog interconnect cables, capacitance may be significant, especially if cable length is long and/or the output impedance of the component driving the cable is high. Resistance and inductance are unlikely to be significant, unless they are unusually extreme. (With the exception that the resistance of the shield or other return conductor, not the signal conductor, can sometimes become significant if ground loop issues are present).

2)In the case of speaker cables, the situation is the opposite. Inductance and resistance may be significant, especially if cable length is long and speaker impedance is low. Capacitance is unlikely to have much significance, except in the case of a few cables that have ultra-high capacitance (such as Goertz, as mentioned in the paper).

Regards,
-- Al