[Scottdazzle]

Wayner is absolutely correct. I make it a point at concerts to listen for awhile with my eyes closed. It's remarkable what you notice without visual cues. The same goes for careful listening at home.

[mfsoa]

While I agree that listening in the dark heightens your sense of hearing, what I meant by the "take the glasses off" comment was really aimed at the physical change in sound that reaches your ears.

This ain't the wire voodoo that I believe in - There is no doubt that placing glass (or plastic) discs a few inches in front of your ears can change the sound. I'd guess the change is especially true for the sound coming from say the R speaker and going to the L ear - Glasses are right in the way. So it's not that your hearing changes, it's that what reaches your ears changes.

Easy to try and won't cost you much.

-Mike

[hotroady]

Sure mass absorbs energy. Put a steel poker into the fire awhile until the end gets red hot. There is your mass storing energy.

Wayner       Well, I think you "get" what I mean. Electrical energy has no mass, but can be absorbed by mass. I think low capacitance IC's are best, low impedance good for tube amps. My bi-wire Z2 cables have a darker sound and not as open as my DIY. I think what contributes to this, is mostly the dielectrics, shielding, and insulation. I use 14ga single strand for tweets (not for skin effect, as that only applies for AC) I wanted to eliminate inductance of multi strand. I use 8ga multi strand welding cable for woofers. Both sets of cables are 15ft lengths. Woofers are electro mechanical motors w voice coils. They need more power than tweeters. Welding cable has 7X the strands per diameter, has low impedance and remains flexible. The difference in sound is quite evident. So were switching wires in amp output.

[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

Yesterday I bought 2 metres of speaker cable because I wanted to try to vertically biamp my speakers.  Anyway after spending $130AU for 2 metre pair (Xlo) I heard no difference between monoblock and biamping the speakers.  I've been using axon speaker cables for years and also heard no difference between these 2 cables.

I'm going to place an order for some blue jeans cables.  The hifi shop was raving how much better the xlo would sound and I heard no difference.

Am I deaf?  or is this all just voodoo regarding cables.

Regards

Rod

[denjo]

Hi Rod

I had the same experience with my Harbeth speakers. Alan Shaw of Harbeth recommends us to single-wire, using his attached brass connectors between the posts. I heard no improvement in the sound and reverted back to single-wire and use of the brass connectors. Much simpler, less wires running!



Best regards
Dennis

[turkey]

I'm going to place an order for some blue jeans cables.  The hifi shop was raving how much better the xlo would sound and I heard no difference.

Am I deaf?  or is this all just voodoo regarding cables.

The blue jeans speaker cables are just Belden 5000 cable. You should be able to find an equivalent locally and save some money.

You could also use the wire from an outdoor extension cord. Just cut the ends off and use two of the conductors. Or there is wire used for those low-voltage garden lights that works nicely for speaker wire too.

As for the deafness or voodoo, Rod Elliott has a nice article on wire.

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/the-truth-about-interconnects-and-cables

[Wayner]

Because the speakers run on a much higher voltage, the need for fancy shielded cable really isn't there. You just need a nice gauge like 16 or 14awg and some good pure copper with a good insulator. Many folks just use lampcord or "zip" cord. Terminate it with whatever you want. The electrons will get there.

Interconnects deliver micro-voltages to the preamp. These delicate low power signals need to be protected from EMI (shielding required), must have good conductivity, and low capacitance. The job is like helping the old lady across the street. Help get the poor little signal from component "A" to component "B" with out it falling down or going astray!

Wayner 

[JerryM]

The job is like helping the old lady across the street. Help get the poor little signal from component "A" to component "B" with out it falling down or going astray!

Wayner 

 

I can see it now...  Wayner's BSA Boy Scout Cables. (BSA, obviously, means Best Sounding Audio.  ) 

The Tenderfoot is the entry-level IC. Full of ambition, it just needs a good system to get it going. The showcase cable is, of course, the Eagle. It's almost the same as the Tenderfoot, but is highly polished, sports great badging, and has been through a rigorous break-in period. Guaranteed to help the weakest of signals get where they're going.

"Face it folks, some of the music you listen to is old. Doesn't it deserve a Boy Scout?"   

You're on to something here, Wayner!!!

Have fun,
Jerry

[Wayner]

Thanks Jerry!

Sometimes I just say goofy things..........perhaps a Freudian slip?

Wayner  aa

[JerryM]

Thanks Jerry!

Sometimes I just say goofy things..........perhaps a Freudian slip?

Wayner  aa

Wayner,

Not goofy at all. Don't even get me started on Mickey Mouse Cables. 

On the Boy Scout Cables, though, there is even a speaker cable option!

"Face it folks, if you're a true audiophile, you want your music to get to your speakers unmolested. For a limited time only, BSA Girl Scout Scoutmaster's speaker cables. Available only in double shotgun."   

Thanks for laughing up a slow Sunday, Wayner, 
Jerry

[turkey]

Interconnects deliver micro-voltages to the preamp. These delicate low power signals need to be protected from EMI (shielding required), must have good conductivity, and low capacitance. The job is like helping the old lady across the street. Help get the poor little signal from component "A" to component "B" with out it falling down or going astray!

The shielding is important, but even the cheap generic patch cords that come with new equipment have shielding that is good enough in most cases.

As for conductivity, this isn't a big deal in most cases. If it's a little less conductive, you turn up the volume control a hair. (RCA patch cords from a turntable to your phono inputs are more sensitive to this, but any normal patch cord will be fine.)

Low capacitance is a good thing, although how critical it is depends largely upon the output impedance of the source component. As far as I know, all AVA equipment has low output impedances, so cable capacitance is not overly critical. (Again, RCA patch cords between turntable and phono input are more sensitive to cable capacitance, so it's wise to get low capacitance cables here.)

The generic RCA patch cords with the gold-plated ends that you can get from PartsExpress for less than $2 each will work just fine. If you want to go whole hog, buy some patch cords from Blue Jeans.

All the claims about wonderful sounding wire just make me yawn. They're proof that most people have no clue about where it is most cost-effective to spend money to improve a stereo system.

[hotroady]

 "Use the best cable you can! The length and type of speaker cable used in your system will have an audible effect. Under no circumstance should a wire of gauge higher(thinner) than#14 be used. In general, the longer the length used, the greater the necessity of a lower gauge, the better the sound, with diminishing returns setting in around #8 to #12 gauge.                                                                                         A variety of speaker cables are now available whose manufactures claim better performance than with standard heavy gauge wire. We have verified this in some cases, and the improvements available are often more noticeable than the differences between wires of different gauge."    [from an Martin Logan Logos manual]   I have to agree, even down to wire size mentioned..there is a point of diminishing returns.

[hotroady]

" Under no circumstance should a wire of gauge higher(thinner) than#14 be used. In general, the longer the length used, the greater the necessity of a lower gauge, the better the sound, with diminishing returns setting in around #8 to #12 gauge.                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                       The chart in this pdf shows relationship of low impedance wires/low impedance speakers and effect on Damping factor. Really comes into play using low damping factor tube amps.                                          http://www.community.chester.pa.us/files/technote/dampfact.pdf?PHPSESSID=8ffb53a4fdc2d3ef91b79c10f22                                                                     It has been my experience that mockers aren't particularly intelligent.

[turkey]

" Under no circumstance should a wire of gauge higher(thinner) than#14 be used. In general, the longer the length used, the greater the necessity of a lower gauge, the better the sound, with diminishing returns setting in around #8 to #12 gauge.                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                       The chart in this pdf shows relationship of low impedance wires/low impedance speakers and effect on Damping factor. Really comes into play using low damping factor tube amps.                                          http://www.community.chester.pa.us/files/technote/dampfact.pdf?PHPSESSID=8ffb53a4fdc2d3ef91b79c10f22                                                                     It has been my experience that mockers aren't particularly intelligent.

Ok, so don't use low damping factor toob amps. Problem solved.

It's been well known for a long time that you want to keep the resistance of your speaker wire as low as practical. For most people, 12 Ga. is more than adequate.