[mlundy57]

Here are links two articles on cables and audio perception published in professional journals in 2021.

One is on “Cable pathways between audio components can affect perceived sound quality” in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, Volume 69 Issue 6 pp. 398-409, June 1st 2021 and the other is on “An electrical study of single-ended analog interconnect cables”, in the IOSR Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 40-53 (2021 Dec.).

The first article addresses the issue of can a difference be heard and can be found here:

    Cable pathways between audio components can affect perceived sound quality
    http://boson.physics.sc.edu/~kunchur/papers/Audibility-of-cable-pathways--Kunchur.pdf
    boson.physics.sc.edu


Clicking on the link allows you to download the PDF.

Be sure to also read the follow-up article that is listed as reference 49 [49] in the References section at the end of the article. For information, I've copied the reference information below. However, for some reason, clicking on the link below gets a 404 Not found error. The way to access the article "An electrical study of single-ended analog interconnect cables” is to download the original article above, open the PDF, go to reference 49 on the last page, hold down the CTRL key and left click on the link. This allows you to down load article.

[49] M. N. Kunchur, “An electrical study of single-ended analog interconnect cables”, IOSR Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 40-53 (2021 Dec.). DOI: 10.9790/2834-1606014053 http://boson.physics.sc.edu/~kunchur/papers/Interconnectcable-measurements--Kunchur.pdf
boson.physics.sc.edu

This second article addresses the issue of just because there are no differences in the physical attributes measured, doesn't mean the attributes being measured are the ones that are important to the audible differences. Be sure to read it as well as the one originally referenced.

The point of this post is neither to discuss the topic nor the different views/personalities involved. Only to provide access to recent experimental information on the topic published in professional scientific journals.

Please refrain from discussing the topic in this thread so access to the information doesn't end up in quarantine or the waste bin.

Thank you,

Mike

[I.Greyhound Fan]

The second link does not work.

[mlundy57]

The second link does not work.

Correct, you cannot simply click on the second link. It is in the post for reference only.

Follow these instructions from the original post:

The way to access the article "An electrical study of single-ended analog interconnect cables” is to download the original article above, open the PDF, go to reference 49 on the last page, hold down the CTRL key and left click on the link. This allows you to down load article.

[NoahH]

Mike - you are a hero for linking these. Thank you

I appreciate that the experimental setup was sufficient gear. Ex. A Berkeley DAC, Spectral amp, etc.

[mlundy57]

Mike - you are a hero for linking these. Thank you

I appreciate that the experimental setup was sufficient gear. Ex. A Berkeley DAC, Spectral amp, etc.

I can’t take credit for the first article. Subsonic linked to it in his post that ended up in quarantine. I downloaded and read the first article then followed up by getting and reading the second article. I posted this info in the original thread. When it was quarantined, I started this thread so the information in the articles didn’t get lost.

[Freo-1]

Interesting articles. I still think there is FAR more attributed to cables connecting components than the deltas they actually provide.  The cost of some interconnects are out of proportion to any potential benefit provided. 


Perhaps the best method to address this issue is to simply own an integrated solution,  such as the NAD M33, or Devialet Expert Pro 220/250. Can't get any better coupling that keeping it all internal.

[Tom Bombadil]

Am I correct in understanding that the two interconnects being compared were a 0.5m XLR vs a 2.0m RCA?  And that they were connected to different inputs and outputs on both the DAC and the amplifier? 

As a statistician who has reviewed many experimental designs of many different types of research studies, my alarm flag went up immediately.  This experimental design would require that it be proven that the XLR output from the DAC is exactly the same as its RCA output.  Likewise the XLR input of the amp would need to be exactly the same as its RCA input. 

If these things are not known and proven, then how can one conclude any perceived or measured differences lie wholly in the cables?   How do you know it isn't from the connectors?  Or from the circuitry inside of each unit? 

[mlundy57]

Am I correct in understanding that the two interconnects being compared were a 0.5m XLR vs a 2.0m RCA?  And that they were connected to different inputs and outputs on both the DAC and the amplifier? 

As a statistician who has reviewed many experimental designs of many different types of research studies, my alarm flag went up immediately.  This experimental design would require that it be proven that the XLR output from the DAC is exactly the same as its RCA output.  Likewise the XLR input of the amp would need to be exactly the same as its RCA input. 

If these things are not known and proven, then how can one conclude any perceived or measured differences lie wholly in the cables?   How do you know it isn't from the connectors?  Or from the circuitry inside of each unit?

In the first article yes, thar is what they did. I had the same questions and concerns. Also, if you pay attention to the title of the article it reads “can cable pathways mak an audible difference”, not can cables mak an audible difference.

I did like I always do when reading articles, make note of my concerns then continue to read the article to see if they are addressed or not. In this article they were and careful reading of the entire article and the title made it clear I had misread the title. The author specifically noted these questions and suggested additional research to address them. Which is what the second article does.

In the second article they only deal with RCA cables of the same length.