Favorite Speaker Wire -- Part 2: Insulation

[Bob Brines]

OK, now that we have beat mechanical distortion to death, let's try this one:

The permeability of PVC insulation vs Teflon is supposed to cause smearing and loss of detail. Anyone care to work the numbers on this one?

Bob

[SY]

Permeability? These are nonmagnetic materials.

[Scottmoose]

It's a bit early for an April Fool's Day 2009 gag isn't it Bob?

Regarding dilectric absorbtion, audioholics have 3 nice pages on the subject here: http://www.audioholics.com/education...ables-debunked -OK, not perfect, but not bad at all. There are admittedly some other arguments against PVC -it's rotten for the environment (not that a lot of alternatives are much better) & there are some chemical reaction issues that can catch a badly made piece of wire out.

Life is getting far too short at this point...

[GM]

"Life is getting far too short at this point..."

Ya think?

[rjbond3rd]

Okay, so if audiophiles swear they hear stuff and physics suggests it's impossible, what is the explanation for the disparity? Is it all mere gullibility or self-delusion in every case?

I hesitate to conclude that, given the number of times accepted audio wisdom has changed through the decades. (Not that I have any better explanation, I'm just puzzled.)

[panomaniac]

Hearing is funky.

I can tell you right away if a video cable is good or bad - but it's soooo much harder with audio.

[SY]

Is it all mere gullibility or self-delusion in every case?

Possibly. The human mind is superb at finding patterns that don't exist; that's wired in by evolution. There's a great entertainment value in chasing ghosts, and that's much of what high end hifi is all about. The most profound thing anyone has ever told me in this field was Nelson Pass's comment that, "We're in the entertainment business. People have fun swapping components, listening, and discussing."

I've said it before and I'll say it again- spend ten minutes with a good conjurer and you'll never again take what you THINK you perceive as what really happened.

[Scottmoose]

Very true. Smoke & mirrors.

[rjbond3rd]

I notice the hifi magazines stopped doing blind A/B testing a while back. Is it cynical to conclude that the very expensive stuff could not live up? Surely some hi-end tweaks are truly better while others are obviously as silly as they are expensive. I'm curious why A/B testing didn't just solve the matter. Or did it?

P.S. I'm not sure it's always clear which ones are silly without the A/B testing, e.g. the 98-cent tweak might seem ridiculous at first.

[chrisb]

Originally posted by SY



I've said it before and I'll say it again- spend ten minutes with a good conjurer and you'll never again take what you THINK you perceive as what really happened.

the Criss Angel factor

don't we all secretly want to believe in what we "know" is impossible?

no political or theological jokes

Originally posted by rjbond3rd
I notice the hifi magazines stopped doing blind A/B testing a while back. Is it cynical to conclude that the very expensive stuff could not live up? Surely some hi-end tweaks are truly better while others are obviously as silly as they are expensive. I'm curious why A/B testing didn't just solve the matter. Or did it?

P.S. I'm not sure it's always clear which ones are silly without the A/B testing, e.g. the 98-cent tweak might seem ridiculous at first.

or magic polka-dots of paint - just hear it