I don't believe cables make a difference, any input?

[chris ma]

Originally posted by carlosfm
Guys, there's an important issue here.

You will never know what's on the disc.
You will never know if you are reproducing it as faithfully as it was recorded.
Because of the manufacturing process, even the producer doesn't know what's really on the final, released disc.

There's no way of knowing, because there's no perfect replay chain.

But one of my test CD containes a track of binary zero. When I play it I hear nothing, so the process must be valid to certain extent

[Steve M]

It is crazy (or people are just plain deaf!) to say that all cables sound the same!

Whilst it is somewhat true that a lot of copper cables sound the same, there are some silver cables and flat copper cables that sound vastly different from normal copper stranded cable.

Anyone doubting this, just try some Nordost Flatline Gold speaker cable or any of their flat interconnects. These have a special quality of being VERY detailed and being open and transparent - completely different sounding from a raft of copper stranded cables I've tried over the years.

These days I have drifted towards DIY cables made of very thin 0.25mm diameter pure silver. These cables are super-detailed with fast transients and VERY different from the sound of copper. I am not claiming that silver is the best(it can be a bit edgy), but they are certainly very different sounding and would burst the bubble of the ignorant view that all cables sound the same !

Regards,

Steve M.

[carlosfm]

Originally posted by chris ma
But one of my test CD containes a track of binary zero. When I play it I hear nothing, so the process must be valid to certain extent

That's not music.

[rdf]

Originally posted by carlosfm


That's not music.

Yes it is. It's John Cage's 4' 33".

[fdegrove]

Hi,

These days I have drifted towards DIY cables made of very thin 0.25mm diameter pure silver. These cables are super-detailed with fast transients and VERY different from the sound of copper. I am not claiming that silver is the best(it can be a bit edgy), but they are certainly very different sounding and would burst the bubble of the ignorant view that all cables sound the same !

Thank you.
That's actually a very accurate description of what a decent silver cable can sound like.
I don't agree with the edgy sound being due to the nature of the cable. It could very well be a flaw in the recording or the playback system. YMMV.

Cheers,

[carlosfm]

Originally posted by rdf
Yes it is. It's John Cage's 4' 33".

Change track.
That's not a sound recording, that's binary zeros.
I don't believe they recorded and mixed that track.

[Steve M]

On the sound of silver, you could be right Frank...

Maybe the silver is just bloody revealing and showing up flaws in the recording or system? I have noticed on some 'perfectly' recorded material there is no edge with the silver, just pure and clear sounding music.

Overall, I consider my 0.25mm DIY silver to be better than the $550 (VdH The First); $760 (XLO Ref-1) & $1000AUD (UK Mandrake) cables that I have in my collection.

Regards,

Steve M.

[Steve Eddy]

Ok, Frank. You wore me out. I give.

se

[fdegrove]

Hi,

Maybe the silver is just bloody revealing and showing up flaws in the recording or system?

Indeed it can be.

It can even be revealing of flaws in connectors: transition areas from one metal (say goldplating over nickel for instance) to another can sometimes cause listening fatigue that people tend to attribute to the silver nature of the cable.

I try to use silver plated connectors of decent integrity but these are notoriously hard to source.

Another observation that I find to be true is that the more silverwire is used (as hookup wire for instance) throughout a system, the more its positive attributes to the sound will be appreciated.

As you noticed yourself, it's not hard to make your own silverwire cables and outperform the majority of the commercial offerings at a fraction of the cost.
After all, silver is not expensive, PTFE tubing is not hard to get and you can pick whatever geometry suits your needs or taste.

Ok, Frank. You wore me out. I give.

I did?


Cheers,

[pxr5]

interconnect/ low level siganal cables less than 3v say, are quite different to speaker wires.
the coaxial type of signal level cable has variable electrical properties, one of noticible effect is its capacitance.
this is due to its design and materials used.
they are made this way to protect the wanted signal from being corrupted by electromagnetic radiation.

now, a compass works by force being exerted upon a needle by earths magnetic field. for seem to remember some equations called bil and bev, and flemings left hand rule for directions etc.
these formulas relate to current(hence voltage in impedance)
magnetic field strength, length and something to do with speed and charge on electrons. its how motors work, food blenders for example.

when swapping about with cables, alignment with magnetic fields, thinking earths, changes and hence all other related parameters.

what i am wondering is how effective are the "screened" type cables at actualy screening, what about solar flares?

I know this sounds a bit extreme, but i remember being able to demonstrate gravity buy creating a current in some wire merely with a mass of a few ounces.

perhaps there is more at work here than at first apparent