Characteristic impedance of audio cables

rtarbell · 13th July 2006, 05:14 AM

Stupid question:

Even though we are using cables for audio frequencies (which are very sub-RF), does the characteristic impedance ITSELF of the signal cable play a significant role?

==> I know that twisted pair is better than straight copper, but shielded cable (like coax) may be better than twisted pair (at least for noise rejection). Does this have anything to do with the characteristic impedance of coax vs. twisted pair at audio frequencies?

davidsrsb · 13th July 2006, 07:26 AM

Impedance only matters if the cable is VERY long, like telephone lines.
Parameters like transfer impedance, which is a measure of the shielding effectiveness, are more important.

lndm · 13th July 2006, 10:29 AM

As I guess you already know, the characteristic impedance is a matter of the reactances in the cable, as at RF they are dominant. Quite simply, cable capacitance and inductance are insignificant to audio frequencies and applications (well, relatively

).

Anyway, considering the long wavelengths of audio electrical signals (and short cable runs), we can just consider these strays as single reactances rather than a complex network.

13th July 2006, 05:14 AM	#1
rtarbell diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2005	Characteristic impedance of audio cables Stupid question: Even though we are using cables for audio frequencies (which are very sub-RF), does the characteristic impedance ITSELF of the signal cable play a significant role? ==> I know that twisted pair is better than straight copper, but shielded cable (like coax) may be better than twisted pair (at least for noise rejection). Does this have anything to do with the characteristic impedance of coax vs. twisted pair at audio frequencies?

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13th July 2006, 07:26 AM	#2
davidsrsb diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Kuala Lumpur	Impedance only matters if the cable is VERY long, like telephone lines. Parameters like transfer impedance, which is a measure of the shielding effectiveness, are more important.

13th July 2006, 10:29 AM	#3
lndm diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: nsw	As I guess you already know, the characteristic impedance is a matter of the reactances in the cable, as at RF they are dominant. Quite simply, cable capacitance and inductance are insignificant to audio frequencies and applications (well, relatively ). Anyway, considering the long wavelengths of audio electrical signals (and short cable runs), we can just consider these strays as single reactances rather than a complex network.

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