Yes they can!
Are cable “upgrades” just as likely to make your system sound worse?
Many of us with highly resolving systems have found that speakers cables and interconnect cables can improve the sound quality of our systems. But are they also just as likely to do the opposite?
A few months ago, I “upgraded” to a renowned speaker cable, and immediately noticed more detail and resolution. I was so pleased I also “upgraded” the interconnects. But with more time I realized that the trade-off for more detail was a thinner sound with diminished tonal richness. Thus began a maddening series of attempts to fix the problem – different speaker cables, different DAC, different streamer, and now even a 30 trial of a new amplifier to try to overcome the thinness and find a more natural tone. It finally occurred to me to replace the out-of-sight-out-of-mind interconnects (with my original interconnects), and immediately the problem was blessedly solved.
Have others experienced this frustration? What recommendations do you have to avoid such fiascos?
Showing 7 responses by jacobsdad2000
High-fidelity sound reproduction, psychophysics, and auditory neurophysiologyhttp://boson.physics.sc.edu/~kunchur//Acoustics-papers.htm "Cable pathways between audio components can affect perceived sound quality", M. N. Kunchur, Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, vol. 69, pp. 398–409 (2021). pdf file (also please see the paper's official AES Forum) |
@waytoomuchstuff Lowe is right in my experience. "Cables can’t make a system sound better. They can only make it sound worse. It’s all about damage control." This entire paper (website) is a real good read and addresses some of these findings. "Cable pathways between audio components can affect perceived sound quality", M. N. Kunchur, Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, vol. 69, pp. 398–409 (2021). pdf file (also please see the paper's official AES Forum) |
@czarivey a denier disciple. Should read the AES papers by Dr, Kunchur. As should have that other guy. But hey you decide. |
@czarivey Well the good doctor is a PhD in Physics and I am sure you could learn something either way. Chat-Gpt is your deal not my source for information. Very likely that Chat Gpt more wrong than right. Milind N. Kunchur, Ph.D., APS Fellow http://boson.physics.sc.edu/~kunchur/ Cheers old boy.
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@davetheoilguy not at all, lots of folks buy quality components and build their own cables, IC, Power, Speaker. I have the patients to set suspension SAG on race cars and motorcycles, dyno tune and build engines. When it comes to audio I am a plug and play guy. For what it cost to build your cables I bought OCC,(better than ofc some say) Silver Center, Litz Constructed speaker cables with WBT connectors, under $400.00. Now I do not have the personal satisfaction you do, unless I go the race track and watch a client wring his stuff out. Been building snow machines as of late. IE 500 is coming up soon the Indy 500 for Snowmobile racers. |