Are ferrites effective for cabling?

wisciman99 OP65 posts01-14-2019 10:16am 

 I have a very minute amount of hiss coming from the speakers (I have to put my ear almost literally on the speaker grills to hear it)

The hiss you are hearing is probably just the electronic components inside your audio equipment. The efficiency of your speakers might also be making it more pronounce.
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Alright, geoff, that begs the question is there a way to eliminate hiss from the signal path?  I probably should have started with that question, my apologies.

Just a brief note. Hiss isn’t really the kind of noise that ferrites address. Assuming that ferrites worked on audio cables, which they don’t.  Carry on. 🕺🏻

Thanks everyone for your comments so far, at least the germane ones.  As I suspected is the case with this topic (and most of the others) there is a whirlwind of opinions, both good and bad.  What I am gathering is that there is at least a possibility that they can help a little with noise.  I have a very minute amount of hiss coming from the speakers (I have to put my ear almost literally on the speaker grills to hear it) but the AC hum has been eliminated with the Tice.  I have no problem with a little experimentation, shoot, I did it throughout high school and college, so why not, right? ;-)

Not sure I go along with making 10 loops in an audio cable to reduce stray RF, i.e., turning the cable into an inductor.

“The major goal of high end cables is to reduce inductance as much as possible.” - Tara Labs, maker of ultra low inductance audio cables

I am not diminishing the problem of stray RF, as we are swimming in a pool of RF.

I stand under correction but we wind 10 turns of the cable in a loop for vhf transmission lines to remove any stray rf, perhaps this will work for audio...

So, you’re using my jokes now? 

Monkey see, monkey do. 

Exactly! And it seems like such a good idea, too. File it along with other things that don’t work, like lead, Sonex, ERS cloth and keep moving. A rolling pebble gathers no moss.

I reseached the right ones to use and experimented. Did my due diligence. Dulled the sound unfortunately. So yes one could say they lowered the noise floor, but they also lowered the Fidelity! Oh well. 

You know that random approach to trying things without knowing what they do is only going to cause you frustration. People who design electronics don’t just say “hmmm, that random handful of parts looks good to me, they will do anything I want if I believe it enough”. Failure to plan is the same as planning to fail.

Bingo! And Bingo, again! 🤗

Ok, tried them on Ethernet and usb cables and found they dulled the sound too much. Much like putting any amount of Stillpoints ERS tape on cables.

@geoffkait 

I’m pretty sure you’ll find the answer is .....no. They do work quite well on non-audio related cords, though. I mean, to improve the sound, in case my statement is ambiguous. Oh, no offense to anyone who thinks they work on audio cables.


Wrong-o Geoffy. Ferrite beads are inductors. Inductors are essential in low pass filters. X(L)=2*pi*f*L. If you understand this principle of electronics and Ohm’s Law, and are capable of performing simple arithmetic, you would know that ferrite beads are highly effective when correctly applied to the SIGNAL bearing conductor(s) of any audio cable. The misconception you have fallen prey to is that they won’t work on SHIELDED cables, which is partly correct, as they do impart a minuscule improvement. But, put ferrite beads on the SIGNAL bearing conductors as part of a well planned low pass filter, and the improvements will be obvious. 

All my power cables are PS Audio & have 'ferrite impregnated jacket'. I find them very effective with noise reduction / elimination, although some have commented that they render the sound 'dark'. I actually prefer a 'dark' sound anyway - my 'cup-o-tea'

Best place I think is in power cables.

Worth trying on the amp side of a speaker cable, especially with amps that use feedback.

Powdered pebbles. Cool.

Verastarr uses a power mixture of earth minerals having noise reducing properties. Contact Mike Powell Audio to discuss. He has posted videos on his YouTube channel about these materials. His YouTube user name OCD HiFi Guy. 

I’m pretty sure you’ll find the answer is .....no. They do work quite well on non-audio related cords, though. I mean, to improve the sound, in case my statement is ambiguous. Oh, no offense to anyone who thinks they work on audio cables.

@elizabeth , thanks for the smile. @wisciman99, sorry for the intrusion.

@elizabeth , if you fine tune your system a bit maybe with a ferrite or weasel, you would of heard them.

Thanks for the more appropriate answer, but kudos to tooblue's sense of humor ;-)  I have a Tice Signature III(b) so I have the noise from the house eliminated, but I'm wondering about what may creep in through the unavoidable tangle of cords that I have unfortunately amassed behind the entertainment center.  I have a couple different sizes and have a couple on cables like the coax coming from the satellite and and an interconnect or two, but wonder if they help with or detract from from the signalling?

If the ferrites don't work try a few small weasels.