I have very great doubts that the RF Transmission line theory that Sean promotes has any relevance to audio. He couldn't convince me with all his words. But then he did something simple...loaned me a couple of speaker cables which I compared with zip cord. That won him the debate. The difference was not nearly as dramatic as some advocates of fancy wire claim, but there was something there. I still doubt his theories, but I went out and bought some speaker cables.
cable dielectric cause of artificial sound
Hi folks, I would like to know what your opinion is about the following issue. About 90% of high-end cable manufacturers use PTFE as dielectric. Many of their cables sound much alike and they have a few of these characteristics in common: clean, relaxed and laid back sound but at the same time very dynamic (though a bit artificially), very quiet ("black background"), very good (also artificially) left/right separation. But I think albeit these traits, they tend to sound "technicolored", "sterile" and unengaging (lacking PRaT also). Some cable manufacturers are using bleached cotton as dielectric. These cables sound different: they have more natural dynamics, a mellower sound, more intimate soundstage, more tonal colors and so on. Are these differences mainly due to the dielectric material used? Why is for so many manufacturers PTFE still the ultimate dielectric for the use in audio cables?
Chris
Chris