Does raising speaker cables off the floor really make a big difference?


My cables are laying on the floor (in a mess), would raising them off the floor really make much of a difference? The problem is they are quite wide and too long  http://mgaudiodesign.com/planus3.htm so any suggested props are appreciated!  Cheers
spoutmouzert

Showing 5 responses by bdp24

@mijosten, okay man, my mistake! By the way, my post was double-layered; I’m goofing on audiophilia, not cable risers themselves. I avoid the question altogether by having all my cords short enough that none CAN lay on the floor. They are suspended in air, the best dielectric.
@mijostyn, for the answer to your question, reread my post, this time with your tongue firmly planted against your cheek. Which, by the way, also leads to better sound: the tongue’s pressure against the cheek damps the resonances of that skin (the cheek skin’s connected to the.....ear bone; the ear bone’s connected to the....brain stem;.....etc.), and the position of the tongue within the mouth effects the cavity resonance found there. Purse your lips as they are when speaking A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y, to hear the change in vowel colorations.
Actually, putting a drumkit on a riser drastically effects it’s sound, and some recording studios do so for that very reason. But not as much so as where in relation to the walls the kit is placed. Avoid at all costs cinderblock walls, as I learned at one studio in North Hollywood. Too close to one made the sound all "phasey" (think "Itchycoo Park"). Out as far as possible into the room is a good rule of thumb.
I think Cardas actually cut their little wooden doohickeys into Golden Ratio-sized blocks. Gotta keep to the program, right? In for a dime, in for a dollar. Even better, for a bunch of 'em!

If you use cable risers, make sure to try them facing in both directions. The grain in the wood, plastic, Styrofoam coffee cup, and cardboard toilet paper roll interacts with the photons traveling down the cable dielectric, smearing the music. If Pat Boone sounds like he’s had one too many martinis, reverse the risers.

If you don’t use risers and your listening room has carpeted floors, at least groom the carpet fibers to lay in the direction the signal is traveling through the interconnects and speaker cables, to minimize the resistance. For the area under your power cords, install Berber carpet. The looped fibers lead to better grounding.