female needs expert advice

Since I'm not an expert,I'll quote this one:

http://www.sundial.net/~rogerr/wire.htm

You read it? An eye opener,huh?

I don't care WHO the guy is, who he works for, how many tests he's done, etc... If you can't tell the difference between some very specific speaker cables in a system, something is VERY wrong. I am not talking about "stupid" test conditions where people are substituting 30 gauge wire for 12 gauge wire in 25' runs either.

Keep in mind that ALL of the testing that Gordon Gow, Larry Greenhill, Edgar Villchur, etc.. did, they compared ZIP CORD to ZIP CORD. All they changed was the actual gauge used, not any major electrical or geometrical characteristics.

I found this "excerpt" EXTREMELY interesting. "Journal of the Audio Engineering Society by Lipshitz and Vanderkooy titled "The Great Debate: Subjective Evaluation" Volume 29, No. 7/8 July/August. They estimated that when level differences occurred over a wide band, they were detectable down to 0.2 dB." Roger then tries to "discredit" these findings by saying that the authors / conductors of the tests somewhat "negated" their findings via a PHONE CONVERSATION !!!! Why weren't their findings directly challenged in a rebuttal JAES paper or "amended" by the authors if this were true ??? What kind of CRAP is that ?????

Keep in mind that, EVEN if Lipshitz and Vanderkooy DID state this, they specifically mentioned that the differences at extreme high frequencies might be negated due to hearing loss as one ages or their hearing deteriorates. They did not state that the differences would not be noticeable in the midrange, where our ears are most sensitive.

The differences in speakers / speaker cables / amplifiers respond as a WHOLE. That means that some systems will be more sensitive to changes than others. I do agree that gauge WILL affect sonics, but not only in low frequency response that requires greater current. High frequency response and overall tonal balance IS affected. In some severely reactive cases, different wires can literally "make" or "break" a system due to "buffering" or adding reactance to the load that the amplifier sees.

Nelson Pass documents the various levels of loading that occur when ONLY speaker cables are changed within a specific system. There are VERY obvious differences in rise times, overshoot, ringing, etc... amongst all of the cables tested. Now mate some of those cables with various types of loads ( big impedance swings, very low impedance loads, highly reactive loads, loads that vary reactance with frequency, etc ), with different amplifier output designs, and you can see how EACH system could produce enough variables to make ANY "set in stone" claims about audibility / lack of audibility completely "assinine". Anybody that thinks that they know all of the answers for every situation known ( or not known ) to man is pretty narrow-minded and just flat out "dumb".

Keep in mind that i am NOT a proponent of "MEGA dollar wires" nor am i affiliated with any wire / cable manufacturer. I do feel that wires can and do make a difference though. I base this on testing that i and others have shared with common responses.

As someone else stated, buy what makes the biggest difference to YOUR ears. Then have your cables "burned in" for best results : ) Sean
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It,s me again
I feel much better now, thought you guts were making fun of me.Did learn alot espically the amp thing doesn,t seem to be so much of a waste after all.Think I,ll stick with the devil I know.Why waste money on a little improvement if any,a big big one now thats a different thing.Thank you Roxy for your encouragement nice to see another female messing into a male dominate hobby, like you I,am sure just love it. looking for the holy Grail of sound will we ever find it live concerts I guess.Thanks again all respondents

Tarbishaw, I did not raise my point about your header title because I was offended, as I would have no reason to be. I also did not mean to attack you, or suggest that a female has no place in "the men's room", as you put it. Quite the contrary; I believe that nothing would be healthier, or is more needed, in the high-end world than for it to considerably broaden its audience among not only females, but also people of all colors, ages, sexual orientations, income levels, educational levels, the works. Maybe then an audiophile's sex wouldn't prompt unusual attention. In my opinion, the whole topic is fair and prime game for input on this forum by all folks who are members of any of these groups rare or unrecognized in this hobby, be they veterans or newbies. Just trying to provoke some thought.

Hello Tarbishaw, another female here, glad to hear from you. The guys here are great, full of encouragement and good advise. Here's my 2 cents about cable recommendations: I have used Transparent speaker cables for years with all kinds of music and both solid state and tube amps with great results. You can find Ultra, Ultra XL, and even Reference here used at good prices. Recently, I sold my Transparent and went with Ensemble speaker cables, a lot less expensive and with no degradation of sound whatsoever. Currently, Ensemble is my favorite cable, for interconnect, speaker, or power cord. If you want to really go inexpensive, try out the DH Labs Q-10 speaker cables. I have a pair that I have swapped in and out w/both Transparent and Ensemble and think they are very good value. Not as good as the Ensemble, but very close for under $300 for biwire pair.
Changing the subject--I'm going to a Celtic Fiddle Festival at a folk music club near here in a couple of weeks, with some musicians from Cape Breton playing, as well as others. You're right, nothing beats live acoustic foot-stomping music!