Thanks Al. I think that you are completely right about the system dependence. I'm using a Lightspeed LDR clone preamp and it's definitely sensitive to impedance match in both input and output directions in terms of components, so it's not surprising that the same is true of cables.
Hero vs Goertz did a comparison
Never done a cable head to head before until now but I had wanted to try the Goertz MicroPurl Copper interconnects for a while. My new preamp seemed to lack some sparkle on the top end, and I thought maybe is was a cable match situation. I was right. The Goertz has definitely brought back the highs that were sounding a bit rolled off with the Hero with the new preamp. I went back and forth a couple of times and the Goertz was a clear winner on all three LPs that I tested. The cables are airy-er and have a better, deeper soundstage. I'm now of course wondering if I should try the Goertz silver.
2 responses Add your response
Glad that you have found a synergistic cable match with your preamp. However I would caution those reading this against the expectation that similar results will necessarily occur in other systems, or even between other components in your own system. The Goertz writeup on this cable cites as one of its main advantages "a near match of cable characteristic impedance with the impedance at the signal source." Simply put, that strikes me as nonsense, because the output impedances of different preamps and line-level source components commonly vary all the way from a few ohms to a few thousand ohms. And unfortunately the writeup does not appear to indicate what the cable's characteristic impedance is. Also, the importance of that impedance match is highly debatable. Also, the writeup emphasizes the low inductance of the cable, and its role in reducing noise. However, low inductance often goes hand in hand with high capacitance (as is the case with their speaker cables). Capacitance can be shown analytically to usually be the more important of the two parameters for an interconnect cable, especially if the output impedance of the component driving the cable is high. Unfortunately the inductance and capacitance of these interconnects appear to be unspecified. My comments are not intended to diminish your findings, but to emphasize that, as is usual when it comes to cables, the performance of these cables can be expected to be highly system dependent. Regards, -- Al |
