how do cable variables contribute to cable sound


there are several variables which contribute to the sound of a cable, as indicated below:

wire, geometry, connectors, connection, dielectric, outer jacket and other materials.

can anyone explain the contribution of each to the overall sound, preferably in percentage terms.

thus if one wanted to create a cable with a particular sonic
personality how would one combine the above ingredients to satisfy the goal ?

obviously, there the factors of inductance, impedance, resistance and capacitance. is it simply a case of a formula manipulating the values of the electrical characteristics that determines what a cable sounds like ?

by the way this type of questioning applies to preamps and amps too.
mrtennis
Ridgestreet - 10 paragraphs to say that you can't say - free exposure is one thing, but 10 paragraphs is pushing it more than a bit, no?

Look, you can say this tends to sound this way, and that tends to sound that way without giving away the farm. With the nebulous amount of science anyone can produce about cables, I wouldn't ride on too high a horse regarding the "secrets" of cable manufacturing.
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tvad, by any chance do you gain in some way from robert's sales of his cable. you seem to endorse unprofessional behavior. do you have a hidden agenda ?
I'm willing to be corrected here if I'm wrong but I read Mrt's questions as "What do I need to know if I wanted to design cables?" As a manufacturer, I'm not too inclined to give out formulas or techniques that accomplish certain sonic attributes for a lot of reasons...not to just keep "secret" what we do.

For now, I will suggest that in my view, everything matters in cabling and I don't feel that one particular set of priorities is more important than another. I attribute this to cables being a very "purist" type of passive circuit where everything can affect what the cable presents and where the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts.

Materials, processing, applications and electrical targets are all important with not one being more important than another to realize design goals and sonic performance.

I don't guess this really answers the question like you want but like I said, as I understand the question, I'm not too inclined to answer more specific.

Maybe if the answers really matter, why not become a equipment hobbyist and experiment. Or, I suppose buy products from different Mfg'ers who you trust make a good product and that you're able to distinguish product differences from and let your ears tell the conclusions.

As an after thought, let me add this. Most folks don't understand why a set of speakers sound the way they do or an amp or CDP or other gear. We're more interested in simply how the gear sounds, many times regardless if the gear has impeccable measurements or not. We desire to own gear mostly based on how it sounds, not on how it measures or whether we understand all its workings. We're content to admire the complexity of a circuit or its craftsmanship but we own it primarily because we like how it sounds. Usually, a cord doesn't elicit much admiration or exude much complexity or craftsmanship. I gotta say though, the higher end PAD stuff is very nice in these regards. Kudos to Jim.

I wonder if one reason cable Mfg'ers get accused of being evasive as if they are hiding is that the seemingly simplicity of cabling begs to be explained since they seem to be so "simple" that anyone could understand what's going on and why...unlike the PhD it might require to understand some complex audio circuits. In reality, cables are not that simple....unless you're content to use zip cord. Still, even with zip cord, there's a lot going on, it's just that none of it is optimized for a given application. There is a myriad of details to consider in a good cord. From the billet to what kind of die to use for extrusion and on and on.

Obviously, I'm not the only one unwilling to go into a lot of detail of what we do and why. I suspect that makes some folks mad because "it's just a cord, how could it possibly affect the sound...if it does as claimed?" So, maybe we're kind of insulted that we're not able to understand because no one will tell us why something so simple, a cable, can have such an impact. We look under the hood of a CDP and see it complexity and we expect it to have a profound contribution to sound...end of discussion. Cut a wire in half and all you see is...wire! How can that make a difference! The simplicity of it all begs for an answer. Because of the time reputable wire designers spend discovering what does what and how to make that all work together, they're not willing to divulge at least a lot of their findings or "recipes" if you will.

Guys are funny like this: We perceive a problem that matters to us and we want answers. If we can't get answers, we persist one way or another. Some go on their own mission while it seems some get mad and blame or attack those who have the answers because they won't tell. LOL!...sounds like my neighborhood when I was a kid!

Anyway, just my opinion. Hope it's worth something.

Robert
RSAD
Edison knew roughly what it takes to make a light bulb, yet it took him over a thousand experiments to come up with a decent one.
That's called engineering.
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As noted Tvad, that was my point to Mrtennis here - that this would seem to be one of the threads where there could actually be some value to contributions from cable guys, giving their experience, but hopefully not more "shameless plugs".

BTW, "opinion and semi-informed opinion" also comes from "cable professionals" in my experience, as actual measurements and scientific data are painfully thin in this area of the hobby, but that thread has been rehased ad nauseam.
Another question posed on a philosophical[sp] level shrouded in an electrical pattern of possibilities should/could also be presented on approximately 14,384,738 other sites also.But since you are here now,I must say,I do like your processes and will follow this to its ultimate if illogical destination.Which may or may not suit your inquiry.As Snofun3 has related in his usual adroitness,keep em coming.Good day sir,Bob
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My Mrtennis, you certainly have been busy in the short time you've been in these threads, but your topics are usually quite interesting and insightful. Keep 'em coming.

One item though - in the one regarding "line cord affecting frequency response" you chastise a promoter who responded as being inappropriate. I completely agree with you regarding that thread, since his post was hardly responsive to your question, but intended to get free promotion.

It surprised me that many others apparently didn't mind the "shameless plug(s)" however as evidenced by the responses, encouraging promoters to "contribute".

My question to you - Don't you think a thread like this is only baiting these guys to come out of the woodwork? And beside that, if I've ever seen a thread where these guys could actually contribute something of value, this would seem to be one where they may have something of value - no?