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How does music "move" down a wire?

Please excuse me for this question if it is dumb. I'm trying to understand how music/sound moves down a wire. (I think) I understand how sound is transmitted through air and that an electrical signal is produced by the source (e.g., stylus in groove) which, after various amplification stages, then 'excites' electrons in the speaker cable.

However, I don't know if different notes (e.g., double bass versus flute) 'excite' the electrons in different ways. That is, do the electrons excited by bass notes move slower than those excited by flute notes? To add complication, music is comprised of many notes played at the same time. Do some electrons move with the bass notes and others with the flute notes, or is it a wave of electrons with various layers of frequency one atop the other?

Would electrons be moving similarly in each wire of a stranded cable (i.e., they would only be excited within the boundaries of that particular wire) as opposed to the electrons moving across the full diameter of the cable?
kencalgary

Showing 3 responses by knownothing

knownothing
1,692 posts
 
That was a very helpful explaination(s).

"But the signal all gets to the end of the wire at basically the same time"

This makes me think, how different would wire lengths have to be for the acute listener to notice a difference in the arrival time in a pair of a stereo signals at the speakers? Answers based on complex theoretical calulations, general principles or SWAGs all entertained here.
knownothing
1,692 posts
 
Thanks Al, very cool logic. Your analysis would of course hold best in scenario of an anechoic chamber. In the average listening room, reflections and nodes etc. would further diminish any vanishing differences in sound imparted by differences in speaker wire length.

I have fretted about this in certain applications in the past and it has cost me in wasted lengths of speaker wire. I haven't ever noticed a difference in sound with differential lengths of wire, but since I was fretting about everything else, I thought I should worry about this too. Apparently not. Thanks again for your analysis.
knownothing
1,692 posts
 
Public A ha moment - pretty clear to me now why performance of speaker wire is contingent on impedance curve of speakers, amplifier capability and properties, and to a lesser (or greater) degree, the sensitivities and proclivity of the listener. Given all this difficult to see how anybody could recommend gear and wire combinations without first hand (or ear) experience with all in specific set up. I got that as a matter of common sense previously, but this series of lectures provides some theoretical and practical foundation. Nice.
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