Interconnects and non-believers

OMG! What is with these overdrawn disertations [sic]?  How incredibly tiresome they are!

Tiresome to some; thought provoking, nuanced, and highly intelligent to others.

Including me. As I said in my post in this thread dated 6-6-2018, expressing respect for the OP and his findings as well as for what Prof has had to say:

.... Is it any wonder that dramatic consequences would result from changing to a cable that is simply a cable from a cable which includes passive electronic circuit elements and whose expressly stated purposes include intentional introduction of effects on tonal balance?

Which is not to deny that the OP, whom I know from discussions in other threads here to be an accomplished classical musician as well as an astute listener and a sincere poster, would have perceived significant changes if what he had replaced had been simply a cable. But I would certainly expect that whatever differences he may have perceived in making such a substitution would have been significantly less dramatic.

On another note ... I too find that the invariably cogent, thoughtful, well written, and IMO reasonably and appropriately open-minded nature of Prof’s posts makes them a pleasure to read.

Regards,
-- Al

I would like to restate and elaborate on something I pointed out in the early part of the thread, which appears to have been overlooked in the ensuing discussion. What the OP replaced was not simply a cable. It was a cable that included a "network." Which its description makes clear includes an inductor, and presumably also other passive circuit elements since the cable’s description states that it has a "more complex network" than the manufacturer’s lesser cable.

And a stated goal of that network, among others, is to increase the efficiency with which low to mid frequencies are conducted, relative to the efficiency with which treble frequencies are conducted. (See the third paragraph on the first of the two linked pages, and also the link contained within that paragraph).

Is it any wonder that dramatic consequences would result from changing to a cable that is simply a cable from a cable which includes passive electronic circuit elements and whose expressly stated purposes include intentional introduction of effects on tonal balance?

Which is not to deny that the OP, whom I know from discussions in other threads here to be an accomplished classical musician as well as an astute listener and a sincere poster, would have perceived significant changes if what he had replaced had been simply a cable. But I would certainly expect that whatever differences he may have perceived in making such a substitution would have been significantly less dramatic.

On another note, to elaborate on one of Analogluvr’s comments I too find that the invariably cogent, thoughtful, well written, and IMO reasonably and appropriately open-minded nature of Prof’s posts makes them a pleasure to read.

Regards,
-- Al

I believe the Transparent MusicLink interconnect cables incorporate a "network" of some sort, for which no technical definition has ever been made available, as far as I am aware.  But I would certainly not find it surprising that changing a networked cable to a non-networked cable (or vice versa) would have dramatic consequences in many systems, for many listeners.

Best regards,
-- Al 

Hi RV,

DAC sonics can sometimes be particularly susceptible to ground loop effects, which in turn can be dependent on both the designs of the components that are being connected and the characteristics of the interconnecting cables.

An interesting experiment, should you be so inclined, might be to put the power cord of the preamp on a cheater plug (a 3-prong to 2-prong adapter), with the safety ground left unconnected. That would eliminate any possible ground loop effects between the DAC and the preamp (and also between the preamp and the power amp). Then see if the change in interconnect cables still makes a difference, or as much of a difference.

I’m assuming, of course, that the preamp has a 3-prong power plug; if not then never mind. Although if it has a 2-prong plug, and the plug is non-polarized (i.e., if the two prongs have identical width), reversing the orientation with which it is plugged into the outlet may also be a worthwhile experiment.

Best regards,
-- Al