shielded vs unshielded pros and cons?


I read about this concerning ICs. Can someone help explain the  the differences to me and why it's important (or not),
WITHOUT BEING CONDESCENDING OR HIJACKING THE QUESTION? That would help me to understand it better.
rsjm80

Showing 1 response by williewonka

@rsjm80 - first you have to consider the application of the cable in question...

  1. interconnects used to connect a turntable to the phono stage - this signal is very small and it is amplified significantly more than the signal from the phono stage to the amp/pre-amp - so any noise in that cable will be amplified to easily discernible audible levels
  2. interconnects used to connect the phono stage (or other similar device) to the amp/pre-amp - this signal is significantly larger and requires much less amplification - as a consequence any resulting noise is less noticeable
Also - with #1 - it also depends on the components being connected
e.g. in my system a cable without dense shielding (< 50% coverage) performed extremely well - whereas in a friends system a lot of hum was produced when connecting a turntable

Cables like Stager Silver Solid interconnects, that have no shielding sound more open and dynamic than many cables with shielding, i.e. when used in scenario #2, but may have problems when used in scenario #1

Cables without shielding generally perform much better, but this may be due to
  1. the type of wire used
  2. the type of insulation used
  3. the type of geometry used
  4. the type of connector used

So as you can see - as with anything in this hobby - there is not a simple answer

Hope that helps - Steve