The Science of Cables

Might I suggest starting this thread on the TuneLand forum or any expert audio forum who has a wider range than this thread. Without graphs, charts, diagrams and pictures your taking a subject that has been covered some 30 years ago and just adding to the circle of words.

Not that these are bad words by any means, just repeated over and over for the last 3 decades. By now all of you should be cable experts (if you have been in the hobby over ten years).

A new audiophile today can get up on cable knowledge easily within a couple of months if they know one thing, and only one thing needed, a community of folks who have already covered these topics and show the results in real time.

Audiogon is a cool forum, but keep in mind it's a beginners forum. You can be an audio beginner for 50 years and still not be experienced on the basic topics and issues. That's why you see the same topics repeated for 30 or so years. Audio forum threads unfortunately are not designed to be places of building documentation and references. Opinions? Yes, both more experienced and little experience, but without a good foundation usually. Simply put, your only going to get so far before the inexperienced and experienced get mixed into the same brew. Having to start the same topic again and again only really proves one thing, the whole is not documenting things properly and ends up falling into a hole instead of understanding a whole. No ones fault, just the nature of mixing fresh wine with old wine, instead of drinking from a properly aged vintage.  

mg

Looks?

HEA sold a bag of tricks about looks. Pretty funny when you think about it. Here's a hobby based on looking at the recorded soundstage and the magazines sold massive looking things actually robbing the soundstage from appearing. Pretty strange hobby we had there for a while. I'm glad to see listeners using their space for space again.

Michael Green

Hi Dan

My cables are similar with a few treatments applied. I have mine made in bulk single rolls and then do my baking, cracking the seal, baking again and curing, then spinning, and more curing. A few steps kind of tricky to get my sound. But, if I were a DIYer I would do exactly what you are talking about. I’d get me a box of that stuff and start playing around till I got the sound I wanted and be done with it. I’ve compare the Plenum Cat 5e against mine doing the same treatment on it that I do and was pretty please with it’s performance. It’s not quite the performance I look for because it’s made spun but with a little work and a few very slow back and forward spins it almost relaxed enough to start from scratch. That stuff did however beat up on a lot of wire out there, most I would say. It’s fun designing wire but for the guy not going over board and wanting a wire that out does the big bucks guys, there you go.

I know you don't need my indorsement but nice job!

good to see you

Michael Green

I usually don’t jump in on the physics end too much here because of the audiophile-ish twists, but Defiant, when did you study under Jackson?

mg

What "tarnished beyond repair" HEA was the lack of listening, and an industry that way over charged the public for their experiments and theories.

I don’t know about any other listening experts, but blind testing is only as good as a system’s ability to settle in between changes and a listener's ability to reset.

mg

Hi vwfan53

Remember when HEA went discrete only giving the listener a volume control to adjust lol? We all looked at each other and said "what are these guys thinking". It was like a big joke at first until we realized these goofballs were serious.

I think more than anything, going to a volume control only was what started the writing on the wall for the end of HEA. And they made this horrible move with such arrogance. So weird to walk into a studio with all the adjustments then walk into a HEA store and there were none. Think about the insanity of HEA plug & play. Instead of making an adjustment these guys would change out a component. They made a hobby out of component swapping. I’m still amazed at the few who still are stuck in that mode, and stuck in that mode standing on mounds of ashes.

What a sales job!

Like I’ve been saying along with those who are sane, DSP, Equalizing or Physical. Only three ways this thing is going to work or ever did work.

Thank you vwfan53 for posting your post.

mg

BTW I should add to be clear, I don't use an Eq and I don't use DSP. I use variable Acoustical, Mechanical and Electrical adjusting tools, a purist approach.

Hi Defiant

"I did not study under Jackson, but we used his textbook. Years ago, in 1991-92."

That was my first impression when I read your earlier posts.

mg

Hi Geoff

"To boldly go where no one has gone before."

or as some of this reads

It's bingo day at the seniors center.

:)

"If someone is advancing/producing something for sale, is that really called a "hobby"?"

Hobby, lifestyle, profession it doesn't really matter. What does matter is listeners are exploring their passion differently as these communities move away from the magazine reviews and on to their own discoveries, and are willing to share those explorations.

I hope you guys can see this huge change taking place in the listening community, that you are a part of. Once you guys get past the ego bending I hope you realize how much expertise is here and how that experience builds (documents) many paths to both successfully and not so successful listening. There are not two people here who have the same sound in their home as the next. Do you guys realize that? Some of you here in all honesty are not pleased with what your system is doing. Others can't be more happy with the sound their getting. But one thing you all have in common is some music sounds good on your system and some doesn't.

The more you look into the variables, and not plug & play, the wiser you are becoming about the audio signal and the audio chain. Your moving toward your system becoming a variable tool. Plug & play is the long way around, and some of you are getting that big time. Others not so much.

but let me paint this

What if you had lets say 5 different cables that you like, and if you could take the best of each one and combined them you would be happy. What's stopping you? While these guys have their technical go arounds, you could be using cable that is variable, and with a little work you could make it match your system perfectly. Not only that but as your cable continues to burn in you can tweak the cable to a new setting.

This science is a variable one folks and everyday someone is finding that out. What about you? Do you really want to stay on spin cycle talking instead of doing?

not I, been tuning a long time and have enjoyed watching people convert for over 30 years now

Michael Green