Who else here can’t tell little if no difference in high priced speaker cables?
Thinking out of the box here. It might make some defensive
I was thinking, that all the different wire constructions and purities is pointless if they are tied to a connecter. How can the signal carry the purist signal when it has to be compromised by the mercy of a connecter. Why not make a solid wire out of the connecter and use the bare wire for the connecter? Same end result. I’m not an engineer but it seems to me it would sound the same. Right? The end product is only as good as its weakest link. I’m beginning to think speaker cables are too over rated . I switched out my $1500 cables for some 10 gauge $20 copper wire with bare ends and I will say if there was any difference it was slight. I do know my amp doesn’t clip like it used too. And music is louder and more dynamic. I tried some 12 gauge and couldn’t tell any difference from the 10. And yes all the cable lengths were 8 foot. If you want the purist signal then you would have to take the wire and run it right through the speaker and bypass the terminals. So my question to the electrical educated members here is how can the signal arrive intact if it has to be transmitted through a connecter and then to the speaker terminals. It makes me think speaker wire is not all that important. I’m just saying. I don’t mean to be starting a war here.
71 responses Add your response
+1 shadorne. Negative influence of the cable (resistance , inductance, capacitance, dielectric absorption etc.) is proportional to the cable length. Connector in comparison is just a tiny fraction of that and plays much smaller role. As for the gold - it is not very good conductor and it is used only to prevent oxidation. Blueranger, the fact that YOU cannot hear any difference between cables doesn't mean there is no difference. Your hearing is simply not that good and there is no need to get defensive about it :) |
This is really quite an old point of contention and to some, going bare ended to the speaker binding post is the way to go. This link, connector tests, is one way to look (hear) at it. All the best, Nonoise |
Here is an example of what you’re after (I think) http://www.silversmithaudio.com/silversmith.htm?philosophy.htm~rightFrame. |
The idea of a connector or various cables interfering with musical detail is pure nonsense. At audio frequencies the cable appears as a simple resistance and capacitance. Connectors are not relevant provided they make good contact. Fancy cables are just a fashion statement - they don’t do anything for the sound if the equipment is well matched and if things sound different then that is simply expectation bias fooling you. Overly thin cables and overly long cables will have high resistances and this can become sufficiently audible in extreme cases due to the modulation of the speaker response in combination with the speaker impedance curve. |
blueranger With the $1500 speaker cables, I could never get a good connection to the speakers because the spades were so thick and hard to attachThat's an example of using the wrong connector for the application. It's not really a fault of the connector itself. |
blueranger Even a top notch connector could not totally pass all the details of an exotic cableWill you please tell us on what you base this claim? |
Cleeds. You miss my point. Even a top notch connector could not totally pass all the details of an exotic cable. Make a solid wire out of the connecter metal and cover it with an insulated material. I would like to here from an electrical engineer to explain how much signal loss there would be from using a connecter |
With the $1500 speaker cables, I could never get a good connection to the speakers because the spades were so thick and hard to attach. I thought about cutting the ends off but it would hurt the resale value. The slight difference I mentioned was in the music itself. The detail and soundstage. It might have been a perceived difference and someone else might have heard no difference except in the dynamics of a better connection. |
“I switched out my $1500 cables for some 10 gauge $20 copper wire with bare ends and I will say if there was any difference it was slight. I do know my amp doesn’t clip like it used too. And music is louder and more dynamic.” Frankly, the difference doesn’t appear to be “slight” the way you described it. You know, your “amp doesn’t clip like it used to, the music is louder and more dynamic.” |
blueranger My point is why pay for all the fancy wire when in the end the signal has to pass through a connecter and then a speaker terminal. Any perceived advantage of pure exotic copper or intricate twisting of the wire or insulators is a total waste.It isn't clear on what you base your claim. There are certainly high quality connectors available; there's no reason to settle for cheap, Radio Shack-quality connectors. |
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Let me make myself clear. It would be no different if you made a solid wire out of the connecter and then used bare stranded copper for the connecter. I was being cynical in my original post. I also read during an A B comparison, the participants could not tell the difference between a coat hanger and an exotic speaker wire!!! |
My point is why pay for all the fancy wire when in the end the signal has to pass through a connecter and then a speaker terminal. Any perceived advantage of pure exotic copper or intricate twisting of the wire or insulators is a total waste. In the end the signal has to pass through a speaker terminal. How much would a solid gold wire of 10 gauge cost compared to some exotic cables? That makes the most sense when in the end it has to be attached to a gold plated connecter. I wish one of the very rich members would try that and let us know how it comes out!!! Compare it to a gold plated insulated coat hanger wire. I know the main reason to use gold plating is it doesn’t oxidize like copper. So just keep cutting the the bare ends of the copper wire every year or so. Thanks for the responses everybody . I want to get a dialog going so we can have an eye opening discussion. |
My point is why pay for all the fancy wire when in the end the signal has to pass through a connecter and then a speaker terminal. Any perceived advantage of pure exotic copper or intricate twisting of the wire or insulators is a total waste. In the end the signal has to pass through a speaker terminal. How much would a solid gold wire of 10 gauge cost compared to some exotic cables? That makes the most sense when in the end it has to be attached to a gold plated connecter. I wish one of the very rich members would try that and let us know how it comes out!!! Compare it to a gold plated insulated coat hanger wire. I know the main reason to use gold plating is it doesn’t oxidize like copper. So just keep cutting the the bare ends of the copper wire every year or so. Thanks for the responses everybody . I want to get a dialog going so we can have an eye opening discussion. |
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Not entirely sure of your point of misunderstanding per se, but what I believe you are (rightly) making a case for is the idea of a hardwire bypass. IOW, get rid of the (invariably inferior) connector on both the wire And the connected component - to make for a direct wire-to-wire connection. That's how I roll, actually. But, I'm not entirely sure from that why you might say that the speaker wire was itself unimportant...?? Maybe you mean to say that the 'quality' of the wire may not be as important as simply getting rid of the weak point of the connectors? In that case, I think I might agree with you! |
