What is Low Impendance for an interconnect?

Can you provide a link to what you are referring to? The section of this page on interconnects seems relevant, but there is no mention of low impedance (just low resistance, which IMO is not as critical for an analog interconnect as Mr. Sanders seems to be indicating), and the only mention of braiding is in reference to the shield.

Also, interestingly, I see no mention of capacitance in the section on interconnects. Depending on the length of the cable, and on the output impedance of the component driving it, in some cases that can certainly be an audibly significant parameter for an interconnect cable, much more so than resistance or inductance.

Finally, while I completely agree with the first of the following two statements he makes, I (and I believe a majority of other A'goners) would not agree with the second:

There is a great deal of misinformation, hype, and marketing nonsense surrounding interconnects. This makes it very confusing to know what is important in the design of interconnects.

... The fact is that all well-designed interconnects sound identical. Only poorly designed interconnects will reveal differences in sound.

Regards,
-- Al

Thanks, John.

As you probably realize, my reference to the non-mention of capacitance pertained to the section on interconnects, not speaker cables.

For the OP's info, generally speaking:

1)In the case of analog interconnect cables, capacitance may be significant, especially if cable length is long and/or the output impedance of the component driving the cable is high. Resistance and inductance are unlikely to be significant, unless they are unusually extreme. (With the exception that the resistance of the shield or other return conductor, not the signal conductor, can sometimes become significant if ground loop issues are present).

2)In the case of speaker cables, the situation is the opposite. Inductance and resistance may be significant, especially if cable length is long and speaker impedance is low. Capacitance is unlikely to have much significance, except in the case of a few cables that have ultra-high capacitance (such as Goertz, as mentioned in the paper).

Regards,
-- Al

A further point concerning his emphasis on low resistance in interconnects. Referring to some "poorly designed" interconnects, he states:

Some of these interconnects with tiny wires have several thousand ohms of resistance and can adversely effect the frequency response of your system.

It is unimaginable to me that any half-way competent designer would create an interconnect cable having a resistance that remotely approached several thousand ohms. In fact very few designs (poor or not) approach even a few ohms, for typical lengths. And most would be less than 1 ohm for typical lengths.

As I indicated earlier, the resistance of analog interconnect cables is usually not a significant parameter.

Regards,
-- Al

Far out, John :-)

Well, I guess if one wants to design an interconnect that sounds different than just about everyone else's, that's one way to do it. IMO, though, both the design and the rationale for it that are stated in the review are completely ridiculous.

Which is not to rule out the possibility that in some systems, and for some listeners, that interconnect might produce results that are subjectively appealing.

In any event, Mr. Sanders gets credit for being right about at least one thing in his paper. IMO, of course.

Best regards,
-- Al

Bruce, no, but I wouldn't be surprised if in some systems your other suggestion might be found by some listeners to work just as well as that interconnect. Provided, of course, that the string has good pedigree and is well vetted by the cable manufacturer, is specially treated with some esoteric compound, and is marked up to audiophile price standards.

:-)

Best,
-- Al

So if I am trying to buy a pair of interconnects that do not color the sound, what does one look for in terms of construction and measurements?

That's a difficult question, in part because the sonic effects of an interconnect are dependent on the impedance and other technical characteristics of the components it is connecting. Generally, a lower output impedance of the component driving the cable will mean lessened cable effects, although of course that benefit may be far outweighed by differences in the performance of the components themselves. Susceptibility of the particular components to ground loop effects (not just hum, but also effects that can occur at high frequencies) can also be a significant variable, especially for unbalanced interfaces. And the performance of a given cable in a line-level application will likely be completely different than in a phono cable application, as the technical factors that are involved are very different.

Cable length is also a major variable, of course, most cable effects being proportional to length. Also, if the components provide balanced connections, and their balanced interface circuits are of good quality (which is certainly not always the case), it can generally be expected that using balanced cables will result in lessened cable effects relative to unbalanced cables.

Beyond that, when looking for neutral (uncolored) behavior I think it would make sense to be skeptical of a cable having any parameters that are extreme (either unusually high or unusually low), or for which the rationale for the design seems to focus excessively on minimizing one particular claimed effect.

And beyond that, it probably comes down to researching the experiences of others (while trying to calibrate the credibility of the person providing each report; for example I would consider the many cable-related comments Jmcgrogan2 has provided over the years to be especially credible), and if possible trying a variety of cables, such as via The Cable Company.

Regards,
-- Al