Why Do Cables Matter?


To me, all you need is low L, C, and R. I run Mogami W3104 bi-wire from my McIntosh MAC7200 to my Martin Logan Theos. We all know that a chain is only as strong as its' weakest link - so I am honestly confused by all this cable discussion. 

What kind of wiring goes from the transistor or tube to the amplifier speaker binding post inside the amplifier? It is usually plain old 16 ga or 14 ga copper. Then we are supposed to install 5 - 10' or so of wallet-emptying, pipe-sized pure CU or AG with "special configurations" to the speaker terminals?

What kind of wiring is inside the speaker from the terminals to the crossover, and from the crossover to the drivers? Usually plain old 16 ga or 14 ga copper.

So you have "weak links" inside the amplifier, and inside the speaker, so why bother with mega expensive cabling between the two? It doesn't make logical sense to me. It makes more sense to match the quality of your speaker wires with the existing wires in the signal path [inside the amplifier and inside the speaker].

 

 

kinarow1

Showing 1 response by wolf_garcia

Here's another analogy...without good cable a cable car would plunge to the ground. Also, I have a Pangea cable running from the wall to my conditioner (and a few other "fancy" cables here and there because I do want to be as "audio hip" as possible based on likely incurable insecurities), and it almost didn't work as it's so damn thick, like a water hose...I tried replacing it with an actual water hose and that simply will not work as you really need some sort of esoteric adapter for that. Also, a 1" think AC cable will NOT work as a garden hose...trust me...