2. cables
  3. 184733-96626

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
rodman99999
6,030 posts
 

     I have one word, to express my personal view as regards the Church of Denyin'tology and it's obfuscating, classically (possibly: willfully) obtuse adherents (you know, the NAYSAYERS):

                                        floccinaucinihilipilification

                                              Happy listening!

yoyoyaya's avatar
yoyoyaya
616 posts
 
"
donavabdear
320 posts
 

If you understand the principle that the original recording can't be made any better (you can't add information) to the signal then audiophiles should know that no recording studio uses boutique expensive cable. So cables that are more expensive than the original recording studio or production cables are illogical. Where am I wrong? "

 

@donavabdear

Where are you wrong? You are wrong as follows. You start what would generally be considered as statement of fact i.e. you cannot add information to the original recording. You then follow this with a statement that is a combination of a conjecture and an argument from authority fallacy viz "then audiophiles should know that no recording studio uses boutique or expensive cables. You then attempt to conjoin these two statements to suggest that (the use of) cables more expensive than the cables used for the original recording is illogical. This is a non sequitur fallacy because there is no causal relation between your two statements.

 

The reproduction of recorded music is an entirely different act to the recording of the music. While one may not be able to add information to the original recording one can take many steps to retrieve the information that is there. This is the whole premise of hi fi.

 

Your argument implies that because recordings are made with components of a particular level of quality, then using better quality components to reproduce them is pointless. That argument is specious for the reasons set out above.

 

1971gto455ho's avatar
1971gto455ho
408 posts
 

Lot of words that mean nothing, sort of debate garbage. If you have the right size pure copper wire with well made conductive ends that’s as good as it gets. Adding boutique C..p, rolling it flat, making it pretty on and on does nothing except teach others to spell placebo. Measurable tests don’t show an actual difference, A/B testing totally subjective, inconsistent, what’s left bragging rights and depleted resources. Let’s find consistent proof, measurable / infallible crowd approval, again this thread does nothing for either. 

tonywinga's avatar
tonywinga
844 posts
 

So many opinions here based on little to no life experiences.  Learning comes from listening and thinking, never from talking.  You can read a book about swimming but until you watch someone swim and jump into a lake yourself, you have no idea what swimming is.

I’ve seen cables move.  When hundreds of amps going through a wire it wants to standup straight.  That wire gets rigid.  Wires heat up as current passes through them.  As the wires heat up they move.  It’s called thermal expansion.  Go read about that.

Many of the audiophile wires on the market look pretty and that is all they are good for.  You may or may not hear an improvement.  I bought some bi-wire speaker cables for my HT setup years ago to replace my old Monster Cable speaker wires.  I didn’t hear a difference.  I was out a couple of hundred dollars but at least the new speaker wires look cool with 4 banana plugs in the back of each speaker.  For HT purposes I have great sound.  For some reason I do not obsess with the sound like I do with my stereo system.  I’m more concerned about the picture.  Maybe that’s because I grew up with a 19” B&W TV.  So I don’t see myself as someone who wants to hear a difference because I spent some money on a wire with two connectors attached.  I typically audition with the mindset that I could use that money to buy a sports car or a boat (well down payment is all really) rather than on a cable.  I don’t tell people what I spend on cables.  I think it is nuts myself but at some point you are either all in or you are out.  Don’t buy an expensive preamp and then leave a $5 power cord on it and expect it to perform at its best.

I have watched some tear downs of “high grade” cables on video.  Not surprising that many brands are just fluff.  They might really be OCC copper, who knows?  But the dielectrics and terminations matter as much as the wire and many of these wires are not well engineered.  The good brands and the well engineered cables are expensive.  People come across some good deals in cables here and there.  But as always it is caveat emptor.  We don’t have gov’t oversight of the cable industry so it is up to all of us audiophiles as a community to find those gold nuggets in cables.

jafant
18,871 posts
 

tonywinga

 

You are absolutely correct! There are many, many Gold nuggets in cables/cords. I have enjoyed watching your Audio journey over the years. Enjoy the fruits of your Labor.

 

Happy Listening!

More to discover