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

@yoyoyaya says in response to @donavabdear : “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.” 
 

100%.  But as our systems become more resolving (and the quality of the wires both inside and outside of our boxes contribute significantly to that resolving ability), relative strengths and weaknesses in recording quality and craftsmanship become more and more apparent.  One of the acquired skills of audiophiles is to learn to listen past the warts on some of our previously favorite recordings to still hear and appreciate the musical event captured in time.

Cables matter. Wire, the kind of copper, how its shielded , with what materials. The connectors. Are you using silver or other materials. It all matters. Full disclosure. Calvin Johnson from infigo audio. 

Alhemist never suceeded to turn lead into gold as ordered by German

''Keizer'' which ''tresure'' was empty. They all were dissmised and changed

their name into ''metalurgist''. As such they were more succesful.

Some of them deed suceed but not with lead but wiith copper. Some

from the Nord and East. They sell copper cables for more money

than gold.

I was awarded 10 US Patents over my engineering career and several EU Patents.  (Before I went into management).  Some, but not all of the EU Patents overlap the US ones.  Most but not all of my inventions made it into production.  My little brother has 9-10 US Patents too and he is a Purdue grad.  Go figure.

It is expensive to apply for a patent and time consuming.  I had to work with the legal team to develop the art and the claims as well as research of all patent databases to verify no prior claims.  Unless someone has a lot of time and money on their hands to write up some fantastical inventions and pay a legal team to submit it for a patent, well it wouldn’t make sense to me.  The sole purpose of the patent is to protect the invention for a time allowing the inventors to profit from their ideas.  Even holding a patent is not a guarantee someone will not copy it.  Lot’s of time and legal fees involved in defending patent rights.  So I don’t understand how someone would be rolling on the floor with laughter reading patent claims.  I’d rather watch Gillian’s Island reruns.

A few observations on intellectual property.

1. Having protectable IP is important to inventors who may wish to licence their IP and not use it themselves.

2. It can be vital when looking to raise external capital.

3. Just because something is patented doesn't necessarily mean it is has utility - or at least not commercial utility.

4. People who work in public service don't do it to maximise their earnings. It doesn't necessarily imply that their abilities or work is of lesser quality.

5. Natually, patent examiners are not infallible - that's why people end up in litigation. That said, patent examinership looks like an area that's ripe for the application of AI.