Yes, cables do make a difference -- regardless of price...


I thought you may find this interesting…or not.  I know, another "cable post".  Disclaimer up front — I am a believer that cables can make a difference in the sound that you hear from your system.  With my speakers, like most high(er) efficiency speakers, I can hear large and small changes made to the system components — and cables are part of that system.

What I want to share is an exercise that I went through with my better half in setting up her recording equipment that she will be using to record audio books.  The hardware part of the system is simple:  Audio Technica Cardioid Condenser Microphone AT2035 connected with a XLR cable to the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 preamp.

We started with the XLR cable that came with the microphone and recorded the short introduction of the book she has been contracted to record.  Then she recorded the same section using each of the our XLR cables I have on hand:  Vovox Excelsus, Mogami 2549, Gotham GAC-3, and Grimm TPR. Each of the cables have the same Neutrik connector and are very good studio cables that I have used in my system at one time.

Listening through headphones via the Scarlett 2i2, it was super easy to hear distinct differences in these cables.  The differences were not small and very apparent.  In the end, the Mogami cable was the winner — it seemed more open and warmer than the other cables and suited the tone of her voice the best. I have heard similar differences from these cables in my stereo system but not to the significant degree borne out by this exercise. 

To keep going, today I replaced the $10 USB C to C cable that I bought as an “upgrade” from the Scarlett 2i2 to a MacBook Air with a $70 Audioquest Forest cable. We were more than surprised that with the AQ cable in the system the drop of the noise floor was very significant and the blackness of background made the sound even more crystal clear.

The purpose of this post is not to promote or compares cables, just a public service posting for those of you who do not believe cables make a difference.  They really do affect how your system sounds (positive or negative) and if you cannot hear a difference then maybe looking at the transparency of your system is a place you should examine.

Imagine peace everyone.

crozbo

Solid uranium cables take no time to break-in but the radiation can be an issue.

@steakster, If electrons could only talk, I’d certainly get a charge out of hearing their stories.

I think it would be electrifying, quite amped to hear this 😵

An exploratory visit to warmer climes happening soon.

My simple research jives with lanx0003. Low capacitance is a good thing. Mogami is popular in recording studios and in live performance for that reason.

@markwd "...And competent and scientifically sophisticated cable manufacturers ... would be trumpeting their product measurements all day long if they in fact had any clear measurement differences to promote.".

@markwd "I look forward to more evidence in the future! I don’t see anything here except bland vitriol and bald assertions. "

@markwd I think it would be great if all the smart folks who produce cables showed some evidence. I’m always attracted to the unexpected and novel.

@markwd ... The important question is when are we going to get any good evidence for cables? ...

@markwd In any case, I have a BSEE and MSEE in information theory and signal processing, as well as PhD work in cognitive science

 

Now the homework begins for you, tag - your turn. What say you?

Please enlighten us or debate us more as to your own understanding or theory about cable current bunching, or skin effect, or current uniformly across a wire conductor, or resistance in a cross-sectional area of a conductor. Or, how about characteristic impedance of a cable, or series inductance, or G shunt conductance, or shunt capacitance, or "frequency smearing" in different cable designs.

 

You asked and poked at it, here is a manufacturer who measures and promotes it;

 

Analysis Plus, quote:

"...we then set about designing our own approach to audiophile cables, relying on solid, measurable data rather than subjective claims".

Source:

 

 

 

 

@decooney Just skimmed through it. It's fairly high level and just presents measurements that support their general theory wrt frequency effects, EMI, etc. What is missing is a simple, clear series of experimental measurements of the impact on sound reproduction. That is, like the null test I suggested above, it would be awesome to see the cables being deployed in a reproduction chain and that they measurably show improved fidelity to the original signal, reduced noise, or reduced distortion.

It's such a simple test! Much more simple than their crazy modeling of skin effects, etc. If their cables reduce distortion and noise, then I think they have a home run opportunity to show that it impacts the reproduction chain. I would love to see those results!