Cable Madness
It would take quite a bit of money, but I would love to see every cable "un-masked." In other words, it would be interesting to take each of these high end cables apart -- take the sheathing off -- and see what's inside these "mysterious" scientific wonders. I would also love to see a set of specs on each cable for comparison. Be interesting to see if there are patterns in the specs -- as I expect there would be. Take the mystery out of these things -- they are only wire! As for anecdotal reports about speaker cables sounding so different that an electrical engineer's mouth would drop open:
There are many reasons one will "hear" differences between cables. John Dunlavy of Dunlavy Audio Labs used to bring Audiophiles and Audio critics to his lab and do a demonstration where he would let his listeners listen to a system with 12 AWG Zip cord, then "replace" them with exotic looking speaker cables and the listeners would report hearing large differences. The problem was -- the cables were never really changed. The mind plays tricks. It is called "the placebo effect." When your mind thinks there should be a change, it will "hear" one. However, There are plenty of reasons to hear actual changes between speaker cables. I've replaced oxidized 12 AWG speaker cable with clean and have heard rather astounding changes. Oxidization is a huge problem. So, if you replace old speaker cables with new, you are bound to hear large improvements, whether you replace your cables with 12 AWG Zip cord or Nordost Valhallas. So, how many of these reports are due to an audio enthusiast replacing older oxidized cables with new and attributing the changes to the "magic" in the new cable rather than simply the "new-ness" of the new cable? There is also some evidence that if you raise capacitance high enough, your speaker cables will roll off the high end. This could sound very pleasing, depending on the room or system. In an overbright room, with some kinds of digital equipment, or with some metal dome tweeters, it might be a relief to roll off the high end. But, this is no different than using a tone control -- why pay a lot of money for a cable with high capacitance to roll off your high end? Also, with the high end rolled off, listeners may report that the mid-range "opened up" or that there was an increase in bass. This is just a psycho-acoustic effect from rolling off the high end. Could you hear the difference between a cable with flat reponse and one with the high end rolled off? Sure, but -- again -- no reason to pay a lot of money for this little parlor trick. What if you replaced an old oxidized cable with a new cable with the high end rolled off due to high capacitance? Again -- you'd probably hear quite a bit of difference, but do you need to pay a lot of money for this? My answer, again, would be, "no." There is also an assumption that our ears are the same 24/7. This is a bad assumption. When your ears are fatigued, your system will sound completely different than when your ears are rested. Replacing speaker cables forces you to take a break and listen with ears that are at least a little refreshed, but if that isn't enough, there's the "cable cook" scam. It has become commonplace among "high end" cable manufacturers to recommend you give your cables time to "burn in." This, IMO, is a misappropration of the term. Speakers need time to "break in." So, audio enthusiasts were primed and ready to accept the concept of "burn in." But, with regard to cable, what this does is force the customer to rest his/her ears for three or four days while his cables "burn in." How many of these amazing cable stories are due to an audio enthusiast who has listened to his/her system too much and has fatigued his ears to the point where his system sounds like it has problems, replaces cables, gives his ears three or four days of rest and comes back to hear -- wow -- the system sounds SO MUCH BETTER! Of course it does, but it likely has little to do with the cables. In a few months, this listener will be fatigued again and looking for even "better" cables. Cable "burn in" may be one of the best scams ever invented. Then there is that age old bugaboo, "peer pressure." Which "audiophile" wants to be the one to step up and admit he cannot hear the differences between cables? If the mind can make one "hear" differences when the cables haven't even been changed, it is no stretch to assume the mind could produce "audible" changes due to this fear -- and this fear runs rampant in the audio community. Who wants to be accused of having tin ears? Finally, there is also evidence that if your cables are too thin, the resulting resistance could cost you detail over the audio spectrum. You may be able to hear differences between, say, 24 AWG and 10 AWG speaker cable, so make sure you have the right gauge for the job and be conservative if you want the peace of mind that "overkill" offers. It costs a little more to use higher gauge cable, but nothing like what the "high end" cable manufacturers are charging. There are a few manufacturers popping up recently that offer cables at what seems to be a reasonable price, but IMO, they are only offering cables that you could easily make yourself for a fraction of the cost. They only seem reasonable compared to the Nordosts, Kimbers and Transparents of the world. Excellent speaker cables are *not* difficult to construct, nor are the materials particularly expensive, unless you simply want to indulge yourself. There are manufacturers/supply houses you can find on the web who offer well constructed cables at reasonable prices and who charge a little more than what you would pay for the raw materials. If you don't want to construct them yourself, IMO, there's no harm in paying a little premium to have someone else take the time to do it for you. Shop around, ask questions, do some research, but there's no reason to pay a lot of money for cables.
