An interesting read

unleash....assume that as " about 30%"...just observed..not measured

just i was telling in my case change of cables worked...

Completely agree with you on all the points Dinyaar. Atleast I can hear a lot of difference between cables and it is immediately noticeable. The interconnect between the CD Player and Preamp seems to make the biggest difference followed by the speaker cable and then followed by the preamp-amp cable. I still have not noticed any difference with power cords or maybe I've not experimented enough.

The difference between cables is no way as dramatic as a source component or an amp change but it is perceptible no doubt.

I agree with what Dinyaar said...and was reading up on a little bit of electromagnetics to see where possibly cable qualities come into effect. The better the cable quality, the larger the grain size of the material used. By grain size, I mean continuity of the material that makes up the cable. At the grain boundaries, there are discontinuities. These affect electromagnetic signals because of internal reflections at the micro scale. Then we get into other quantum effects which I don't want to detail out...
At the macro scale what happens is that different frequency signals get delayed differently at grain boundaries. So they arrive at different phases at the other end. The better the cable quality, the less phase difference, which may translate into cleaner signals. That's one possible reason why better/purer cables may make an audible difference. However, how much this effect translates into actual hearable differences is still under debate.
As far as calling cables 'bright' or 'dark' or 'sweet' like a component is going over the top. The other place I hear such out-of-place adjectives is when these reviewers are discussing speaker stands...they use such words as though the stands make the difference and not the speakers sitting on them.
I agree that if you put speakers on cheap, plasticky stands, you will get bad sound because of vibration effects. But once you reach a sufficient level of damping with reasonably inert stands, it's idiotic to nitpick about stands and how they sound. The problem with all these reviews is that they make every component in the signal path sound equally important, when it is not. Finally, cost, human perception and how much you value your music as opposed to how much you value electrical signals decides what you choose your system to be.

Hi ROC/Ajinkya,
Firstly the power cords i have had/experimented with are all moderately priced ones (5 to 7K)so my comments are based on them. Have tried the Shunyata Venom, Russ classic,Supra Lo Rad and the PS Audio power punch. Then i bought 3 core 2.5 sq.mm Finolex cable and used Supra IEC and Fused mains sockets and made a few power cords and tried them in my set up and gave some of my crazy audiophile friends. Could not tell much of a difference and felt no difference when used with the amplifier. Then i was told that the Nad/Rotel gear that i had then was not revealing or transparent enough to enable me to hear the difference and that it would be apparent in better gear!!
I know most audiophiles swear that power cords are critical in your set up and will have a more pronounced effect than Interconnects and speaker cables but thats not what i have experienced as yet. Of course one should get a properly specified lead with decent connectors to enable sufficient current when demanded and ensure that there is a firm contact(no sparking/buzzing) at the wall outlet and most importantly provide ground when required.
I have been speaking to Bryston over the last month as my 3B failed and i finally got a replacement and some things i was informed about cables etc... were radically different from what most audiophiles would like to believe as true.
Ajinkya about the speaker stands i am in agreement with u. I too read some reviews and the terms used to describe the 'SOUND' of the stands are shocking. A solid inert stand should work for any SM as the purpose is achieved. Obviously stands from different manufacturers will have different cosmetics but a heavy, damped, inert stand should work in any set up.
Regards

Measurement is everything...So lets agree Muthu... After using CA for years ..I'm telling everyone that ...the internals of the amplifier/cd players are more important for the sound quality...than the cables that are used for transferring signals to the driver...if the load is high then we should consider using a better cable that can handle it well..In a country like ours we definitely need power conditioners...I'm using 2 x APC UPS for my cd player, server, amplifier & plasma ..so guys please don't waste money on cables..save the money and buy a good quality equipment. Muthu thanks a lot for sharing the info

Dinyaar wrote-
"I have been speaking to Bryston over the last month as my 3B failed and i finally got a replacement and some things i was informed about cables etc... were radically different from what most audiophiles would like to believe as true"
Would you care to post Bryston's comments? wld make for interesting reading;& coming from a co. like this wld warrant consideration.
Re Audio cables, I too have personally experienced the diff with solid core Hi Purity OFC Teflon coated I/C's(26G) & Speaker cables(16G) I picked up from Lyrita.
Actually,some time back I'd gone thru a seminal paper on cable principles for Audio applications by Prof Malcolm Omar Hawkesford of Essex Univ reproduced in an issue of Stereophile-Here's the link: http://stereophile.com/reference/1095cable/ -makes for pretty interesting & revealing reading.

Hi Kamalji,
I actually spoke to the CEO a few times but that was pertaining to the replacement. The time i spoke to a technical guy regarding use of power cords/stabilizers/conditioners i was pretty amazed at the technical numbers this chap was throwing at me about the various High end power cords available amd it was his suggestion to JUST USE the supplied lead and plug directly into the wall outlet. He also explained the internals of the power amp, the tapping, the presets and the kind of power protection built into the amplifier and how using exotic power cords would make no difference at all and the conditioner would in fact restrict the amplifier when a high current is demanded. He was chuckling when he told me 'smart marketing is what u will hear'.
Kamalji as i have mentioned earlier i have not been able to experience the benefits of using exotic power cords even in my earlier set ups and hence readily bought his arguments. In fact i have quite a few power cords but they are lying unused as i cant tell a difference!!! In interconnects and speaker cables i have always found a DIFFERENCE so i continue to experiment/ use them.
Regards

Hi Magnet,
Which model of APC UPS are you using? Would a 1 KVA load be enough to be used with a 100 W integrated amp and a CDP? I have been researching UPS units by APC and your suggestions would be valuable.

Regards
Rahul Pandit

Panditji the one I'm using is APC Smart-UPS XL 2200VA.

That is just what I have been saying, Musicality, tonality, and characteristics are all how you perceive a sound you are hearing. This as I said, has any value only after the sounds have reached your ears. Till then, from the source through all the playing, amplification, and transportation through all the connectors and cables are just analogue or digital signals that are transported as electrical signals, All I am saying is that these signals can be measured. Once the sound leaves the speakers , they become sound waves. These again can be measured using a combination of wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. What happens to the sound after it has entered ones ears is his personal perception.

I never said that cables do not matter. Special cables and connectors have been designed and manufactured for audio and video and they should be used. At the same time, I will be very careful about subscribing to the claims of high end connector and cable manufacturers. In multiple blind testes run by magazines such as Stereophile and Secrets of Home Theater And HiFi, Audioholics, they have never been able to come to any conclusion about expensive and esoteric cables and connectors being better than regular ones manufactured for the audio industry.

According to Audioholics, a well designed and manufactured cable of between 12 and 16 AWG will provide excellent characteristics to be used as cables. The only other thing that is important is that the cables are properly terminated so they don't become noisy, and that the shield is of good quality and provides complete protection from external interfering signals. Terminations will normally be either soldered or crimped, and either is fine as long as it is well made.

The use of gold in wires is really ironic as gold has less conductance than copper. The use of gold plated connectors, on the other hand, is common and advisable as gold is a better conductor than nickel, and gold does not tarnish easily.

The use of silver wire is a complete waste, since the only benefit of silver is its lower resistance - about 8% less than copper. Since this will make a few micro-ohms difference for a typical 1 meter length, the difference in signal amplitude is immeasurably small with typical pre and power amp impedance. On the down side, silver tarnishes easily (especially in areas where there is hydrogen sulphide pollution in the atmosphere), and this can become an insulator and adversely affect the signal.

According to Jason Victor of Secrets of Home Theater, it is human nature to have opinions based upon certain perceptions. When you say, "I hear a difference", it is an opinion. Only when an opinion is backed by scientific and measurable numbers does it become a fact. He goes on to say, and I quote.

QUOTE START

Does that make the person who says ‘I hear a difference’ a liar? Of course not! Does the fact that so many people say the same thing give the statement more credence? No! The whole world believed the earth to be the center of the universe at one time. I’m sure most of those who were current with, and knew of the work of Galileo and Copernicus, died still believing the earth was the center of everything. The point here is that it natural for us to have these perceptions, BUT, please good people, do not confuse them with reality.

Now, why is it that our senses fail us so? A big part of this, especially when we’re talking about audio, has to do with the fact that what seems straightforward and reasonable is not. It seems straightforward and reasonable to listen to a piece of audio equipment and then develop an opinion on how it sounds. Unfortunately, due to the complex way that we humans take in sensory information and then combine it with prior knowledge and experience, the resulting perception may be incorrect. If we really want to know how something sounds, we must separate out prior knowledge and visual cues and force ourselves to only use our ears. This is why we do the test blind. Our eyes play a HUGE role in our perceptions of audio quality. Counter intuitive? Yes, but true.

Now there are perfectly good reasons to buy expensive power cords. For one they look cool. ‘The better it looks, the better it sounds.’ (This has been shown to be the case in studies that compare sighted to blind tests using identical equipment.) Another reason to buy them is that they cost a lot. They are status symbols. Status is good in our culture. Fear is another reason. Fear of not doing everything you can to get ‘the best sound.' Of course there is plain old faith. If you believe that they make your stereo system sound better, then they do! If having them makes you feel better, makes you more relaxed when you listen to music, gives you comfort in knowing that you have left no stone unturned in your pursuit of musical enjoyment, by all means, go for it!

QUOTE ENDS

I never said that CAT 6 is loss less. When you move a signal from one end to another of any transmission media, wired or otherwise, you will necessarily have some losses in between. This is true of any signal transmission. Fortunately in digital signal, by adding a simple checksum at the end of a block of data, you can ensure that the receiver confirm the validity of the data without any reference to the input. I am surprised why some of the progress made in computers have not yet trickled down to audio and video, but they will. Compared to analogue, digital data is easy to manage.

I appreciate your feelings and your belief. I also use moderately expensive cables in my audio and video system. At home, I have wired the whole house with Finolex cables with twice the capacity of what was recommended was needed. In the last ten years, the mains cables coming into my house from EB has burnt twice, but nothing has happened to the electrical wires inside my house. I have experimented with a mumber of speakers cables and connectors till I found one I am happy with and within the budget I could afford.

To enhance what Muthu says further down, manufacturers of high end audio equipment back their claims with scientific reasoning. Their products are tested time and again using scientific instruments. Then listening tests are conducted, and the design goes back to the drawing board. The drawing board, testing, and listening cycle is gone through 'n' number of times till the product is deemed fit to be sent to the market.

Unfortunately many manufacturers of the 'very' high end cables and connectors do not follow this principle. When a cable manufacturer claims his cable needs a 'break in' period, eliminates non-linear distortions such as audiogenic or diode rectification, places cable elevators at both ends, cryogenically freezes for improved fidelity.....welllllllll all I can say is that these are not for me.