cable facts

[srikarkav]

Hi Guys,

Looking for some basic facts about speaker cables? Take a look at this link.

Speaker Wire

cheers%
sri

 

[reju]

Hi Sri,

I am using QED MICRO C-QM/200 for the front & centre speakers @ Rs. 115/ m
Profx - Advanced Audio Solutions

And Pro FX cable PRISM 6105 for surround speakers @ Rs. 50/ m.
Profx - Advanced Audio Solutions

 

[magma]

the article is true to some extent i believe
cables are mostly dependant on what the rest of your system is and how good it is to show you its effects.

you will definetley see improvement between a rs50/m and a rs 500/metre cable on basic systems
After that its the point of diminishing returns

 

[arj]

cable discussions usually get really interesting.. and invariably has the roger russel article quoted somewhere. lets see where this is headed :clapping:

 

[magma]

this topic has been disussed to the death everywhere
Everyone has their opinions .
dont expect too much here

 

[srikarkav]

Hi reju,

How much improvement in the sound quality after changing to QED? And why different wires for rear speakers?
cheers,
sri

 

[reju]

Actually I have never tried the original speaker cables. So no idea on the difference as such. Maybe I should try some time.

I needed 26M for surround (RL + RR) speakers. QED would have been too expensive for me. So I thought I will pamper the L + R + C as they needed only 5M.

 

[anm]

It seems cables also need break in, warm up before listening to music.
In fact, I have felt significant difference in sound quality when I break in a music CD after playing 4-5 times. It also sounds better on a second play - that is warm up. I experienced this with my "Khamoshi/ Bombay" CD yesterday and I thought I should share my experience. I could hear more instruments, clarity of individual instrument was improved, and I could simply make out I am hearing much more details on a second run of the CD.
I am not sure what is happening here, but the difference is huge, but it is not night and day.
Any inputs on break in, warm up of hdd based transports, digital cables (optical, coax) etc?

regards

 

[suri]

It seems cables also need break in, warm up before listening to music.
In fact, I have felt significant difference in sound quality when I break in a music CD after playing 4-5 times. It also sounds better on a second play - that is warm up. I experienced this with my "Khamoshi/ Bombay" CD yesterday and I thought I should share my experience. I could hear more instruments, clarity of individual instrument was improved, and I could simply make out I am hearing much more details on a second run of the CD.
I am not sure what is happening here, but the difference is huge, but it is not night and day.
Any inputs on break in, warm up of hdd based transports, digital cables (optical, coax) etc?

regards

Hi anm,

All of us are prone to presume that our listening apparatus (ears, nerves, and brain) are constant over the hour, over the day, over the month, and over the year.

I beg to differ though, and i have heard music sound very different, albeit heard over the same system, at different times of the day and the week.

I have been moved to tears listening to a track, and then left cold hearing the same track another time.

So, i suppose, one has to factor in psycho-acoustics (read - subjective experience) when one reports on minute differences in the listening experience when components are changed, including connecting cables.



regards
suri

 

[arj]

phsycological mind set is definitely a great influencer. but regarding "warm up" id be extremely surprised if that were the case. (HDD as well..id doubt it)
it would have more to do with the warmup of the equipment ..especially the amp as most of them have a sweet spot for an operating temperature.

 

[anm]

amp was already warmed up as we watched a movie before listening to the music.

regards

phsycological mind set is definitely a great influencer. but regarding "warm up" id be extremely surprised if that were the case. (HDD as well..id doubt it)
it would have more to do with the warmup of the equipment ..especially the amp as most of them have a sweet spot for an operating temperature.

 

[reju]

It seems cables also need break in, warm up before listening to music.
In fact, I have felt significant difference in sound quality when I break in a music CD after playing 4-5 times. It also sounds better on a second play - that is warm up. I experienced this with my "Khamoshi/ Bombay" CD yesterday and I thought I should share my experience. I could hear more instruments, clarity of individual instrument was improved, and I could simply make out I am hearing much more details on a second run of the CD.
I am not sure what is happening here, but the difference is huge, but it is not night and day.
Any inputs on break in, warm up of hdd based transports, digital cables (optical, coax) etc?

regards

You mean cables & CD needs warm up? And you can hear better sound after this "warm up"??

I think Suri has made a very valid point. It's all in your mind. If you think you are hearing better sounds, it's only because you are thinking in that (positive) direction.

Now try thinking negative, that each time you play the CD, think that the sound is getting worn out. Think that some high notes are losing clarity because you are using the CD again and again. Do it seriously and you will feel at-least for sometime, that more you play the CD, more it gets worn out

 

[anm]

I was actually thinking negatively at that point in time - as my FIL came over and I played music for him. I was concentrating on what faults he might hear. Played the song again.

 

[keith_correa]

Guys, forget psycho-acoustics, negativity, cable burn in for a moment and let me ask ANYONE this - in a blind A/B test, given 2 cables - one a so called high end cable and the other plain electrical wire - how many of us will be able to tell the difference? I wish I could be part of a test like that listening to "pseudo" audiophiles saying that Cable x or Cable y sound is "warm" and "spacious" and has more "depth" and has "ambience" and this is what cracks me up each time - "has an expansive soundstage". Huh?!

Me, maybe I'm sonically challenged but listening to music over these so called I/C or speaker cables did nothing different to my ears. Choose your equipment carefully, partner and match them carefully and forget about the cables - they are the strongest link in the chain.

 

[srikarkav]

Hi correa,

do u mean to say even changing 22 guage wire to 16 guage wont make any diffrence? I am about to do that to my Onkyo.
sri

 

[anm]

Hi,
Question - I have a room that is 15 ft wide. By adding an expensive cable, can I get an expansive sound stage that is like 40 ft wide?

regards

I wish I could be part of a test like that listening to "pseudo" audiophiles saying that Cable x or Cable y sound is "warm" and "spacious" and has more "depth" and has "ambience" and this is what cracks me up each time - "has an expansive soundstage". Huh?!

 

[arj]

Hi,
Question - I have a room that is 15 ft wide. By adding an expensive cable, can I get an expansive sound stage that is like 40 ft wide?

regards

you can.. although 40ft might not make sense. but the image can well exist beyond speaker boundries (Or room boundries) not just in width but also in depth ie going back further byond the walls. in the end soundstage is an accounsitc illusion which is imacted not just by equipment but a lot by the room and the placement as well

This will not be done by just adding "Expensive " cable as there is a lot of Snake oil sales in the cable business .

In the end, all components from the source to speaker to room must be capable of presenting a soundstage. the cable is a passive component..But Good cable will impact this . This can be in terms of both width and depth (Subject to equipment quality) as well as some small tonality in presentation. But unless the previous cable really sucked dont expect dramatic changes.

Of course it is an altogether a different matter of what is the "True " soundstage.

in the end the thumb rule of cables being 10% or less of the system holds true.

 

[suri]

I was actually thinking negatively at that point in time - as my FIL came over and I played music for him. I was concentrating on what faults he might hear. Played the song again.

Hi anm,

if you were playing music for your FIL, and you could hear positive changes in the sound you heard, then definitely worth investigating and trying to repeat the process!

regards

 

[suri]

Guys, forget psycho-acoustics, negativity, cable burn in for a moment and let me ask ANYONE this - in a blind A/B test, given 2 cables - one a so called high end cable and the other plain electrical wire - how many of us will be able to tell the difference? I wish I could be part of a test like that listening to "pseudo" audiophiles saying that Cable x or Cable y sound is "warm" and "spacious" and has more "depth" and has "ambience" and this is what cracks me up each time - "has an expansive soundstage". Huh?!

Me, maybe I'm sonically challenged but listening to music over these so called I/C or speaker cables did nothing different to my ears. Choose your equipment carefully, partner and match them carefully and forget about the cables - they are the strongest link in the chain.

hi Keith,

true enough, and according to Peter Aczel (editor of "THE AUDIO CRITIC"), even a coat hanger straightened out would do. Calls high end cables one of the ten big lies in the audio marketing world.
regards

 

[reju]

this topic has been disussed to the death everywhere
Everyone has their opinions .
dont expect too much here

Well predicted my friend!:clapping: