In article , Stevie Boy wrote:

If there is so much to distinguish cables, why not select a cable and some
music that particuarly highlights one ef these traits and take Pinkerton
up on his offer?

Well he insists on 0.1db difference from 20Hz to 20Khz at the speaker
terminals of all cables connected. Rather than just have the cables plonked
on as they otherwise would be.

My understanding of the original condition is that it translates to a
requirement that the cables themselves have a flat (enough) frequency
response.

This is a genuine question even though it may be taken otherwise: is
audible frequency response deviation from flat either an acceptable or
a desireable factor in a cable?

I have always assumed it to be a defect, leading to my belief that the
condition is very reasonable, but I suppose others may have different
views.

--
John Phillips

John Phillips in uk.rec.audio:


This is a genuine question even though it may be taken otherwise: is
audible frequency response deviation from flat either an acceptable or
a desireable factor in a cable?

I'd say not. If you need to make small changes to the EQ a hardwired cable
seems pretty crude, especially given the lack of information on the curve
they provide. Using the tone controls or getting a dedicated EQ would be a
beter choice.


--
Jim H

3.1415...4999999 and so on... Richard Feynman

"Jim H" wrote in message

John Phillips in uk.rec.audio:


This is a genuine question even though it may be taken otherwise: is
audible frequency response deviation from flat either an acceptable
or a desireable factor in a cable?

I'd say not. If you need to make small changes to the EQ a hardwired
cable seems pretty crude, especially given the lack of information on
the curve they provide. Using the tone controls or getting a
dedicated EQ would be a better choice.

Now this makes a lot of sense. I know a little bit about the kind of Eq you
get out of speaker cables, and its really pretty limited and arbitrary. It's
based on the impedance curve of the speaker more than anything.

The Eq that can possibly be obtained by swapping speaker cables is generally
unknown to the person doing the swapping.

There is a world of different kinds of Eq that can be obtained with actual
equalizers and tone controls that no speaker cable is ever going to give
you.

I don't know of any Eq that you can get out of a speaker cable that can't be
also obtained with a proper equalizer. Unlike the cable that has only one Eq
curve with the given speaker, the equalizer has a zillion of them.

In article , Jim H wrote:
John Phillips in uk.rec.audio:

This is a genuine question even though it may be taken otherwise: is
audible frequency response deviation from flat either an acceptable or
a desireable factor in a cable?

I'd say not. If you need to make small changes to the EQ a hardwired cable
seems pretty crude, especially given the lack of information on the curve
they provide. Using the tone controls or getting a dedicated EQ would be a
beter choice.

Well there is an ulterior motive to my question which is to get some
clear idea of what known effects can be eliminated as the cause of any
cable sound differences.

I too think frequency response is one to eliminate. But how about
intermodulation, to take another possibility?

For example, the "thousands of millivolt diodes in series" argument is
used about (a) poly-crystalline copper (as opposed to mono-crystalline
OCC copper); and (b) multi-strand cables; both of which lead to current
jumping from one crystal/conductor to the next through suggested copper
oxide rectification at adjoining surfaces.

If this is so I would expect "bad" cables to measurably generate
intermodulation products. A bit of research on Google, however, draws
a blank. Are there any references?

--
John Phillips

In article , John Phillips
wrote:


I too think frequency response is one to eliminate. But how about
intermodulation, to take another possibility?

For example, the "thousands of millivolt diodes in series" argument is
used about (a) poly-crystalline copper (as opposed to mono-crystalline
OCC copper); and (b) multi-strand cables; both of which lead to current
jumping from one crystal/conductor to the next through suggested copper
oxide rectification at adjoining surfaces.

If this is so I would expect "bad" cables to measurably generate
intermodulation products. A bit of research on Google, however, draws a
blank. Are there any references?

None that I have been able to find so far. The above claim is one I've seen
a number of times in adverts, articles, and cable-maker websites. Yet - as
with some other 'technical' claims - when I question the makers I don't
seem to get reliable references or plausible physics.

If someone knows of some good references to measurements of the above
(alleged) effect I'd be interested to know. Ditto for various other claims
cable makers assert.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Audio Misc http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/AudioMisc/index.html
Armstrong Audio http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/Audio/armstrong.html
Barbirolli Soc. http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/JBSoc/JBSoc.html