Woody wrote:

Don't bother with expensive/exoctic cables - just get some decent 4sqmm
or 6sqmm flex, the longer the run the thicker. If the run is short (a
metre or two) then 2.5sqmm cable will do perfectly well. Go for a 79
strand or better if you can and don't pay more than about £1.50/metre.

Great to hear a man who knows his onions talk good sense.

Graham

David Looser wrote:

"Glenn Richards" wrote

opinions are divided on this group but it does make a difference.

I love that!, "opinion is divided, but I'm right"

In your opinion of course.

Oi ! I'M right ! OK ?

Graham

Glenn Richards wrote:

In my experience, yes, speaker cables do make a difference to the sound.

They act as passive filters.


As do interconnects to some extent.

They most certainly SHOULD NOT (aside from being balanced) if the
equipment's competently designed. Of course valve equipment is another
kettle of fish.

Graham

Glenn Richards wrote:

My friend's response? "Oh, you're using those fancy Chord interconnects
on the Arcam, you're using a £10 Cambridge Atlantic on the Technics."

He's not a City Banker stockbroker / commodities broker is he ? They're
pretty gullible.

Graham

Eeyore wrote:

Great to hear a man who knows his onions talk good sense.

Onions with opinions?

--
Adrian C

Jim Lesurf wrote:

BUT AIUI when comparison
tests have been done, based solely on the sounds, those who say they can
hear a difference generally show no sign of being able to do so on any
reliable basis.

Usually pure chance.

Graham

Jim Lesurf wrote:

This does not, of course, mean that speaker cables can never make any
audible difference. Indeed, there are situations where there seem good
reasons to think it will.

Just that the evidence indicates that people often think a change of cable
made such a difference, when it probably didn't. Generally too many other
mechanisms for producing a perceived 'difference' to tell why from the
kinds of poorly done 'comparisons' people often use as a basis for what
they say.

BTW I'm currently working on comparing loudspeaker cables. Investigating
out one or two aspects I can't recall being dealt with before in any
detail. All being well, results will appear first in HFN in coming months.
:-)

Oh they CAN and DO.

For all the usual reasons like DCR, L and C. Togther with the amp's output
impedance and the loudspeaker, these form a complex filter. I'd not be
surprised to see +/- 1dB variations.

Studio Sound did this of course about 25 years ago under controlled (i.e. non
'hi-fi') conditions and found exactly the same.

Their preferred cable was IIRC UK T&E 4mm2 mains wiring cable. Back then
heavier 'grades' were very rare.

Yup, the more copper, the better.

The only other answer is of course, powered speakers where the speaker wire is
say 200mm long.

Graham

David Looser wrote:

"Glenn Richards" wrote
David Looser wrote:

opinions are divided on this group but it does make a difference.
I love that!, "opinion is divided, but I'm right"

Heh, ok, posting written rather quickly... but you get the idea.

In your opinion of course.

In my experience, yes, speaker cables do make a difference to the sound.
As do interconnects to some extent.

But can you hear the difference when you don't know which cables you are
listening to?, that's the question.

Can you hear +/- 1dB ? or +/- 0.5dB ?

I can assure you some people have NO trouble doing so.

Graham

Glenn Richards wrote:

David Looser wrote:

But can you hear the difference when you don't know which cables you
are listening to?, that's the question.

Probably. A while back I got my friend to hook the DVD/CD player up to
the amp via two analogue connections (the DV79 has two sets of analogue
outputs), one with freebie patch cables, the other with Chord Cobra III.
Tried 2-3 CDs, swapping between inputs, and yes, I correctly determined
which one was which. The freebie one sounded flat and lifeless.

Then the equipment must be very badly designed.

Wire is Wire. There's no 'super wire'.

Capacitance is Capacitance. There's the likely problem alongside incompetent
design.

Graham

Geoff Mackenzie wrote:

Oh - and that bit about "all properly designed amplifiers when used within
their operating limits will sound the same" - er, why was the 405 power amp
replaced by the 405/2, with not much in common apart from the cabinet?

Because the original was a POS.

Anyone with today's measurement equipment would have shown so in seconds.

Graham