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[AndreasN]

The wonders of expensive cables are an endless source of amusement! Now, back on topic..

Think you'll find that most people consider speaker wires to be good enough as long as the gauge is heavy enough. EMI is not a problem here.

For normal wiring, a standard good cable, not expensive esoteric ish and not cheapo crap, should give you a long hassle free service time. How good is good enough? Well, to me, that means a braided shield, twisted pair and a physically sturdy construction. Get some good connectors, like Neutrik, and you should be done.

If you think there's reasons to throw piles of cash at cables, please take a look at circuit board traces..

[bblackwood]

i think the truth is somewhere in the middle of 'cables don't affect sound' and 'all cables have an affect on sound'. I think if you use the proper cables in each environment, you won't hear differences. IOW, if using good quality, low-capacitance cables of similar measurements for line level, you won't hear a difference.

At least that's been my experience.

[Bill B]

dcollins wrote on Sat, 07 January 2006 00:13

zetterstroem wrote on Thu, 05 January 2006 05:43 no voodoo here.... We found that: The purity of the basic metals is essential. Any uncontrolled or unwanted impurity changes the signal transmission properties, such as the direction and/or speed of the information flow in the final conductor. It controls the speed and direction!  Love it. Actually the speed is controlled by the insulation. The direction, man can only stand by and watch. Quote: Impurities also create undesired metal structures which interfere with specific properties of the pure metal. Duh. No effect on audio, though. What is it with these cable "designers" anyway? Always amusing. Like how the Zaolla cable helps with your workstation's latency........ DC

I love this: "(the cable) renders the music as a well-rounded entity — as a unified whole. It spreads genuine musical flair, thereby writes speed and seemingly effortlessly brings out the finest nuances, which, however, do not loosely whirl around the room, but are unbreakably integrated into the soundstage."

O---kay.

[AndreasN]

Oh, and another thing:

>In particular I'm after a RCA phono to 6.3 mm jack lead (stereo prefered)

Since this is unbalanced, you might try this: hook the active signal to one part of the twisted pair and the ground to another one of the twisted pair cables. Connect the shield to chassi ground to make it active. This should in theory give better unbalanced transmission.

Not totally sure about this, though. I'm sure someone will step up and correct me if I'm wrong! =)

[Ronny]

My fave nonsense blurb is the one way cables that have arrows pointing to the direction that should parallel the audio flow. Where do they come up with this crap?

[mike chafee]

aivoryuk wrote on Thu, 05 January 2006 13:35

David Glasser wrote on Wed, 04 January 2006 21:27 Is it just me, or does the audiophile term 'interconnect' drive anyone else nuts? sorry i've been spending far too much time with my father in law. (well i actually live with the in laws at the mo so its kinda hard to avoid)   i don't want to spend a lot but just want something a bit better than the standard stuff at the mo. i would assume with you guys that have thousand of dollars worth of equipment (speakers and stuff) that you wouldn't use $3's worth of cable. Or maybe you would thats why I'm asking many regards Alex

Gotham Audio has several very low capacitance cables at extermely reasonable prices, with either Switchcraft or Neuman connectors.

I have a gazillion dollars in hardware, and recently started using these after reading a thread on Klaus's forum.

The results are excellent.

Mike Chafee

[ammitsboel]

Ronny wrote on Mon, 09 January 2006 19:04

My fave nonsense blurb is the one way cables that have arrows pointing to the direction that should parallel the audio flow. Where do they come up with this crap?

There are many bullshitters out there, the ones that does it the most are the ones over 50' and that's not just about cables!
When looking at specifics or only considering what you "think" you know, you might miss the obvious.

[Ronny]

ammitsboel wrote on Mon, 09 January 2006 17:50

Ronny wrote on Mon, 09 January 2006 19:04 My fave nonsense blurb is the one way cables that have arrows pointing to the direction that should parallel the audio flow. Where do they come up with this crap? There are many bullshitters out there, the ones that does it the most are the ones over 50' and that's not just about cables! When looking at specifics or only considering what you "think" you know, you might miss the obvious.

If a frog had wings he might not bump his ass when he hops. Doesn't surpise me that you are defending one way cables.  

The burden of proof is on the people that make the claims, not on the people that know that there are flaws in their evaluation parameters and can read through marketing bullshit. If the claim deesn't follow the laws of physics you are wasting your time expecting any cable manufacturer to rewrite them.

[mike chafee]

On cable directionality, keep in mind that some Manufacturers have a direction on interconnects because they float the shield on one end.
Then there are those who have employees who listen to spools of bulk cable to determine which direction is better.

Mike Chafee

[Barry Hufker]

But you *have* to listen to the cable to know which way to use it.  Otherwise the music could come out backwards!

Barry

[Ronny]

Barry Hufker wrote on Tue, 10 January 2006 00:09

But you *have* to listen to the cable to know which way to use it.  Otherwise the music could come out backwards! Barry

Due to the coreolis effect, if you live in Oz or Argentina and you buy your wire from the US, you should start making your cables from the inside of the spool.

[dcollins]

mike chafee wrote on Mon, 09 January 2006 19:39

On cable directionality, keep in mind that some Manufacturers have a direction on interconnects because they float the shield on one end.

Now Mike, if you're going to bring Science into this discussion, I'm going to report you.

Quote:

Then there are those who have employees who listen to spools of bulk cable to determine which direction is better.

Hey, the world needs ditch-diggers too.

D

[ammitsboel]

Ronny wrote on Tue, 10 January 2006 02:42

ammitsboel wrote on Mon, 09 January 2006 17:50 Ronny wrote on Mon, 09 January 2006 19:04 My fave nonsense blurb is the one way cables that have arrows pointing to the direction that should parallel the audio flow. Where do they come up with this crap? There are many bullshitters out there, the ones that does it the most are the ones over 50' and that's not just about cables! When looking at specifics or only considering what you "think" you know, you might miss the obvious. If a frog had wings he might not bump his ass when he hops. Doesn't surpise me that you are defending one way cables.   The burden of proof is on the people that make the claims, not on the people that know that there are flaws in their evaluation parameters and can read through marketing bullshit. If the claim deesn't follow the laws of physics you are wasting your time expecting any cable manufacturer to rewrite them.

It doesn't surprise me that you think I defend these cables.
However that's not what I stated, and it's not the point of why I wrote the post.

[chrissugar]

dcollins wrote on Tue, 10 January 2006 09:32

mike chafee wrote on Mon, 09 January 2006 19:39 On cable directionality, keep in mind that some Manufacturers have a direction on interconnects because they float the shield on one end. Now Mike, if you're going to bring Science into this discussion, I'm going to report you.

A better way to make unbalanced connection than the classic coaxial cable, is to use balanced cable. In this case the shield is connected only at one end of the connector, and it will not transport signal, only acts as a shield. The shielding performance is not the same if the shield is connected at the source RCA or at the destination RCA. That is why they mark the cable, for easier identification. It has nothing to do with “cable directionality” (change of the sound because of some properties of the wire). It is only about how efficient is the shielding.
Description of a cable like this is at:
http://www.vandenhul.com/artpap/groundend.htm

Because manufacturers sell spools of bulk cable they mark a direction to make it easier for the user to identify where he connects the shield.
Unfortunately this cable direction marking is the source for the audiofool concept of “cable directionality”.

chris

[Barry Hufker]

Tho' I'm kidding when I talk about the arrow indicating the direction of the sound, I am not kidding when I say a certain company presents a lot of bull about the physics of its cables and so the arrow is an easy target (get it?? the *arrow* is the *target* -- damn I'm funny) when speaking of the real foolishness involved with those cables.

Barry