[ot] Posh loudspeaker cables

"simonk" <me7.RemoveThis@privacy.net> wrote in message news:0001HW.BDC2E003000C2548F02845B0@news.individual.net...
 > Catman wrote
  > > simonk wrote:
  > >
   > >> Worth spending money on, or what?
  > >
  > > Only if *you* can hear it.
 >
 > Well there's the rub - I won't know I can hear it until I try it; but if I
 > try it, will I simply convince myself it was worth it?

Basically cables can be "dry", top/mid/bass heavy, "lush", "musical".
(and of course "shit", "crap", "messy", etc)

I suggest doing some research on various not to expensive cables, choosing
one that matches the type of sound you like and getting some and trying it.
If the sound isn't to taste then you can "tune" the sound, find out another
brand of cable thats more biassed to the type of sound you like and get and
try some of that.

I.E do the (educated) trial and error on cheap cable first to find out what
type of cable you like.

Once you've found the type of sound (cable) you like using the cheap(ish)
stuff you can find a shop that'll let you try some of the expensive stuff, that
is known for the same characteristics of the cheap cable you preferred.

There are a few factors all speaker cables must get right to be any good;
timing : high and low frequencies must take exactly the same time to get
from one end to the other. If they don't you get phase errors and loose
a lot of the spatial awareness of the sound (i.e. the ability of the system
to place instruments in the 3D soundstage between the speakers)
frequency response : the attenuation of the signal must be equal from low
to high frequencies. If its not the cable introduces horrible colourations,
like the wife playing with your 32 band equaliser so the layout of the
knobs "looks pretty"...

Get those two right (and its bloody difficult to do so cheaply) and
the manufacturer can then tweek the cable *very slightly* to
introduce very slight colouration (to make it slightly bright, or bass
heavy, etc) or add very slight tweeks to the low/high timing (so a
particular cable will match better with a specific speaker)

Also since all amps are built to have their own "characteristic"
company sound, and ditto with speakers, you use speaker cables to
slightly tweek the overall sound to what you like.

This all applies to equipment interconnects as well.


frag<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->

"gomez" <adams_gomez.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:nigqp01cjg634v597cehiu82tb02h4d2nt@4ax.com...
 > On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 22:35:22 +0000, simonk <me7.DeleteThis@privacy.net> dropped
 > the following oil-slick:
 >
  > >Worth spending money on, or what? Magazines and websites are full of reviews
  > >about cables and how important it is to audition them, but in the back of my
  > >mind I can't help thinking that it's actually complete bobbins, and that
  > >13amp mains flex would do fine.
  > >
 > It tosh. Hi Fi Answers were the main culprits for this bullshit in
 > the 1970/80's. They blew their cover when one reviewer claimed that
 > having a separate power supply for his system, isolated from the rest
 > of the house, made a difference. To his credit, I don't think he
 > claimed it was connected to a different National Grid.

So why then is there an expanding industry of people putting designs
on the Net for screened mains leads. Free designs. From which they
make no profit.

And of course a seperate mains feed means that interference introduced
onto the normal ring circuit from your fridge/freezer/dishwasher/immersion
heater/central heating/hoover/kettle/toaster/microwave/computer/laptop/
dildo/hedge trimmer won't actually *get* to your nice HiFi cause the
seperate feed has a filter fitted at the fuze box where its taken off from.

This is one thing that whoever brought it to light years ago actually
knew what they were talking about, its the rest of you pikey plebs
who don't want to admit it, cause if you did you'd have to spend some
dosh, which would cause you to commit suicide/explode/spontaneously
combust.

I'll admit that it *sounds* like tosh at first, but learn the science and
do the research and it actually make sense.

Of course there are some people out there making things up and
selling them for loads of money that are ripping people off, always
happens when something like this is discovered and starts to become
popular with a fledgling public who doesn't know much, but that
doesn't mean the genuine stuff isn't genuine.


frag<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->