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Morrow SP3 Review (Speaker Cable)

VintageFlanker

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Don’t know why people get so excited when this topic of cables is discussed and start calling people fools
Because you obviously don't have a clue where you are posting. Welcome, anyway.

Case 2: you do and you're actually trolling.
I think sometimes people forget that it’s about listening to and enjoying the music.
Nobody forgot that. But the forum is still called AudioScienceReview, in case you missed it.
the biggest difference i have heard is the recording itself
That makes sense.
 

Dj7675

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Well that is not true. I have taken a length of 16 gauge vs 10 gauge cable and attached them to a subwoofer and a monoblock and the 10 gauge was louder. I know I know, blind blind blind. See the thing is, it was obvious. Like looking at your shoes, yup, they're tied!
Maybe it is just me but something like louder seems so easy to confirm by a simple spl measurement with a mic.
 

gallantus

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I appreciate the review, but there are some major flaws in the methodology.

In this review, only measurements were taken. Many of which, like common frequency response and input to output distortions, will indeed measure pretty much the same through any cable.

The distortions we are talking about on the website are those that are not measurable with test equipment. They are rather distortions that affect soundstage, musicality, realism, etc… the musical presentation. Another example is the 3D roundness of the images within the sound field.
These things, and distortions of these elements cannot be measured. Rather, they are heard and experienced through a proper stereo system, using ones ears.

Here is an example… When attending an audiophile trade show, one walks by rooms where stereo systems are playing. For the most part, as you approach the room, you know that it is indeed a stereo system. Now, when you are in the lobby, which also contains stereos, you hear something different, you know that it is live music. As you round the corner, you discover that it indeed is! If you measured a stereo playing the same thing, compared to the live event, they will measure the same, yet sound so much different. This is the “distortion” I am speaking of. Why is the recording of the live event sound so different from the actual live event? It is a form of distortion.

There are many things that are yet understood, how the ear/ brain works in deciphering the music. Cables do indeed sound different, even though they “measure” the same. Why this is, no one knows, and it is not placebo!

Somehow, with our cable design, the difference between recording and the live event becomes less. What you experience is that you are more “there”, the glass is less cloudy, the experience more real. There is greater musicality and realism, even though the measurements are the same.

I propose to the reviewer that he test all cable reviews in a real, properly set up stereo system. He might find that they “measure” the same, but when inserted into a stereo, the cables do indeed sound different. One will then experience the before unmeasurable distortions by using the best and final test, one’s ears. Test equipment measurements are fine, but listening is the real experience and is really what matters.

You sir, you either been involuntarily fooled by the cable voodoo BS or you are a disgusting snake oil sales man; I would like to believe the first.

Let me use basic logic to disprove your voodoo claims.

If cables can ultimately alter the sound of a HiFi system that the cable is installed on, then you would need to know what your target goal of the sound you are "designing/engineering" for (i.e. bigger sound stage, tighter bass, blah blah blah). If you have a target sound, you would need to know how to make the cable to achieve such target sound. To know how to make something with target goal, it's called engineering, you need to design/engineer for it, in such designing and engineering, you would then need to measure it and test it.

If you can't measure it and you can test it, how the f'ing world do you design/engineer for it? In fact, what the hell is the design/engineering of your cables? Do you just buy cables from an OEM manufacturer from China and then assemble it with fancy nylon sleeves and banana plugs and sprinkle some fairy dust on it?

What scientific knowledge do you have up your sleeves that electrical engineers and physicists with PhDs have yet to discovered? In fact, what is your technical background, are you an EE? Are you a physicist, a material scientist? If you are neither of them, you simply do not process sufficient technical knowledge to design or engineer anything. In fact, I do not know of any snake oil cable companies employing real engineers or scientists with a 4 year STEM degree from an university/college to design/engineer their cables. S-N-A-K-E O-I-L
 
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Aperiodic

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You are right - I’m amazed that a manufacturer of ‘mid-priced’ snake oil cables hasn’t done this already! As long as nobody does the test including basic cables, it could be a marketing coup…
Nobody in the 'golden ear' reviewer world will participate in a scientific cable test. The 'night and day' differences never survive a blind test. Include the Monoprice and Amazon Basics cables if you want as long as the test is double blind. It doesn't matter. Differences that really are night and day hold up. The big problems are the transducers, where the real-world issues dwarf any possible contribution from the cable. This goes for both headphone and speaker (room) systems.
 

Mike Morrow

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The problem is that there seems to be no mention of actually giving the SP3's a listening test against the generic cables. There are things that are not yet measurable. Examples are soundstage, musical realism, the 3D roundness of the image, etc. One must use their ears to experience these things. The ears are the final judgement. We have tens of thousands of customers, in over 80 countries who have bought our cables. They had a 60 day return that began when received. They tried them against their other cables and kept ours. You better believe that if they did not hear a difference, they would have returned them for a refund. Their testimonials bear witness: https://www.morrowaudio.com/pages/reviews Measurements are only a part of the picture. The ultimate test is ones musical enjoyment, with the ears being the final decision maker. Peace...
 

SIY

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The problem is that there seems to be no mention of actually giving the SP3's a listening test against the generic cables. There are things that are not yet measurable. Examples are soundstage, musical realism, the 3D roundness of the image, etc. One must use their ears to experience these things. The ears are the final judgement. We have tens of thousands of customers, in over 80 countries who have bought our cables. They had a 60 day return that began when received. They tried them against their other cables and kept ours. You better believe that if they did not hear a difference, they would have returned them for a refund. Their testimonials bear witness: https://www.morrowaudio.com/pages/reviews Measurements are only a part of the picture. The ultimate test is ones musical enjoyment, with the ears being the final decision maker. Peace...
Mike, let me repeat my earlier question: do you have ANY actual listening test data showing these claimed differences?
 

preload

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Differential In-situ Speaker Cable Measurements
As mentioned above, the impedances at the two ends of the cable is not the same as an amp and speaker. So I created a new test:

View attachment 126411

In a nutshell, I am measuring any difference between the signal at one end of the cable at the amplifier compared to the other (speaker). Of course, I didn't realize that my analyzer was set to 4 volt and hit "run" meaning the amp was producing its full power! Speaker was sitting face down and while I could not see it, I clearly heard it jump up and down followed by the loudest test sweeps you can imagine! It was as if an explosion had happened behind me! :D

Fortunately the amp and speaker survived the ordeal and we can look at the results. This is the frequency response differential between SP3 and generic cable:

Amir, could you share what loudspeaker you had connected during the measurements? I’m curious what the impedance curve was, because that should have affected the frequency response measured, assuming the cable had non zero DCR and impedance.
 
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voodooless

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The problem is that there seems to be no mention of actually giving the SP3's a listening test against the generic cables.

Does that mean you volunteer for a double blind listening test?

There are things that are not yet measurable.

Yet your site has a list of pseudoscience arguments why the cable should be better. In any case: how does one even design the cables if it’s not measurable? Blind luck?

We have tens of thousands of customers, in over 80 countries who have bought our cables. They had a 60 day return that began when received. They tried them against their other cables and kept ours. You better believe that if they did not hear a difference, they would have returned them for a refund. Their testimonials bear witness
The only thing they witness is that your marketing is working very well. Congratulations I guess.
 

gallantus

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There are things that are not yet measurable. Examples are soundstage, musical realism, the 3D roundness of the image, etc.

Mr. Marrow, if you can't measure it then how did you design it? How did you design it to get the right level of soundstage, musical realism, 3D roundness of the image? Was it just fairly dust?

And please share with us your technical expertise, are you an electrical engineer? A physicist? A material scientist?

Everything HiFi was intentional designed and engineered to a target spec. Would you like me to sell you an amp that was not intentionally designed and engineered to target spec and I can't measure how much power it puts out, the distortion, the SNR?
 

gallantus

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The problem is that there seems to be no mention of actually giving the SP3's a listening test against the generic cables. There are things that are not yet measurable. Examples are soundstage, musical realism, the 3D roundness of the image, etc. One must use their ears to experience these things. The ears are the final judgement. We have tens of thousands of customers, in over 80 countries who have bought our cables. They had a 60 day return that began when received. They tried them against their other cables and kept ours. You better believe that if they did not hear a difference, they would have returned them for a refund. Their testimonials bear witness: https://www.morrowaudio.com/pages/reviews Measurements are only a part of the picture. The ultimate test is ones musical enjoyment, with the ears being the final decision maker. Peace...

If you want to spend money on cables, buy from Blue Jeans Cable: http://www.bluejeanscable.com

But be careful, Blue Jeans also got into the snake oil business with another website called: https://www.iconoclastcable.com/ DO NOT BUY FROM THIS BLUE JEANS' SNAKE OIL SUBSIDIARY!
 

Ken1951

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The problem is that there seems to be no mention of actually giving the SP3's a listening test against the generic cables. There are things that are not yet measurable. Examples are soundstage, musical realism, the 3D roundness of the image, etc. One must use their ears to experience these things. The ears are the final judgement. We have tens of thousands of customers, in over 80 countries who have bought our cables. They had a 60 day return that began when received. They tried them against their other cables and kept ours. You better believe that if they did not hear a difference, they would have returned them for a refund. Their testimonials bear witness: https://www.morrowaudio.com/pages/reviews Measurements are only a part of the picture. The ultimate test is ones musical enjoyment, with the ears being the final decision maker. Peace...

Should this not have received the classic response of:

Uh-Huh.
 

egellings

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A measuring mic needs to be placed in front of the woofer, and then appropriate test signal(s) applied and mic results measured & saved. Change the speaker cable to the woofer. Repeat the measurement protocol. Save. Compare. Display the difference in the reading sets. If there's negligible difference, then any heard differences have to be imagined. What's so hard about that? If someone continues to refute the results, then you know we wandered from science into politics, or maybe, religion. All thing are possible! Game over. (Averts eyes & heads to the nearest door.)
 
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SIY

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A measuring mic needs to be placed in front of the woofer, and then appropriate test signal(s) applied and mic results measured & saved. Change the speaker cable to the woofer. Repeat the measurement protocol. Save. Compare. Display the difference in the reading sets. If there's negligible difference, then any heard differences have to be imagined. What's so hard about that? If someone continues to refute the results, then you know we wandered from science into politics, or maybe, religion. All thing are possible! Game over. (Averts eyes & heads to the nearest door.)
Why do that? Capture the electrical signal at the speaker terminals. More repeatable and allows DBT as well as analysis.
 

Jukka

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How boring
If you think that's boring and want to find differences in cords and know which way to hold a soldering iron, warm up your translator and take a look at this thread: Natural Test Signal. Hundreds of posts about an elderly gentleman KKuikka, who developed and patented a Natural Test Signal (NTS), that can squeeze out the electrical properties of copper leads which can affect audible sound. NTS resembles music more than a sine wave sweep and can show differences to a scale of analog oscilloscope (Amirs equipment are far more precise, but test methods are different). He developed a test bench, that will eliminate most if not all pitfalls of cable testing and produce repeatable results in order simulate real amplifier-speaker configuration. In the end, he shows how to build a compensation device, that will cancel out the ill effects of bad speaker cord. All this is based on Ohm's law, not on fairy dust.

If that doesn't tick your interest, you should abandon speaker wires and start listening to music instead (joke).
 
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