Battle of RCA Cables: Mogami, Amazon, Monoprice

[Lambda]

What was the output and input impedance.

And is the output and the input Grounded? To the same Ground? Whats the Impedance between Grounds? is there current/voltage between grounds?

 

[Count Arthur]

LTT didn't like Monoprice either:

 

[RHG55]

Folks, anyone has comments regarding the following article:

Cable Pathways Between Audio Components Can Affect Perceived Sound Quality​

Author: Kunchur, Milind N.
Affiliation: University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, U.S.A.
JAES Volume 69 Issue 6 pp. 398-409; June 2021
Publication Date: June 1, 2021

Here is the abstract:

The arena of highest fidelity in music reproduction, sometimes referred to as high-end audio, has many controversial claims and contentious issues. One such controversy is whether the cables and topology used to interlink components together make an audible difference. There seems to be a disparity between anecdotal experiences reported by audiophiles and published formal scientific research, as to what are the minimal changes in system configuration that can be audibly distinguished. With the motivation of bridging this divide—which may originate from differences in instrumentation and subject-listening conditions used by the two groups—this work utilized a high-performance audio system and an extended-duration listening protocol that more closely resembles audiophile auditioning conditions. With these measures, the present work was able to prove through direct psychoacoustic testing that two different analog-interconnect pathways can be audibly distinguished.

A PDF of article can be obtained here: pdf file. (from the author's own web site:

http://boson.physics.sc.edu/~kunchur//papers/Audibility-of-cable-pathways--Kunchur.pdf

I've included the PDF here. I lanced the article and did not find it very illuminating. However, I need to read it more thoroughly.

Best

 

[Jazz]

I've used Mediabridge. Well made but, I find them very hard to pull off. If you want super secure, I recommend them on that, quality, and price.

 

[Astrozombie]

Kinda irked the Mono got a chopped off head They are a pain to insert though, Amazon aint getting my money so I will keep looking, the others are usually too expensive. That bluejeancable place has a catalog that's too complicated..........
I need a 10ft. cable and I did notice that the Monoprice non-Monolith cable is pretty much identical to the ones Crutchfield sells but with their name on it and a higher price tag. I keep waiting for the Mono to come back in stock but it has taken months.

 

[Lambda]

So i did my owne testing:

RCA cable Magnetic interference measurement and comparison

Cables are cables and there is no difference?! I designed a test to see if they perform significantly different in therms of "magnetic shielding" or Leakage inductance. This test dose not test for ground loop currents but interference from close by magnetic in homogeneous magnetic files. The...

www.audiosciencereview.com

You are proving me right, and you don't even realize it.

Well i can’t Reproduce your results in the Real world...
In my testing Coax seems to be not influenced by External in homogeneous magnetic fields from a close source at 150Hz or 4kHz

If i do the same test with Twisted pair this is my best result:

So what my i doing wrong?!
It’s almost like Ampere's law is true...

 

[Doodski]

That bluejeancable place has a catalog that's too complicated..........

I agree in a big way. They need pictures of the cable and termination type beside the selection menus.

 

[Count Arthur]

I agree in a big way. They need pictures of the cable and termination type beside the selection menus.

I think the guy that built their web site previously worked in the Lascaux region: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux

 

[Doodski]

I think the guy that built their web site previously worked in the Lascaux region: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux

It looks like a 2002 website with that software they are using.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Kinda irked the Mono got a chopped off head They are a pain to insert though, Amazon aint getting my money so I will keep looking, the others are usually too expensive. That bluejeancable place has a catalog that's too complicated..........
I need a 10ft. cable and I did notice that the Monoprice non-Monolith cable is pretty much identical to the ones Crutchfield sells but with their name on it and a higher price tag. I keep waiting for the Mono to come back in stock but it has taken months.

Triple RCA Stereo Video Dubbing Composite Cable 50ft

50ft Triple RCA Stereo Video Dubbing Composite Cable has 1 Coaxial Video Cable and 2 Dual RCA Audio Cable on each end. Color coded and labeled for easy connection.

www.monoprice.com

12 ft, and 3 of them, but for $5.59 seems a fair deal. It uses RG59U coax and some molded end plugs.

 

[SIY]

Folks, anyone has comments regarding the following article:

Cable Pathways Between Audio Components Can Affect Perceived Sound Quality​

Author: Kunchur, Milind N.
Affiliation: University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, U.S.A.
JAES Volume 69 Issue 6 pp. 398-409; June 2021
Publication Date: June 1, 2021

Here is the abstract:

The arena of highest fidelity in music reproduction, sometimes referred to as high-end audio, has many controversial claims and contentious issues. One such controversy is whether the cables and topology used to interlink components together make an audible difference. There seems to be a disparity between anecdotal experiences reported by audiophiles and published formal scientific research, as to what are the minimal changes in system configuration that can be audibly distinguished. With the motivation of bridging this divide—which may originate from differences in instrumentation and subject-listening conditions used by the two groups—this work utilized a high-performance audio system and an extended-duration listening protocol that more closely resembles audiophile auditioning conditions. With these measures, the present work was able to prove through direct psychoacoustic testing that two different analog-interconnect pathways can be audibly distinguished.

A PDF of article can be obtained here: pdf file. (from the author's own web site:

http://boson.physics.sc.edu/~kunchur//papers/Audibility-of-cable-pathways--Kunchur.pdf

I've included the PDF here. I lanced the article and did not find it very illuminating. However, I need to read it more thoroughly.

Best

Kunchur's "work" in audio is incredibly shoddy.

 

[SIY]

Just out of curiosity, and I’m not disputing any of Amir’s findings, do the cables have any differences in tone?

a signal will still be present but will it have changed in tone? A tone circuit is essentially just a manipulation of resistance, capacitance or inductance. Is it possible to determine if there is an effect there?

The necessary reactances are several orders of magnitude too low to cause any tonal differences.

Getting an audio signal (which is very low frequency/long wavelength) from Point A to Point B is trivial. Unless you're trying to sell something.

 

[Holmz]

Again, What inductance, Measured How and Low compared to what.

I'm sure the inductance in differential mode of a regular coax cable is lower.

Inductance from current flowing. The TC series are not interconnect cables, and they have low inductance measurements compared to other measured cable, but at the cost of higher capacitance.

 

[Holmz]

Shame you didn't test Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 and capacitance. BJC is the best in this regard, and their build quality is excellent.

Send in a set whenever you want.

 

[Headchef]

The necessary reactances are several orders of magnitude too low to cause any tonal differences.

Getting an audio signal (which is very low frequency/long wavelength) from Point A to Point B is trivial. Unless you're trying to sell something.

Next you’ll be claiming that tone circuits in guitars don’t work

 

[audio2design]

Folks, anyone has comments regarding the following article:

Cable Pathways Between Audio Components Can Affect Perceived Sound Quality​

Author: Kunchur, Milind N.
Affiliation: University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, U.S.A.
JAES Volume 69 Issue 6 pp. 398-409; June 2021
Publication Date: June 1, 2021

Here is the abstract:

The arena of highest fidelity in music reproduction, sometimes referred to as high-end audio, has many controversial claims and contentious issues. One such controversy is whether the cables and topology used to interlink components together make an audible difference. There seems to be a disparity between anecdotal experiences reported by audiophiles and published formal scientific research, as to what are the minimal changes in system configuration that can be audibly distinguished. With the motivation of bridging this divide—which may originate from differences in instrumentation and subject-listening conditions used by the two groups—this work utilized a high-performance audio system and an extended-duration listening protocol that more closely resembles audiophile auditioning conditions. With these measures, the present work was able to prove through direct psychoacoustic testing that two different analog-interconnect pathways can be audibly distinguished.

A PDF of article can be obtained here: pdf file. (from the author's own web site:

http://boson.physics.sc.edu/~kunchur//papers/Audibility-of-cable-pathways--Kunchur.pdf

I've included the PDF here. I lanced the article and did not find it very illuminating. However, I need to read it more thoroughly.

Best

When the author claims,

"The signal levels for the two configurations were exactly matched within ± 0.0045 dB (using an AC-voltage measurement at the speaker terminals)."

you know something is up. You couldn't adjust a knob that accurately so you are relying on the pathways being that closely matched. I am calling BS on that. That's 0.05%.

He does not know how to calculate characteristic impedance.

Normal researcher practice would be to hook up an AP or similar and fully characterize the two pathways for noise and distortion over the audio band from digital output to speaker. He does not have the equipment to do that so does not. That is unacceptable. He has no clue what is happening really. That renders the experiment virtually meaningless.

 

[Trdat]

Any chance of comparing basic electricity wire with speaker cables? Copper is copper right?

 

[Killingbeans]

Next you’ll be claiming that tone circuits in guitars don’t work

They only work because the roll-off effects happen below 20KHz

[rant] The manufacturers of "high-end" gear seem to love to pretend that they are designing complicated RF devices. The idea that audio reproduction is an exotic and mysterious thing speaks to a lot of people. We love the thought of "secret sauce". But the reality of audio electronics is much more mundane.

When you design GHz electronics, the reactance of individual traces on a PCB can be enough to cause major headaches. Sub 20KHz? Nearly no concern at all needed. Of course RF effects can still cause havoc in audio cicuits, but the audibe spectrum itself is so close to DC that the frequency dependant behavior of the signal becomes a footnote. [/rant]

 

[Killingbeans]

Any chance of comparing basic electricity wire with speaker cables? Copper is copper right?

When 12 Gauge Wire is Not 12 Gauge

Introduction Why test 12 gauge (AWG) wire? 12 AWG speaker wire is a “safe bet” from performance point of view because anything thinner may interact with the low impedance of your speakers and cause the frequency response to vary beyond threshold of hearing (-0.5 dB). That change can “color”...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[audio2design]

The necessary reactances are several orders of magnitude too low to cause any tonal differences.

Getting an audio signal (which is very low frequency/long wavelength) from Point A to Point B is trivial. Unless you're trying to sell something.

I have measured 2M patch cords around 300pF, and line level outs in the 2K range (which is quite high). I hear or "audiophile" stuff out to 10K ohm. 2K and 300pF puts you one order of magnitude from tonal differences, call it 1.5 for most people/music.

If you are running AES compliant balanced, then yes, several magnitudes seems quite okay.