Advice request - My first hifi system - CABLES

[JeremyFife]

If you care about 0.001dB (or so) level difference and a view ns time difference.

Rationally you would not care. since it's extremely unlike that in any unusual scenario you could even measure a difference

My first ASR "leap of faith" moment was to use different length cables in the office ... made no difference at all (obviously!) apart from keeping things tidier

 

[egellings]

My first ASR "leap of faith" moment was to use different length cables in the office ... made no difference at all (obviously!) apart from keeping things tidier

There likely is a difference, but it would be microscopic, and only instrumentation could detect it.

 

[SIY]

This is what I use these days.

 

[voodooless]

This is what I use these days.

What kind of special stuff is that? I get an Access Denied on that page

 

[Count Arthur]

What kind of special stuff is that? I get an Access Denied on that page

Unicorn hair conductors hand knitted by leprechauns in the Atlantis based factory.

 

[SIY]

What kind of special stuff is that? I get an Access Denied on that page

If you didn't reek of tulips and Gouda and make clacking sounds when you walk because of the wooden shoes, you would be able to access the site.

 

[voodooless]

If you didn't reek of tulips and Gouda and make clacking sounds when you walk because of the wooden shoes, you would be able to access the site.

It’s indeed geo-blocked What a strange practice.

 

[Count Arthur]

What Americans think The Netherlands looks like:

What it actually looks like:

 

[gfinlays]

Dare I ask on this guy's thread, do the cables need to be the same length? (In my case, one speaker four feet from amp, and the other fifteen feet.)

When I first made up the cables for my 3-way wide baffle design (Canare 4S11), I went with one short and one long cable.

Here are the respective inductance and capacitance values. Ohmic values are worst case at 20 kHz:


0.038 Ω in series with the speaker (0.04 dB difference)


24.6 kΩ in parallel with the speaker (0.0028 dB difference)


0.063 Ω in series with the speaker (0.068 dB difference)


14.8 kΩ in parallel with the speaker (0.0047 dB difference)

The impedance differences compared to the impedance of the speaker are negligible at all frequencies and changes in sound level (0.1 dB difference is the absolute limit of human hearing perception in the most sensitive range ~ 1 - 3 kHz) are completely imperceptible, especially when you consider that at 20 kHz (if your hearing still goes that far) it takes something like an 8 dB difference to be perceptible.

TL;DR it makes no difference

 

[EdW]

You're on the wrong site if you're thinking about 'sound quality' of cables, as if they're properly specified for the job, they'll do it without adding, altering or taking anything away!

In the UK, I use Van Damme for interconnects and also rate Mogami extremely highly! Sonic difference is in the looks and cachet of the two brands, the former regarded as too cheap to be really good and the latter being favoured on UK forums as well as pro circles for many years... There's a UK source here selling well put together Van Damme RCA interconnects for under twenty quid typically and they supplied for a tenner the pair, some 25cm terminated lengths I wanted. I've also been known to use an Amazon Basics RCA and RCA - 3.5mm interconnect to advantage... My ears definitely ain't all they were (and then some, sadly), but I feel I can still hear recording and production differences easily, so feel the cables aren't getting in the way at all, whatever the price or appearance (SO many audiophiles 'listen' and judge with their eyes it baffles me!).

Speaker cables can be a right bloody rip off. The wire that broke the spell for me years ago being the Linn K10, which worked 'and sounded' great with plenty of other amps and speakers. The very same cable, it seems, can be got cheap from Amazon UK as 'Kabeldirekt' in the 2.5mm gauge. I have twin 5m runs of the 1.5mm gauge for use with a vintage micro system I was given and it's great to use with bright clean copper! For use in a more powerful system, the 2.5mm and especially the 4mm type should be all you'd need.

Be warned about subjectivist forum opinions, as price tags, looks and brand-cachet rule more than any sonic qualities I discovered after many years, not that they'd agree of course I once had a Krell power amp and had to sell it due to heat reasons in the only space I could house it. The entire time I had it, I was constantly wondering if my basically transparent preamp was 'good enough' and the wires used 'posh enough,' despite their good quality of ingredients and characteristics (which judge all cables) being fine for purpose.

In the US, I gather Blue-Jeans cables are well chosen and good quality regardless of selling price or appearance.

The above ain't what audiophiles like to hear and I have to say that in my case, I thank the good Lord that I'm off that treadmill now.

Also Blue Jeans cables are air freighted to the UK with all duty/VAT paid - there was a link on their webpage for UK customers with UK prices when I bought. When I ordered they arrived in about 3 days as I recall so as good as any UK supplier.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

When I first made up the cables for my 3-way wide baffle design (Canare 4S11), I went with one short and one long cable.

Here are the respective inductance and capacitance values. Ohmic values are worst case at 20 kHz:

View attachment 431991
0.038 Ω in series with the speaker (0.04 dB difference)

View attachment 431992
24.6 kΩ in parallel with the speaker (0.0028 dB difference)

View attachment 431989
0.063 Ω in series with the speaker (0.068 dB difference)

View attachment 431990
14.8 kΩ in parallel with the speaker (0.0047 dB difference)

The impedance differences compared to the impedance of the speaker are negligible at all frequencies and changes in sound level (0.1 dB difference is the absolute limit of human hearing perception in the most sensitive range ~ 1 - 3 kHz) are completely imperceptible, especially when you consider that at 20 kHz (if your hearing still goes that far) it takes something like an 8 dB difference to be perceptible.

TL;DR it makes no difference

Very comprehensive reply gfinlays thank you.
I would certainly expect such good sense from someone who resides no more than 30 miles from my Shepperton home.