Audioquest GO-4 Speaker Cable Review

[voodooless]

It's amazing how many "scientists" show up demanding we prove crackpot theories.

And the common folk keep asking why we still don’t have net positive fusion power

 

[fpitas]

And the common folk keep asking why we still don’t have net positive fusion power

All the real geniuses spend their time developing audio tweaks.

 

[BDWoody]

And really, Quad have developed their amps w/o any listening at all with different speakers - sry. such claim warrants proof.

The Quad ESL - Walker 1978

The definitive web reference to the original Quad ESL

www.quadesl.org

An interview well worth reading, but here is a snippet:

TAA: Have you any opinions you'd share on the relative merits of distortion tests, such as harmonic, two-tone IM, transient IM, or slew rate limiting, as clues to amplifier quality?

PW: An amplifier should, within its limits of voltage mid rate of change of voltage, (which is slew rate limiting) if you keep within those two it should be very, much better than any program material. These are the things that are measured at .01 per cent or .05 per cent. But what is listened to is usually a program with 2 or 3 per cent distortion in the first place, 1 hat's the least you call get on records, tapes, and such things. Listening tests are usually not done in this region of .01 percent distortion. I'm quite convinced within that range the amplifier is just as perfect as you like to make it. It's quite possible to put 50 amplifiers in cascade, each one into aloud, potted down into the next one, and to listen to the 50th one or to linen to the first one, and the sound will be virtually the same. So I think you call make an amplifier just as good as you like, and no more different than a piece of wire. But where they vain, when these tests are done, are a whole lot of areas. T o start with, you can compare one amplifier with a bass cut-off of 20 Hz and another one that goes right down to DC. It you've got a program with a bit of fluffing going on at 5 Hz Or so, the speaker cone in one case will be moving, and in the other case it won't be moving. so the sound from the speaker will be different. This isn't really a condemnation of the amplifier, it's that they Shouldn't have a this 5 Hz stuff there in the first place. So if you compare an amplifier with a straight wire, you've really got to make the straight wire have the same bandwidth as the amplifier, and the same terminating impedance as the amplifier. Once you do all these things, then the amps will be just as good as the straight wire. The peripheral effects are what get people into trouble. You can see why you find these differences in amplifiers. You can always find them. If people test two amplifiers and say, "These sound different" there's no magic in it. Spend two days. maybe a whole week in the lab, and you find out exactly why they're different and you can write the whole thing down in purely practical, physical terms. T his is why these two sound different, and the cause is usually peripheral effects. It is not really a case of good or bad amplifiers, it's that tile termination impedances are wrong. or something of that sort.

TAA: How do you rate the merits of listening tests to instrument tests?

PW: We designed our valve (tube) amplifier, manufactured it, and put it on the market. and never actually listened to it. In fact, the same applies to the 303 and tile 405. People say, "Well that's disgusting, you ought to leave listened to it." However, we do a certain amount of listening tests, but they arc for specific things. We listen to the differential distortion - does a certain thing matte' You've got to have a listening test to sort out whether it matters. You've got to do tests to sort out whether rumble is likely to overload pickup inputs, or whether the high frequency stuff coming out of the pickup due to record scratch is going to disturb the control unit But we aren't sitting down listening to Beethoven's Fifth and saying "l hat amplifier sounds better. let's change a resistor or two. Oh yes, that's now better still." We never sit down and listen to a music record through an amplifier in the design stage. We listen to funny noises, funny distortions, and see whether these things are going to matter. to get a subjective assessment. But we don't actually listen to program material at all.

 

[SIY]

I am a trained experimental physicist

Ask your alma mater for a refund. They owe it to you.

 

[egellings]

For those designers who don't use 'listening sessions' to tune their gear, is it just luck when it turns out well? Do you believe they are hearing things that can't be measured?

This product is a money grab, pure and simple.

I always think of the J Gordon Holt interview where he identifies where he thinks the industry went off the rails:

https://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/1107awsi/index.html#:~:text=Do you see,spreading my gospel.

"Do you see any signs of future vitality in high-end audio?

Vitality? Don't make me laugh. Audio as a hobby is dying, largely by its own hand. As far as the real world is concerned, high-end audio lost its credibility during the 1980s, when it flatly refused to submit to the kind of basic honesty controls (double-blind testing, for example) that had legitimized every other serious scientific endeavor since Pascal. [This refusal] is a source of endless derisive amusement among rational people and of perpetual embarrassment for me, because I am associated by so many people with the mess my disciples made of spreading my gospel."

High end audio (The High End) keeps trying to solve problems that were solved a long time ago. The foot race is over. You've crossed the finish line. Stop running.

 

[fpitas]

High end audio (The High End) keeps trying to solve problems that were solved a long time ago. The foot race is over. You've crossed the finish line. Stop running.

As long as they're paid to run, they'll extend the track.

 

[cinemakinoeye]

These cable reviews are fun to read; AudioQuest deserves a hall of fame award among purveyors of snake oil. I have some of their LGC (long grain copper) speaker cables that an audio dealer threw in for free with a pair of speakers I purchased from them many years ago, and I laughed out loud when I looked at the cables; they had directional markings on them! The salesperson began to explain the sonic advantages of LGC, and I stopped them, saying, I don't want to hear about magical properties; there is no difference between them and zip cord. Still, I appreciate you saving me a trip to the hardware store. We had a lively conversation about snake oil, of which I don't remember the specifics, but you can imagine how it went. It's a shame when the profit margin of a business depends on deception and magical thinking.

 

[DonR]

These cable reviews are fun to read; AudioQuest deserves a hall of fame award among purveyors of snake oil. I have some of their LGC (long grain copper) speaker cables that an audio dealer threw in for free with a pair of speakers I purchased from them many years ago, and I laughed out loud when I looked at the cables; they had directional markings on them! The salesperson began to explain the sonic advantages of LGC, and I stopped them, saying, I don't want to hear about magical properties; there is no difference between them and zip cord. Still, I appreciate you saving me a trip to the hardware store. We had a lively conversation about snake oil, of which I don't remember the specifics, but you can imagine how it went. It's a shame when the profit margin of a business depends on deception and magical thinking.

"Would you argue with your mechanic about how pinstriping makes the car go faster?"

 

[fpitas]

These cable reviews are fun to read; AudioQuest deserves a hall of fame award among purveyors of snake oil. I have some of their LGC (long grain copper) speaker cables that an audio dealer threw in for free with a pair of speakers I purchased from them many years ago, and I laughed out loud when I looked at the cables; they had directional markings on them! The salesperson began to explain the sonic advantages of LGC, and I stopped them, saying, I don't want to hear about magical properties; there is no difference between them and zip cord. Still, I appreciate you saving me a trip to the hardware store. We had a lively conversation about snake oil, of which I don't remember the specifics, but you can imagine how it went. It's a shame when the profit margin of a business depends on deception and magical thinking.

Is long grain copper tastier?

 

[BlackTalon]

Is long grain copper tastier?

It's more of a texture thing... Definitely would not use for risotto.

 

[Beave]

I think long-grain copper has to be burned in longer than the plain white rice variety, so to speak.

 

[Chrispy]

At least these threads are humorous thanks to the like of Gio and the deleted guy (may he get his wish) believing and defending this fraudioquest nonsense.

 

[Head_Unit]

I wonder if the theory to bias a SE cable has any merit

Of course! It does wonders for the profitability! Did you know AudioQuest was actually founded by...never mind...

 

[Head_Unit]

fraudioquest

oh that's a good one!

 

[Chrispy]

oh that's a good one!

Catchy, isn't it?

 

[Stanny1]

Amir is crushing these snake oil companies!

AudioQuest is the worst. There are no specs and no definitions of what PSC and any other "names" mean. I think it's all BS and it's just oxygen-free copper. Get away from "consumer" cables and buy Pro brands like Oyaide and Mogami. At least you'll know it it's OFC or better than Audioquest PCOCC (Ohno) copper.

 

[Chrispy]

AudioQuest is the worst. There are no specs and no definitions of what PSC and any other "names" mean. I think it's all BS and it's just oxygen-free copper. Get away from "consumer" cables and buy Pro brands like Oyaide and Mogami. At least you'll know it it's OFC or better than Audioquest PCOCC (Ohno) copper.

Not that OFC is even very important.

 

[JSmith]

Not that OFC is even very important.

Indeed...

• C10100 – also known as oxygen-free electronic (OFE). This is a 99.99% pure copper with 0.0005% oxygen content. It achieves a minimum 101% IACS conductivity rating. This copper is finished to a final form in a carefully regulated, oxygen-free environment. Silver (Ag) is considered an impurity in the OFE chemical specification. This is also the most expensive of the three grades listed here.
• C10200 – also known as oxygen-free (OF). While OF is considered oxygen-free, its conductivity rating is no better than the more common ETP grade below. It has a 0.001% oxygen content, 99.95% purity and minimum 100% IACS conductivity. For the purposes of purity percentage, silver (Ag) content is counted as copper (Cu).
• C11000 – also known as electrolytic-tough-pitch (ETP). This is the most common copper. It is universal for electrical applications. ETP has a minimum conductivity rating of 100% IACS and is required to be 99.9% pure. It has 0.02% to 0.04% oxygen content (typical). Most ETP sold today meets or exceeds the 101% IACS specification. As with OF copper, silver (Ag) content is counted as copper (Cu) for purity purposes.

Use in home audio

The high-end speaker wire industry markets oxygen-free copper as having enhanced conductivity or other electrical properties that are supposedly advantageous to audio signal transmission. In fact, conductivity specifications for common C11000 (ETP) and higher-cost C10200 oxygen-free (OF) coppers are identical and even the much more expensive C10100 has only a one-percent higher conductivity—insignificant in audio applications.

OFC is nevertheless sold for both audio and video signals in audio playback systems and home cinema.

JSmith