Audioquest GO-4 Speaker Cable Review

[Sal1950]

Right, so if amp A performs better than amp B then effectively amp A could, or maybe should produce a better soundstage.

Performs in what way? If amp B is a very poor design, is broken, or was intentionally voiced that's possible.
Properly designed modern solid state amps don't exhibit those variations.

"Vastly exaggerated in importance by the audiophile press and high-end audio dealers. In controlled double-blind listening tests, no one has ever (yes, ever!) heard a difference between two amplifiers with high input impedance, low output impedance, flat response, low distortion, and low noise, when operated at precisely matched levels (±0.1 dB) and not clipped. Of course, the larger your room and the less efficient your speakers, the more watts you need to avoid clipping."
Peter Aczel

 

[kaopad999]

Performs in what way? If amp B is a very poor design, is broken, or was intentionally voiced that's possible.
Properly designed modern solid state amps don't exhibit those variations.

"Vastly exaggerated in importance by the audiophile press and high-end audio dealers. In controlled double-blind listening tests, no one has ever (yes, ever!) heard a difference between two amplifiers with high input impedance, low output impedance, flat response, low distortion, and low noise, when operated at precisely matched levels (±0.1 dB) and not clipped. Of course, the larger your room and the less efficient your speakers, the more watts you need to avoid clipping."
Peter Aczel

That coud well be the case, and i have no idea which amps were used in these tests. However, in my own listenng enviroment with the same speakers set to the same postion, i was able to hear a clear difference between 3 different amps from 3 different manufacturers, but then again i have only compared lower-end intergrated hifi amps. Maybe none of them messure well due to thier lower cost, hence why each one sonded different.

 

[kaopad999]

Performs in what way? If amp B is a very poor design, is broken, or was intentionally voiced that's possible.

broken, coud have been? but I have no idea, as would never have been able test or messure the amp for such problems.. All i know is they sounded different. some brigher, some 'warmer' some sounded more forward

 

[JSmith]

i was able to hear a clear difference between 3 different amps from 3 different manufacturers

See, you need to be clearer on how you did this... level matched, blind, how the switching was done (i.e. no cues) etc. Otherwise it's just a throwaway comment...


JSmith

 

[kaopad999]

See, you need to be clearer on how you did this... level matched, blind, how the switching was done (i.e. no cues) etc. Otherwise it's just a throwaway comment...


JSmith

Sure. I had both amps for over 2 years so many hours of listening were done with both amps in exactly the same room with the same speakers. I'm naturally sceptical person, so i have no rerason to exaggerate or lie. As i have said, they're cheap amps and it may well be the case that both amps do not messsure well which would explain the difference in sound?

 

[kaopad999]

See, you need to be clearer on how you did this... level matched, blind, how the switching was done (i.e. no cues) etc. Otherwise it's just a throwaway comment...


JSmith

What i would like to ask you, is, have you not been able to detetct a difference in sound with amplifiers?

 

[Beave]

Sure. I had both amps for over 2 years so many hours of listening were done with both amps in exactly the same room with the same speakers. I'm naturally sceptical person, so i have no rerason to exaggerate or lie. As i have said, they're cheap amps and it may well be the case that both amps do not messsure well which would explain the difference in sound?

You have to compare them at precisely the same levels. And you have to be able to switch between them very quickly.

Otherwise, the amplifiers are not the devices being tested. YOU are. What I mean by that is that you are not a reliable piece of test equipment when you do comparisons sighted and not level-matched.

 

[kaopad999]

You have to compare them at precisely the same levels. And you have to be able to switch between them very quickly.

Otherwise, the amplifiers are not the devices being tested. YOU are.

I disagree. As i said, i know when i can hear difference and when i can not. I trust what i heard like i trust what i taste.
For example, I've tested DACs in the same way, and i heard ittle to no difference. Speakers cables ZERO! yet a significant difference between amps.
2 years of listening to a wide genre of music between Int amps is enough for me to confrm what i hear & prefer the sound of.
I'll be recieving my first class D amp next week, which i will test alongside my Classs A-B Marantz. I'll be more than happy to carry out the tests as you;ve suggested.

 

[Beave]

Try it level-matched and blinded, so that you don't know which amp you're listening to. You might be surprised.

 

[kaopad999]

Try it level-matched and blinded, so that you don't know which amp you're listening to. You might be surprised.

More than happy to try that.

 

[JSmith]

in exactly the same room with the same speakers.

Yeah but sighted was it and how much time between change over? I appreciate what your saying, but with respect it usually comes down to one being slightly louder than the other, or just plain old perception bias at play. The mind is very convincing...

Anyway, unsure what this all has to do with the cable under test.


JSmith

 

[kaopad999]

Yeah but sighted was it and how much time between change over? I appreciate what your saying, but with respect it usually comes down to one being slightly louder than the other, or just plain old perception bias at play. The mind is very convincing...

Anyway, unsure what this all has to do with the cable under test.


JSmith

Sure, and i am open minded enough to be 'proven wrong' if you want to put it that way.
None of this really effects my life, it;s just a bit of a hobby to me and most importantly i love music.
if i find that i can hear little to no difference between amps, then that can only be a good thing, as it means i save money on úpgrades'

 

[Thomas_A]

Amps can distort, have funky frequency response that change with load, or invert absolute polarity. Those that do may show up as not audibly transparent compared to straight wire.

Imaging could change due to frequency response errors since some cues for localisation of sound resides in spectral content of the audio signal e.g. 8 kHz peaking for height.

So theoretically an amp-loudspeaker combination, leading to specific and significant changes in frequency response, may affect imaging. But I have never seen or heard one case of that which has been confirmed with blind tests.

Regarding cable ”magic”, just forget it.

 

[JSmith]

Sure, and i am open minded enough to be 'proven wrong' if you want to put it that way.

Sorry if I came across that way... it's not about being proven wrong as such, it's about learning yourself that things may not always be what they seem to our perception, which unfortunately is most fallible. It can be most humbling and then allows you to not worry about these aspects as much. If you are able to distinguish a difference with a statistically significant result, document it, post the results and we can all discuss further. The largest area of concern is the speakers and the room... not so much source devices or cables. Of course that is very general too.


JSmith

 

[kaopad999]

Sorry if I came across that way... it's not about being proven wrong as such, it's about learning yourself that things may not always be what they seem to our perception, which unfortunately is most fallible. It can be most humbling and then allows you to not worry about these aspects as much. If you are able to distinguish a difference with a statistically significant result, document it, post the results and we can all discuss further. The largest area of concern is the speakers and the room... not so much source devices or cables. Of course that is very general too.


JSmith

Don't worry it's fine. this is how people learn from having sensible discussions, sharing knowledge and experiences . I appreciate your input.

 

[kaopad999]

Sorry if I came across that way... it's not about being proven wrong as such, it's about learning yourself that things may not always be what they seem to our perception, which unfortunately is most fallible. It can be most humbling and then allows you to not worry about these aspects as much. If you are able to distinguish a difference with a statistically significant result, document it, post the results and we can all discuss further. The largest area of concern is the speakers and the room... not so much source devices or cables. Of course that is very general too.


JSmith

Also, i'd like to add, these are the reasons why i came to this forum in the first palce. As i know that there is a lot of snake oil BS within the indistrty, i wanted to come here and learn from a more scientific view and try to get away from the purely subjective ideas,& reviews which i often read and hear. This way i could try and at put the two together and come to my own conslusions as to what i may, or may not be hearing.

 

[kencreten]

I hope you raised them from the surface of your desk with Audioquest Fog Cable Lifters otherwise your test is flawed

Oh no! The test is blown! Heheh. That's fantastic. Must have ... cable lifters.

 

[BDWoody]

As i said, i know when i can hear difference and when i can not. I trust what i heard like i trust what i taste.

Without some basic controls, listening comparisons are very unreliable. Here is a video our host put together to help with the basics.

There is no shame in realizing that as humans we have some built in processing that needs to be dealt with to make this kind of sensory comparison useful. One looks better? Likely sounds better. One is a little louder? Likely sounds better, etc...

 

[egellings]

Maybe in the case of integrated amps, differences in S. Q. may be heard if those amps have tone control circuits in them. Even if the controls are set to their flat positions, they may not be completely out of circuit sound wise, i.e., actually flat, and those variations could account for heard differences in the amplifiers. In other words, the controls are not completely out-of-circuit.

 

[kaopad999]

Maybe in the case of integrated amps, differences in S. Q. may be heard if those amps have tone control circuits in them. Even if the controls are set to their flat positions, they may not be completely out of circuit sound wise, i.e., actually flat, and those variations could account for heard differences in the amplifiers. In other words, the controls are not completely out-of-circuit.

Not sure about that as both amps were set to "Pure Direct Mode" which bypasses the tone controls. I am absolutely certain that integrated amplifiers can and will sound different. However, i am more than happy to carry out further tests such as A-B Blind testing, or whatever it takes to try and confirm what i heard is correct.