No, I didn't. As soon as I saw that it was a Danny video, I knew not to waste my time. I made that mistake a couple of times in the past and won't make it again unless somebody provides a good reason to watch.
-
Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!
Do Fancy Audio Cables Make a Difference? (video)
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
No, I didn't. As soon as I saw that it was a Danny video, I knew not to waste my time. I made that mistake a couple of times in the past and won't make it again unless somebody provides a good reason to watch.
oleg87
Addicted to Fun and Learning
A 40 minute video about this subject with neither timestamps nor a trace of measured data in the thumbnails does not portend a good use of one’s time
Apparently, quite a few people like the way he tells stories.
Fortunately, a little understanding makes it (and him) much less interesting.
kemmler3D
Master Contributor
Sorry, but no.
Look, cables generally do not work in such a way that they could make something sound warmer.
"Warmth" generally either comes from elevated bass or excess THD.
Cables can't really add bass, they can reduce treble, but generally this happens to such a miniscule extent that hearing it would be virtually impossible. We're talking -0.1dB at 20khz. To have a clear impression of warmth it would be more like -2dB at 10khz, orders of magnitude more change than what is actually observed when cables are tested.
Cables can't add THD since they're completely passive.
I don't think anyone doubts that you heard what you say you heard. What is doubtful is why you heard it. Belief that cables affect sound is more than enough to create the difference you heard, and then some. This is well-known.
Cables that actually affect the sound in the ways you describe basically don't exist, maybe except when paired with very unusual amps / headphones.
So the scientific position is not to try to run down the overwhelmingly unlikely cause of what you heard over the overwhelmingly likely cause. It's to go with the likely cause until we get some hard evidence.
Again, nothing personal, but this argument comes up constantly and the answer is always the same: "Pics or GTFO" - in a manner of speaking.
Hi ! a little late to comment on another epic review by Dr Amir and thank you so much Doctor for your effort to educate "uneducated" audio lovers
Even if free cables are perfectly fine for audio listening being one of those bored guy who likes to experiment different devices i would spend a little more for a cable with better connectors Nothing jewelry here lets be clear
Sometimes ago i read that rca cables for transferring digital spdif (or also video cables) should have better specifications And usually it is what i used
Something like this coming from a brand well received in the pro sector
their costs is usually a fraction of that of other devices in the chain And if used with care they can last a life
Thanks again for the very enlightening analysis indeed
Kind regards gino
P.S. this said i like BNC cables so much better than RCA cables There must be a reason why RCA cables are not used with scopes
A standard BNC cable for scopes would be a state of the art solution for analog and digital imho
Even if free cables are perfectly fine for audio listening being one of those bored guy who likes to experiment different devices i would spend a little more for a cable with better connectors Nothing jewelry here lets be clear
Sometimes ago i read that rca cables for transferring digital spdif (or also video cables) should have better specifications And usually it is what i used
Something like this coming from a brand well received in the pro sector
their costs is usually a fraction of that of other devices in the chain And if used with care they can last a life
Thanks again for the very enlightening analysis indeed
Kind regards gino
P.S. this said i like BNC cables so much better than RCA cables There must be a reason why RCA cables are not used with scopes
A standard BNC cable for scopes would be a state of the art solution for analog and digital imho
Human Bass
Addicted to Fun and Learning
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2018
- Messages
- 868
- Likes
- 951
Any rca cable can do spidf just fine, I've tested many be it coaxial, 2 wire, 4 wire. A well shielded coaxial is ideal for rca imo.
Hi ! thank you very much for your kind and valuable advice What i meant is that i spend some time trying different devices with rca ins and outs
I bought some cheap RCAs and the ground contact are very weak They work of course but i really prefer something more durable and reliable
Sometimes i think that the connectors are even more important than the cable itself as long as it is decent i.e. with good shielding
A friend of mine told me that he had seen cables from Canare in the recording rooms of our broadcasting company in Italy A good endorsement
Again if i spend thousands on devices i could spend tens in cables And they last for years
If the jacks on the equipment the cable is used with are not of similar high quality, then the benefit of the cable may be lost.
Speedskater
Major Contributor
Yep, just about any well constructed coax cable will do shorter length SPDIF (say under 10 feet/3 meter) just fine.
At longer lengths (say well over 15 feet/5 meter) a 75 Ohm coax is needed.
At longer lengths (say well over 15 feet/5 meter) a 75 Ohm coax is needed.
Hi you are right And actually the connectors i like are those designed to provide a tighter connection i.e. more reliable
Connectronics TN-RCAV3 75 Ohm RCA Crimp Connector for Canare A2V1 or A2V2-L or V-3C or L-3C2VS Cable
Premium 3-piece RCA crimp connectors. Nickel/Brass construction with gold center pin. Use in all broadcast video SPDIF digital audio applications. Use Paladin PAL-1389 Crimp Tool.
www.markertek.com
i also like locking types But they do not need to be very expensive Just get a little better for a little more money
AnalogCircuit
Member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2023
- Messages
- 28
- Likes
- 9
Lesson Learned: Just because a cable is good short term, doesn't mean it will be good long term. SKW cables on Amazon failed me.
I thought I had a bad amp and was fiddling with going back and forth in my biamp setup and realized it was my RCA cables.
I have been using these SKW cables from Amazon for about 2-3 years in theater/Hifi and misc other systems and at first they were fine, but now the ends have lost clamping force or spring so they are loose on some of them. This is not a small deal, it can destroy your equipment. Flaky preamp inputs are a great way to blow up your amp or preamp.
The Bluejeans / BJC cable that I have on one source is as springy and positive connecting as it was when it was new several years ago, so I'm inclined to go that route. My only annoyance with them is the clearance you need between your gear and the wall since their cable connector and boots are quite long, but that likely helps prevent kinks and wear down the road so I'll try to consider it a feature rather than a problem.
These are the SKW pieces of crap that I'm throwing into the trash.
I just ordered BJC LC-2's to replace them:
I thought I had a bad amp and was fiddling with going back and forth in my biamp setup and realized it was my RCA cables.
I have been using these SKW cables from Amazon for about 2-3 years in theater/Hifi and misc other systems and at first they were fine, but now the ends have lost clamping force or spring so they are loose on some of them. This is not a small deal, it can destroy your equipment. Flaky preamp inputs are a great way to blow up your amp or preamp.
The Bluejeans / BJC cable that I have on one source is as springy and positive connecting as it was when it was new several years ago, so I'm inclined to go that route. My only annoyance with them is the clearance you need between your gear and the wall since their cable connector and boots are quite long, but that likely helps prevent kinks and wear down the road so I'll try to consider it a feature rather than a problem.
These are the SKW pieces of crap that I'm throwing into the trash.
I just ordered BJC LC-2's to replace them:
Last edited:
when of very low quality like with a bad shielding can act as antenna and capture noise It can be easily tested by putting a cheap smps above the cable and listening
Ok this is an extreme situation but with very low quality cables can happen
I guess this is way xlr are preferred for long connections in pro situations
Last edited:
AnalogCircuit
Member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2023
- Messages
- 28
- Likes
- 9
Some people think because you can use lamp cord for speaker wire with good results in some cases that this applies to all types of cables.
Preamp cables, especially RCAs, are very different than speaker wire when it comes to interference and cross-talk.
Hi thank you for the very valuable advice
I guess that what matters is if the cable enters an active or passive stage like speakers are
They don't amplifying anything
Not so a phono preamp for instance having a lot of gain
A very easy test is to short the cable input and listen
I guess that what matters is if the cable enters an active or passive stage like speakers are
They don't amplifying anything
Not so a phono preamp for instance having a lot of gain
A very easy test is to short the cable input and listen
kemmler3D
Master Contributor
Sure, no doubt, but this is not THD (distortion), it's noise. Harmonic distortion requires a nonlinear effect on the signal, which as far as I know can't be done with a simple piece of copper or aluminum.
Weird analogy for speaker wire to different types of cable....
RCAs introduce cross talk how particularly?
AnalogCircuit
Member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2023
- Messages
- 28
- Likes
- 9
It's not weird at all. People hear a truth for one type of cable/wire and assume it applies to all. But there is a night and day difference in shielding/length requirements of pre and post amplifier cabling. Some have tested lamp cord and found it to be indistinguishable from high end speaker cable in some scenarios, but this is post-amplifier. The same rules don't apply to preamp cabling, especially phono which is the most sensitive.
Grok saving me some typing:
Preamp cables are more susceptible to electrical, radio frequency (RF), and electromagnetic interference (EMI) than speaker wires because they carry low-voltage, high-impedance signals before amplification, making them vulnerable to noise that gets amplified along with the audio. In contrast, speaker wires transmit high-voltage, low-impedance signals after amplification, where interference is negligible relative to the strong signal and isn't further amplified. Additionally, preamp cables often require shielding to mitigate noise, while speaker wires, designed for high current, are less affected by environmental interference due to their low impedance and the signal's strength.
Yes, it is, especially when you then intimate some can tell "high end" speaker cable apart from zip/lamp cord.
So where does crosstalk come in?
AnalogCircuit
Member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2023
- Messages
- 28
- Likes
- 9
Crosstalk can be any circuit or channel causing interference with another. It's what you are avoiding by using shielded cable.
All crosstalk is interference, but not all interference is crosstalk. Shielding protects against interference, which includes crosstalk.
This doesn't just apply to RCA cables or audio. This happens with network cable that is out of spec or wrong spec for the application, sometimes within the same cable bundle and other times it's due to other nearby cable or services.
I'm not sure what you're not understanding, but based on your post count I assume you feel you have a loaded question and are either baiting or trolling, which I'm not interested in either.
So how does a pair of rca cables introduce crosstalk particularly? Just being adjacent? Never had such problems in 50 years of rca cable use in any case. You are the one with the strange cable opinions and needs (or implementation perhaps)....
Similar threads
