Do Fancy Audio Cables Make a Difference? (video)

[tw99]

Amir,

I think you should spend your valuable video time testing/discussing legitimate products vice debunking non-legitimate ones.
The folks that believe in cables and various other audio tomfoolery are gone. You're not going to get them back.

Just my opinion.

Dave.

I agree that he's unlikely to make much difference to existing cable believers. On the other hand, getting more of this sort of content out there might help to prevent more cable believers in future.

 

[Vini darko]

Comments section gonna be juicy on this one

 

[Jerry Sobel]

There were requests in youtube to do a video on high-end audio cables. So I did one based on the review of audioquest Wind cable. If you have already read the text review, there is little new information in there but for the rest of you, this is one you can watch or listen to instead of reading:

FYI, the audio got screwed up in the first recording and had to do it all over. I had tried to optimize the audio but by accident had added a 1 second delay. Anyway, other than the start where it still mutes too much, let me know if the sound is any better.

Video is a little less than 15 minutes.

Absolutely love, love these videos. Listening to your analysis is so great. Keeping doing these.

 

[ta240]

I agree that he's unlikely to make much difference to existing cable believers. On the other hand, getting more of this sort of content out there might help to prevent more cable believers in future.

It may save some new people some money. There are so many videos and threads out there describing how much of an improvement cables can make that it is hard to escape the pull of wanting ones system to sound as good as they describe theirs sounding with the expensive cables.

It would be interesting to see a chart of how big of a percentage of the cost of people's systems went to cables.

 

[Deleted member 2944]

I agree that he's unlikely to make much difference to existing cable believers. On the other hand, getting more of this sort of content out there might help to prevent more cable believers in future.

Objective discussion of the merits of cables has been available for many years.....for those interested in finding it.
So, video's like this don't even prevent 'future' cable believers from becoming believers.

When you get into audio equipment, you HAVE to leave your ego at the door. And that goes for audio science reviewers who are trying to poke their finger in the eye of believers as well.

Concentrate on evaluating proper products and by osmosis the believers will indirectly either become more objective or go another way. But you can't sway anybody by making fun of them.
Amir is a talented guy with some equipment. Getting side-tracked on this kind of thing is not what he should be doing.

Dave.

 

[ta240]

Objective discussion of the merits of cables has been available for many years.....for those interested in finding it.....

I think it is a quality and quantity game. There are way more videos out there saying how amazing cables can be than there are ones like this. If people have to 'find' the opposing point of view they won't often even think of looking for it. It needs to be out there in the same search results for them to stumble onto.

 

[AndreaT]

Thank you for making clear how expensive cables are the universe of snake oil.

 

[617]

Isolda couple of cables to some rubes

 

[respice finem]

...The folks that believe in cables and various other audio tomfoolery are gone. You're not going to get them back...

There are always some apostats and convertites, but in general you are right IMHO. I see, however, the marketing term "evolving" thanks to the smart Chinese. A generally "industry standard" cable plus a nylon / faux carbon sheath is now "audiophile", allowing the "believers" to at least keep some money for food and such. I have given away almost all my RCA cables from the 90s to the local "retro fans", having no analog source any more anyway, but if I needed some, I might, as a complete "audio atheist" buy this "China audiophile" stuff just for looks (and hopefully decent soldering).
This (just for lolz) can be found on Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/s?k=audiophiles+kabel&__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

 

[Lambda]

I'm in no way saying this cable is any good but the testing methodology is flawed and dose not proof mush.

The cables job is not only to carry the signal but also has to shield it from unwanted (RF)Interference and maybe carry Commen Mode ground currents.

The method of injecting 60Hz noise by a small transformer is crude and flawed.
Not only is the rejection of Audible frequencies important but also the rejection of RF.

Ironically the professional expensive gear is bad to test this because its good at filtering out RF even if the bad cable pics it up.

And the test did not test for commen mode current suppression.

Yes expensive cables are snake oil. but this test dose not proof this.
Since i could make a cable that would measure ok in this test but change the sound in the real world.

 

[Mnyb]

I think it is a quality and quantity game. There are way more videos out there saying how amazing cables can be than there are ones like this. If people have to 'find' the opposing point of view they won't often even think of looking for it. It needs to be out there in the same search results for them to stumble onto.

Thats one of the problems .

If you also considers that most ideas humans ever had was wrong.

Due to "internet" every one can post anything .

This way it's a case of entropy we will be flooded with rubbish

Also the post modern idea that every opinion is of equal value and there realy is no reality to concern us ( its all a social construct to some people ).

Also the polarization in todays social discourse also feed by misguided moderators and journalist . We all seen debates where it for dramatic effect has to be two sides to then have a so called debate ? What about when one side is just wrong

.. Wait you cant be wrong because your opinion is of equal value now back to be offended by everyting ...

We should actually be happy that audio is such niche interest that has not yet been politicized , so politics has not yet infected our hobby . Thats the next step in relative truths
(thats one of my pet peaves that things that can be analysed rationally or morally still gets absorbed by politicall interest it does great diservice to many questions)

 

[uwotm8]

Due to "internet" every one can post anything

Except ASR where only the True Truth is posted

 

[respice finem]

Except ASR where only the True Truth is posted

And, with proof in form of proper measurements... (at least by Amir). Frankly, I don't think it makes sense to engage in any "fights" with the "hearing is beliving" fraction, if they're happy with what is "fed" them, so be it.

 

[mash]

Another good video that recaps your earlier AudioQuest Wind cable review.

It would be good to add some reviews on well constructed less expensive cables like WBC or Blue Jean cables. The basic question being, "should I be spending $20-50 on a cable set or just using the ones in the box?" I certainly believe that the durability and insulation provided by some of these cables is worth the money (maybe even quality of the copper as well?) but can't say that I can point to actual test results to back that up. I'm sure that there is some information floating around in the corners of the internet that cover this topic but would be good to see a couple of well regarded "reasonable" cables measured here.

One quick point....at around 6:50, when you start describing the noise measurements of both cables, you say that the generic cable demonstrated more noise. Was this what you meant to say? The graph seems to indicate the opposite (even if both lines are below auditable) but I may have been misinterpreting what you were describing.

 

[Mnyb]

Yes sometimes the "free cable" is just rubbish , it bought one at the supermarket for my computer speakers it let in much more hum and mains noise than the old to short one , so cable under some threshold can still be an issue.

So there is this, it can be good to get better than whats in the box but this got hyped up way over the top by the cable vendors...

 

[respice finem]

"should I be spending $20-50 on a cable set or just using the ones in the box?" I certainly believe that the durability and insulation provided by some of these cables is worth the money...

Sometimes it may be the case, I remember some very cr@ppy RCA cables (or rather plugs) that didn't have any "retention force" left after plugging in and out three times. So I went to buy "Monster cable" and such, just because their plugs were good - they still work (for them who got them now). Since I was, cautiously speaking, not rich at that time, preferably used ones (by people who sold them cheap to invest in "better").

Another "cable crapshot" are CCA (copper coated aluminium) speaker cables, OK they're conductive too, but aluminium and copper is "not a love affair", and aluminium can get brittle. Or Toslink seemingly made of fishing line, with problems @3m already (though I've seen others that will do 10).

Long story short, you get what you pay for, but you needn't pay through the nose...

Example: Probably my last ever speaker cable, I bought for my "cinema for one", and which is overkill anyway (4mm2 to fit the bananas). The price is for 15m because I needed 15m to get around one leg of the L-shaped room, for the rest there were enough left from the 90s: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01LFAAI00/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[respice finem]

Yes sometimes the "free cable" is just rubbish...

Yes, because the cost cutters would cut their grandma's throat to save a penny at some companies In the early 2000s, some were smarter and did not include signal cables at all, which was at least ecological, because everybody and his dog had probably 10 better ones lying around anyway. My AVR from 2018 also had none included (apart from the obligatory mains). Today it's similar with "better" cameras, you can get the body only instead of having to buy a so-so kit lens.

 

[Billy Budapest]

It would be good to add some reviews on well constructed less expensive cables like WBC or Blue Jean cables. The basic question being, "should I be spending $20-50 on a cable set or just using the ones in the box?"

My preference has always been to buy well-constructed cables that use professional cable stock and connectors not because of any differences in sound quality, but for longevity and durability.

To that end, I’ve purchased such cables when the price is right. That’s led to a mish-mash of many different pro cables in my possession which I will gladly offer up to Amir to test. I’m not sure if he’d want to measure them, though.

 

[Stokdoof]

Thank you so much Amir, I,ve been irritated by companies and websides selling or pushing Audioquest gear.In my country they are very big.
This video will get many views.and sound is perfect.

True, living in the same country, there simply is no hifi shop that sells other brands for audio cabling then “Audiopest”. Good to see that simple cables are just as good . Fijne dag verder.

 

[Katji]

whewh, This one might cause big schitt, over time. hahahah
I'll pass.
...Right, I remember that review now - classic, the wind perception stopped when the wife closed the patio door- not gonna forget that.