Do the cables matter?

[kecstama]

Hi!

I've heard tons of bullshit about "highend" cables, 1000$ cable "boosters", 100$ "virtual ground" (a literal f.... cable which goes into nowhere), XXXXX$ Power cables, XXX$ USB cables ect. ect...

So my question here, will my stuff sound better if i change my RCA interconnects / speaker cables?

I'll be honest, i dont really believe in this, imo the only thing matter is the "quality"of the AC/DC input, not the cable itself. On the RCA side, it can make a difference, but not when changing from a 20$ to a 200$ one. (Really shit cables will sound bad, but if you already have a "good enough" cable, you won't hear any difference.

(Once i saw a Facebook post about a guy who literally bought a huge-ass "filter" capacitor which he soldered "into" the cable, he described the sound: quote: "Better, just better, more airy, more space, better instrument separation") I just cant imagine how could that make anything better, better.

 

[Veri]

If there's no problems with your current cables, there's literally nothing to improve or overcome, simple as that.

 

[Willem]

Indeed, it is snake oil. Decent budget quality with good termination will do the job, with the proviso that this applies to domestic cable lengths, and that the speaker cables should be sufficiently thick. If you want to read more, see here: http://archimago.blogspot.com/2015/06/musings-audio-cables-summary-non.html

 

[kecstama]

If there's no problems with your current cables, there's literally nothing to improve or overcome, simple as that.

Thats okay and stuff, but how do i know that my cables are "good"?

 

[CDMC]

Cables make a huuuuge difference. No cables, no sound. With cables, your system works.

All joking aside, there should be no difference with any competently designed cable with good connections. By this I mean, using the proper cable for the signal type (no 28 gauge for speakers, no 10 gauge solid for interconnects) with well crimped or soldered connections and a tight interface with connections.

Unlike many here, I do believe I have heard, very, very, very minor differences between cables. In those differences, I couldn't say one was better, just that they sounded like there were very slight differences in how things like high-hats and cymbals sound. That said, I have very little confidence that I could reliably pick between two quality cables in a blind test.

I will throw out my pick for cables. World's Best Cables on Amazon. 2 foot pair of RCAs with Canare L-4E6S and Neutrik connectors for $20. They have XLR and options with Mogami for equally attractive prices. For speakers cables, it is hard to beat Blue Jeans Cables and their ultrasonic welded connections.

 

[Wes]

Balanced interconnects might give lower noise than your RCAs

Most speakers present a complex impedance, so different cables might change the sound - could be "better" or "worse"

But as to audiophile cables, NO

 

[Willem]

Speaker impedance can indeed be problematic, but that is surely a sign of bad speaker design (apart from stats of course). If your amplifier has a low output impedance/high damping factor response will not be affected. So if you want to avoid this problem, stay away from tubes.

 

[Speedskater]

a] not all cables are good cables and there are different levels of goodness.
b] long cables often face more demands than short ones. a 300 foot pro XLR cable near a theatrical lighting system has a lot of challenges that a 3 foot cable will never see.
c] for speaker cables. length and loudspeaker impedance curve are considerations.
d] audiophile/boutique cables are often not as good as the cables from the major bulk cable manufactures.

 

[Celty]

Cables make a huuuuge difference. No cables, no sound. With cables, your system works.

All joking aside, there should be no difference with any competently designed cable with good connections. By this I mean, using the proper cable for the signal type (no 28 gauge for speakers, no 10 gauge solid for interconnects) with well crimped or soldered connections and a tight interface with connections.

Unlike many here, I do believe I have heard, very, very, very minor differences between cables. In those differences, I couldn't say one was better, just that they sounded like there were very slight differences in how things like high-hats and cymbals sound. That said, I have very little confidence that I could reliably pick between two quality cables in a blind test.

I will throw out my pick for cables. World's Best Cables on Amazon. 2 foot pair of RCAs with Canare L-4E6S and Neutrik connectors for $20. They have XLR and options with Mogami for equally attractive prices. For speakers cables, it is hard to beat Blue Jeans Cables and their ultrasonic welded connections.

"World's Best Cables on Amazon. 2 foot pair of RCAs with Canare L-4E6S and Neutrik connectors for $20."
+1 just because I have these

 

[solderdude]

Thats okay and stuff, but how do i know that my cables are "good"?

Interlinks are good when they sit snuggly in their RCA sockets.
When you hear no weird sounds that should not be there they are more than sufficient.

Speaker cables are good when they have a thickness corresponding with length and speaker impedance (in other words minimal thickness and not over 10m) There are lookup tables for this. Also the cable end should not be corroded. When they are clean them or shorten them a little.

Headphone cables are good when they are supple, don't weigh much, are low in microphonics and have the length you need and plugs that do not wiggle too much and don't have intermittend contacts.

In all these situations: connectors can be cleaned and cables do not have to expensive. Expensive cables only differ in price and looks.

 

[Doodski]

Good interconnects save the tweeters from being damaged. After being connected for long periods of time the connection degrades and disconnects for a tiny instantaneous moment and that creates a spike in output power from the amplifier that takes out the tweeter. It's especially important to have good interconnects on powerful amplifiers. When it happens it sounds like a tiny very short interval snap sound and voila tweeter is damaged. I've had it happen to myself even with expensive interconnects. It's a good idea to use some sort of proper contact cleaner at the connection from time to time. Gold connections are obviously better.

 

[solderdude]

Was there DC on the output of said RCA connectors ?

 

[kecstama]

Was there DC on the output of said RCA connectors ?

Wha do you mean

 

[Doodski]

Was there DC on the output of said RCA connectors ?

I never noticed any DC or out of calibration offset voltage at the output. It was a tri-amplified home system with lots of interconnects. After it happened everything still worked fine other than the KEF tweeter that was damaged. It's possible static electricity was a factor or maybe the ground was interrupted and the signal had no reference.

 

[VintageFlanker]

Hi!

I've heard tons of bullshit about "highend" cables, 1000$ cable "boosters", 100$ "virtual ground" (a literal f.... cable which goes into nowhere), XXXXX$ Power cables, XXX$ USB cables ect. ect...

So my question here, will my stuff sound better if i change my RCA interconnects / speaker cables?

I'll be honest, i dont really believe in this, imo the only thing matter is the "quality"of the AC/DC input, not the cable itself. On the RCA side, it can make a difference, but not when changing from a 20$ to a 200$ one. (Really shit cables will sound bad, but if you already have a "good enough" cable, you won't hear any difference.

(Once i saw a Facebook post about a guy who literally bought a huge-ass "filter" capacitor which he soldered "into" the cable, he described the sound: quote: "Better, just better, more airy, more space, better instrument separation") I just cant imagine how could that make anything better, better.

All differences heard by audiophiles are:
- 95% related to psychoacoustics.
- 5% related to (intentionally?) bad designed cables.

Also:

Cleaning up my system from Audiophile Snake Oil

 

[Blur]

A good cheap cable will / should measure the same as a good expensive cable. It's more about the parts going into the cable and how well it is made than some exotic cable claiming to bring your gear closer to heaven. When in doubt ask for live measurements and bring your cable in to compare.

 

[Doodski]

All differences heard by audiophiles are:
- 95% related to psychoacoustics.
- 5% related to (intentionally?) bad designed cables.

Also:

Cleaning up my system from Audiophile Snake Oil

Funny the snake-oil salesman who labelled that cable that goes to nowhere as, "virtual ground ." Virtual ground is another term for the input of a op amp because the signal level is so low it can't be measured and some metering equipment when connected there simply shunts power that is there.

 

[Blur]

Always be cautious about "More Airy, More Space" comments because to me that represents phase problems. If left/right get out of phase or even the speaker is out of phase you can end up thinking the soundstage is wider, but in actuality you have introduced phase issues into the signal. A bad cable that introduces a bunch of harmonic noise may make the audio sound more spacious too because it's adding higher frequency content to the signal. Which is again getting away form the pure signal and doctoring what you hear.

 

[Blur]

Funny the snake-oil salesman who labelled that cable that goes to nowhere as, "virtual ground ." Virtual ground is another term for the input of a op amp because the signal level is so low it can't be measured and some metering equipment when connected there simply shunts power that is there.

Not really entirely true as we all have different ears which are mini amplifiers. We all hear things differently. I agree that when we swap gear ourselves and hear giant differences, unless we change the speaker / headphones of course, chances are it is because we want to hear a difference or we've increases the volume and have a perceived improvement.

 

[Doodski]

A good cheap cable will / should measure the same as a good expensive cable. It's more about the parts going into the cable and how well it is made than some exotic cable claiming to bring your gear closer to heaven. When in doubt ask for live measurements and bring your cable in to compare.

Not necessarily. A cable has inductive and capacitive reactance that can change the frequency response of the cable. A great example is when I used a expensive audioquest ruby phono cable that we had laying around. I needed a set of RCA cables for my tweeter amplifier and so I chopped off the DIN style connector and soldered on some RCA connectors and used the cable. Everybody agreed the cable had a zingier, twangier top end when used in several different applications and was more snappy sounding in the top end. We did blind listening tests and it was unanimous. Cables can sound different, "Sometimes."