Its makes a difference to me and thats all it matters to me. So, this is not up for debate or discussion.
Any claims are up for skepticism, whether the claimant likes it or not.
Its makes a difference to me and thats all it matters to me. So, this is not up for debate or discussion.
The voltage drop difference across a OFC cable and silver coated cable should be so small as to be imperceptible.
I agree.Well, he claimed it increased brightness of his speakers, which would imply a frequency response change - all from a cable coating. Not from a large change in length, nor from a large change in gauge. Just from a coating, from one material to another with very similar conductivity.
The cable resistance would barely change, and same for the capacitance and inductance.
So it's a highly dubious claim.
Any claims are up for skepticism, whether the claimant likes it or not.
A friend was switching out cables in his system. For fun, we were listening as cables were switched out. We were not expecting a difference, and both he and I heard an improvement.
Yes, I fully agreed. However, this also means I cannot just put a blanket statement and say ALL cables sound the same (keyword here is ALL). If someone decide to use a 30AWG wire, I don't think it will sound the same as 12AWG one.
So, I would say, as long as we adhere to some simple guidelines (some examples below), its ok.
1. ~12AWG is recommended.
2. Avoid CCA. No reason to use them.
3. Avoid solid core. Use stranded wire.
4. Use a high purity copper. ASTM C11040 specifies 99.9% purity for electrical copper wires. Hence, there is no reason to use one that is copper alloy (eg 70% copper). Oxygen free copper is pretty much the norm these days as well.
5. Shielding is not needed for speaker cables. IF installed in walls, do not run them together with power cables.
So if I understand correctly, you would reject any cable which seemed to sound better than others because that outcome is inconsistent with your beliefs about cables? If so, then I guess you and I have different priorities.
And just for the record, I do not BEGIN to expect you or anyone else to alter their beliefs because of anything I say. I related my experience in response to Chrispy's request.
Skin effect - affects only alternating current through a conductor.Just curious, what is the down side of solid core?
Now I'm confused. It seems like I consistently see people here say that skin effect is a non-issue in the audible range. Is that not correct?Skin effect - affects only alternating current through a conductor.
Just curious, what is the down side of solid core?
You made no such actual connection really. Just self justification for your own wire fetish perhaps? Otherwise what is your point?The only thing I wanted to do is to point out what amirm said. Thats all. What you think or believe has nothing to do with me and neither am I here to change it.
Now I'm confused. It seems like I consistently see people here say that skin effect is a non-issue in the audible range. Is that not correct?
"Seemed"... "better"... what?cable which seemed to sound better than others
You made no such actual connection really. Just self justification for your own wire fetish perhaps? Otherwise what is your point?
I do like your article, mostly because this was happening to all of us at least once in a lifetime. I'm not speaking about cables only, but also about perceived (not audible! and not measurable!) differences in sound after changing a piece from our audio gear. Sometimes was maybe a small channel imbalance, sometimes was the same track played at different volumes, but sometimes was simply our mind playing tricks with us, especially when purchasing new audio equipment.I’m not going to search for adjectives to describe what happened. I’ll just say that the sound was different. Not better but different.
I was stunned. It wasn’t supposed to be different. All cables sound like same. The measurements prove it. But the difference wasn’t subtle, it was unmistakable.
To be continued in Part II.
You were the one who brought it up. Figured where you were going with it in any case.IF you think that way, so be it. What you think has nothing to do with me.
Folks... This is first and foremost a science forum. There are plenty of other forums where no one will give you a hard time if you discuss subjective observations. Many folks come here as refugees from other forums, out of exhaustion from hearing "unprovable" at best, and potentially "snake oil" at worst, claims in literally every forum post.
Subjective observations aren't against forum rules, just be prepare to get "where's the data to back your claim?" challenges from folks who come here because they'd rather discuss claims based on facts.
For example, @drplinker stated above that "'Skin effect' affects only alternating current through a conductor." While I disagree based on my own experience of using solid vs. stranded speaker cables, I'm not going to argue the point until I find a scientific source I can cite as evidence to back my assertion (sorry if it sounds like I'm passively arguing the point by using it as an example - that was not my intent).