Morrow SP3 Review (Speaker Cable)

[dennnic]

Richie's idea of a test should have embarrassed him into perpetual silence. When it comes to such matters, he has all the credibility of Mike Lindell. The guy has some serious speaker design chops -- but when he exits that wheelhouse, he consistently face-plants.

Now unbalanced RCA-to-RCA cables have some noise vulnerability, especially when their length exceeds two meters or so and they're used in an unusually EMI-heavy environment. That sort of situation is pretty rare in a home audio system, and the best a better "interconnect" -- e.g. a cable with two inner conductors and a shield that's tied to one of those conductors at only one of the two plugs -- can do is to very slightly reduce the audible level of that interference. Speaker cables on the other hand, because of the very low impedance of amp-to-speaker circuits and the relatively large amplitude of the signals they carry, are inherently very EMI-immune and need no such measures to stay that way.

Small off topic:
Now that you mentioned unbalanced interconnects with two wires inside and a shield, what is the proper way to connect them on either side and is there any function for a second wire?

 

[SIY]

Small off topic:
Now that you mentioned unbalanced interconnects with two wires inside and a shield, what is the proper way to connect them on either side and is there any function for a second wire?

If you're sincerely interested in how to deal with fringe problems, an hour spent absorbing Bill Whitlock's very accessible papers and presentations is worth a thousand questions on internet forums.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Small off topic:
Now that you mentioned unbalanced interconnects with two wires inside and a shield, what is the proper way to connect them on either side and is there any function for a second wire?

I've never had occasion to try such a cable, but it's the two inner conductors that comprise the actual circuit and it's the shield that has no signal-carrying "function." I can't clearly remember to which of the two plugs -- source output or destination input -- has the '"return" inner conductor tied to the shield, but offhand I'd guess it's at the source side. That sort of cable is marked with an arrow to make sure the user gets it "right" -- although the effect is very limited and the cable will work just fine if one gets it (supposedly) "wrong."

 

[Jukka]

Small off topic:
Now that you mentioned unbalanced interconnects with two wires inside and a shield, what is the proper way to connect them on either side and is there any function for a second wire?

None. The correct way is to ditch that none sense and go with the standard xlr differential connnection.

 

[Jukka]

This is a solved problem... not that it would matter in most cases for speaker cables!
But Shielded cables and Ferrites exist.
Often used so no RFI/EMI escapes the cables but they work of cause both ways.

The shield needs to be grounded from both ends to avoid making things worse, said Bruno in a paper.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

None. The correct way is to ditch that none sense and go with the standard xlr differential connnection.

Assuming you've got gear capable of that -- definitely. That said, in the vast majority of home audio systems, RCA is more than adequate.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

The shield needs to be grounded from both ends to avoid making things worse, said Bruno in a paper.

Interesting. Link?

 

[Jukka]

Interesting. Link?

One of the Hypex application notes / white papers, cannot remember which one. It was actually written for interconnects, but should apply to speaker cables too when concerning interference from outside.

 

[Jukka]

Assuming you've got gear capable of that -- definitely. That said, in the vast majority of home audio systems, RCA is more than adequate.

In my opinion RCA is as obsolete in audio as parallel port is in computers. RCA connector alone makes no sense and contacts hot pin first, which can damage you equipment if there is active signal while plugging cable in. It's not uncommon to see ground of RCA go through the case of the device, which can be electrically connected to God knows what in your house. Pro audio uses exclusively XLR or plug differential for a good reason. Hifi, like most of it's people are stuck in the 70's. I think modern audio with modern technology needs a new name in order to discard that old burden and move on.

 

[egellings]

I have WBT brand RCA jack and plug pairs on my home brew amps & cables, and they establish the ground connection first, upon insertion. I tested this with my amp, and hot insertion/removal was silent, so it can be done.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

In my opinion RCA is as obsolete in audio as parallel port is in computers. RCA connector alone makes no sense and contacts hot pin first, which can damage you equipment if there is active signal while plugging cable in. It's not uncommon to see ground of RCA go through the case of the device, which can be electrically connected to God knows what in your house. Pro audio uses exclusively XLR or plug differential for a good reason. Hifi, like most of it's people are stuck in the 70's. I think modern audio with modern technology needs a new name in order to discard that old burden and move on.

Nevertheless, what I wrote stands -- just as an old-fashioned parallel port is more than adequate to connect a computer and printer that are so equipped, so an RCA-to-RCA connection is more than adequate for most home audio applications absent unusually high levels of EMI and/or very long cable runs. "It's not uncommon to see ground of RCA go through the case of the device" is pure b00|shit. I've been around both home and pro audio for more than 50 years and have neither encountered nor heard of any such occurrence, and that's about as "uncommon" as it gets. Moreover, for folks on a tight budget, a fully XLR-capable system is usually beyond their means -- not to mention that there is great vintage gear for which there is no modern equivalent that can only accommodate RCA plugs. Then there's the fact that XLR receptacles are large and thus an impediment to the ongoing miniaturization made possible by today's tiny, highly capable ICs and surface mount PCB construction.

I think what's called for is a smaller, cheaper alternative to the XLR connector, which is nearly as old as the RCA -- but I'm not holding my breath for that to emerge and become a de facto industry standard better suited for the current state of the audio art, at least in what's left of my lifetime.

 

[BluesDaddy]

In my opinion RCA is as obsolete in audio as parallel port is in computers. RCA connector alone makes no sense and contacts hot pin first, which can damage you equipment if there is active signal while plugging cable in. It's not uncommon to see ground of RCA go through the case of the device, which can be electrically connected to God knows what in your house. Pro audio uses exclusively XLR or plug differential for a good reason. Hifi, like most of it's people are stuck in the 70's. I think modern audio with modern technology needs a new name in order to discard that old burden and move on.

It may be inferior, but it is certainly not "obsolete" since it is still in use in probably 99% of all new audio equipment. In over 50 years of being a "hi-fi nut", I don't believe I've ever damaged a piece of equipment by plugging in an RCA cable. And, yes, even though one should not, I have sometimes plugged in when a piece of gear of powered up. Still, reasonable precautions keeps sh*t from happening.

 

[egellings]

Speaker cables.
The common concept among audiophiles and pro audio engineers, about speaker cables iw wrong!!! (I rolled the chalang in front of R&D of MBL,
TEAC and more. None picked the glove!)
As so, also is the testing method or the provided results. They show, more than any other, what the tester would like to show: No difference.
Well the first logical question will be the difference between this cable and What?
Measuring and measuring methods would have an impact on the results.More than it's price, we need its gauge and length, and it's resistance
(even that it can be calculated from the two: gauge and length).

The speaker cables is defined as the transfer function between an Amp's output to the load (speakers).
However, the way to look on it, as an extension of the Amp's output resistance (Ro or more common name: DF=Dumping Factor).
The speaker cables is about to deliver the Amp's output signal to the speaker (an inductance lod with a moving coil in a magnetic field, and some components in it's crossover, as capacitors and more coils).
In order to do this successfully, a higher DF amp would be required. If you own a tube amp. or a low cost receiver, this is not for you.
But if the Amp's DF is above 150, or better (400, 500...1000 or D Class up to 8,000) the cable gets tricky), than the game changes dramatically.
Let's assume that we own an Amp with a DF of 400 (Ro=8/400, or 0.02 Ohms).
What is tested speaker cables resistance? What is the AWG (gauge) and length?
As no such data is provided (but it's price: $149), we can not say what it's calculated resistance (assume its made of copper).
This idea, that speaker cables should have a related (series) resistance to the Amp's Ro, would provide a formula that can calculate the ideal
speaker cable gauge, vs length. (R = ro x L (meters) / S (mm2).
So none of the suggested test by Amir or AP are to show any relevant data about the cable. It would help, as much if you would use it to fishing,
or hang some laundry to dry in the open air.

After DF (damping factor, nominally 8 divided by amp's output impedance) gets much above 20 or so, there won't be much improvement in S.Q. by going to a higher DF. Resistance in wires & connectors used to connect the speakers to the amplifier will swamp that out.

 

[ahofer]

I think what's called for is a smaller, cheaper alternative to the XLR connector,

Yes please. They take up a lot of space behind the equipment, even the right angled ones.

 

[staticV3]

I think what's called for is a smaller, cheaper alternative to the XLR connector

Tiny XLR
1/4" TRS
Khadas Balanced RCA
4.4MM Pentaconn

there's already plenty options on the market.

 

[ahofer]

Tiny XLR
1/4" TRS
Khadas Balanced RCA
4.4MM Pentaconn

there's already plenty options on the market.

Just not on my equipment.

 

[staticV3]

Just not on my equipment.

That can be changed