RF Interference in Speaker Cables??? (video)

[Cadguy]

I used to have hedges. I would trim said hedges. Occasionally, I'd also trim the extension cord. I'd then add banana plugs to said extension cord and use it as speaker wire. <kidding> Am I unwittingly injecting 60hz tones into my music? </kidding>

I actually use 18 foot runs of Canadian Tire Mastercraft 12g outdoor extension cord for speaker cable. My speakers fire right up on the frostiest mornings!

 

[Rja4000]

Talking about this RF issue, measurements should probably be relative.
It will depend of too many factors: what AM emitter do you have close-by, power, antenna "gain", distance, building structure,...
And, of course, how "tuned" may your cable-device setup be with this.

Speaking of a -57dBm figure makes little sense, except giving a very raw estimate...
It's probably calling for boomerang...

 

[Midwest Blade]

Thank you for the you tube channel and the information you provide. I see issues on the horizon as discussed in previous posts and hope this does not dissuade you from moving forward with the videos. As for the other players in the you tube realm I hope we keep things civil and professional. Best of luck, thank you for putting a face and voice to the discussion, for some reason you come across exactly as in writting.

 

[phoenixsong]

Is there such thing as an unbalanced mic cable? Define cheap?

Definitely, well it was one of those terminating in a 3.5mm jack. Cost about $20aud though, cheap was more in line with what it felt like

 

[PeteL]

Definitely, well it was one of those terminating in a 3.5mm jack. Cost about $20aud though, cheap was more in line with what it felt like

I see, so XLR to TS? or XLR to TRS?

 

[mansr]

Talking about this RF issue, measurements should probably be relative.
It will depend of too many factors: what AM emitter do you have close-by, power, antenna "gain", distance, building structure,...
And, of course, how "tuned" may your cable-device setup be with this.

Speaking of a -57dB figure make little sense, except giving a very raw estimate...
It's probably calling for boomerang...

Also, that -57 dBm is what goes into the 50 Ω termination of the spectrum analyser. Another load impedance will respond differently.

 

[ta240]

....Dude has been shilling tube connectors for years with zero objective data, and is now doubling down with cables. He also engages with anyone who calls out his BS in youtube comments.

But the tube connectors get the wires so they are almost touching each other. That has to make all the difference. As someone else pointed out, if the connector can make that much difference, why not just solder the speaker wire directly to the crossover. Imagine the improvement that would make.

....: Also nice touch calling science that doesn't agree with his snake oil cables... "Flat Earthers?"

One side has science the other has name calling.

....
That said, I find it exceptionally unlikely that a different speaker cable would somehow prevent RF entry, though. That part is snake oil.

The best snake oil has some fact somewhere in it.


And, in closing, I just feel bad that you guys can't hear the difference

 

[respice finem]

You've just made me spend 10 minutes sticking my ear up to my speaker. I live really close to an AM radio station. My friend had an issue with his Schiit Fulla where the amp was playing the signal through his microphone, but through my mic and speakers I hear nothing. I use rando cables too. I wonder what the physical difference is that makes some gear more susceptible to demodulating AM signals than others.

Consequent shielding / filtering on the input/PSU/preamp side perhaps? At a neighboring neurology ward (last millenium) there was a patient who could (evidently) occasionally hear LW AM radio (one station only) because of an old shrapnel in his head. So yes, weird stuff happens (very weird in this case).

 

[B4ICU]

Here is the problem: The Engineering side try to explain a technical issue to the non technical crowd. The basics were ignored! The speaker cable is connected to the output of a power Amp. Those have a DF figure that define their output resistance. A mediocre figure would be 150. That equals to
an output resistance of 8/150=0.053 ohms. the higher the DF the lower the output resistance. A DF of 800 has an output resistance of 0.01 ohm.
It is close to short circuit to ground...what EMI/RFI noise can build over such speaker cable, that is hooked to a high DF Amp.?
Well, if it is about a tube Amp, with output transformer and a DF of 20 or less, maybe...even though, that in that case, the EMI/RFI would be the least of your problems. High THD and poor FR will come first.

 

[respice finem]

This. And, even more so, the room, the speakers, the condition of our hearing... First world problems

 

[AudioSceptic]

His video consists of him going through websites of snake oil cable companies and reading their marketing fluff, then arrogantly claiming their was a difference because the marketing said so.

Brilliant.

EDIT: Also nice touch calling science that doesn't agree with his snake oil cables... "Flat Earthers?"

It is classic behaviour to accuse others of what you are guilty of yourself. We see it all the time in politics, for instance, and it very often works.

 

[GGroch]

......I just feel bad that you guys can't hear the difference

If you believe the comments on YouTube, there definitely seems to be a genetic link tying objective/scientific mindsets to terrible hearing.

 

[respice finem]

Hearing is believing (and vice versa) Or, as someone once said, science lets people fly to the Moon, belief lets them fly into buildings...

 

[phoenixsong]

I see, so XLR to TR? or XLR to TRS?

It is actually this one Sennheiser CL 2 - - Mic cable
I was using it because I didn't have enough of the starquad cables in appropriate lengths back then

 

[Tks]

even though I did not want to engage in any tit for tat type of videos.

Too late!

 

[MetalDaze]

Someone may have already commented this. But I see Gene @ audioholics wants to live stream together.

That's awesome. I subscribe to their channel as well and learned a lot about the industry and room acoustics. They have a wealth of videos on all sorts of related topics.

There's a storm against the tides of snake oil coming!

 

[617]

Imagine what a nightmare an actual locking banana would be though

 

[PeteL]

It is actually this one Sennheiser CL 2 - - Mic cable
I was using it because I didn't have enough of the starquad cables in appropriate lengths back then

It should be a balanced cable, maybe it's what you plugged it in that wasn't, or your starquad's shielding is better

 

[phoenixsong]

It should be a balanced cable, maybe it's what you plugged it in that wasn't, or your starquad's shielding is better

I had it plugged into the combo XLR/TRS jack of my Motu M2 (with a 3.5mm to 1/4" adaptor), same for the starquad XLR cable

 

[PeteL]

I had it plugged into the combo XLR/TRS jack of my Motu M2 (with a 3.5mm to 1/4" adaptor), same for the starquad XLR cable

Hard to tell what went wrong, maybe the adapter, maybe the studio ghost, maybe something faulty, may be a weird TRS config, maybe poor Shielding on the Senn cable, maybe different gain structure between the two use cases tested.