Speaker Cable (sorry!)

[theREALdotnet]

Well, I'm a believer. I removed my speaker cables, and the difference really was night and day!

That’s been my experience, too. Definitely a tweak everybody needs to try. If you also add interconnects then suddenly your room will fill with music like you won’t believe!

Other tweaks are much more meh in comparison. I added cable risers for example, and the difference was subtle. Basically, the cables were a bit higher. Visible from the listening position but negligible in low light.

 

[AudiOhm]

I find using the remote to increase volume as compared to the knob I become liberated with the sound improvement because when I was a child I was the remote...

Ohms

 

[theREALdotnet]

AudioQuest Rocket 88 With 72v DBS Speaker Cable​

Dielectric Bias System (DBS)
Form their site.
"Greatly improved performance is made possible by a constant 72 volt charge on all Rocket 88's insulation".

I thought wire/cable insulation is non conductive.

The relative permittivity (the material constant that together with a capacitor’s geometry determines its capacitance) of insulators isn’t constant but changes with applied voltage (among other things) in some dielectric materials. The change is small, though, and since the capacitance of the cable plays a negligible role in the first place, a minute change is even less significant. It’s all nonsense anyway, if you wanted a higher or lower capacitance you could simply make the insulation thinner or thicker, rather than strapping a battery pack to the cable.

How did they arrive at 72 volts, was it just guess or did they perform actual tests and 72v was the best?

I’m guessing 6x 12V batteries

 

[Speedskater]

Yet with reasonable speaker cable construction, total cable capacitance has no impact on speaker cable performance.
Only old boutique and legacy amplifiers might be unhappy with very high capacitance cables.

 

[AudiOhm]

I’m guessing 6x 12V batteries

Could have been 5x 12v =60v, or 7x 12v = 84v, Oh no, then George Orwell would have been involved.

Looks like just a guess by their part...

Ohms

 

[theREALdotnet]

Could have been 5x 12v =60v, or 7x 12v = 84v, Oh no, then George Orwell would have been involved.

Looks like just a guess by their part...

I haven‘t seen one of those gizmos, but I bet it has 6 A23 cells inside.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Well, I'm a believer. I removed my speaker cables, and the difference really was night and day!

It's a bit like that thing when the client is cimplaining or making impossible demands in the spec. "My work would be so much easier if there were no clients"

 

[dualazmak]

Easy: There is none.

Don't waste your time.

Fully agree!

Just for reference, if you would be interested in,,,

I (we) need to use so many rather long (up to about 7 m in my case) SP cables which should be well color-coded in DSP-based multichannel multi-driver multi-amplifier stereo audio setup. You can find my latest system setup here including the cabling photos.

Nowadays, I prefer using reasonably priced AWG10 and/or AWG12 multicore flexible VCT (Vinyl Cabtyre) cables as shared here and here.

Furthermore, It is important and critical in HiFi audio system carefully eliminating magnetic susceptible metals in SP signal handling as shared here, here, here and here.

 

[solderdude]

I haven‘t seen one of those gizmos, but I bet it has 6 A23 cells inside.

Audioquest GO-4 Speaker Cable Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the AudioQuest GO-4 speaker cable. It is on kind loan from a member and costs about US $599. The attached dongle is a 72 volt battery supply that feeds an unterminated wire the length of the cable. Different terminations can be ordered. Here are...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Well, I'm a believer. I removed my speaker cables, and the difference really was night and day!

Weird... doesn't happen with my BT speaker

I find myself in a discussion with various snake-oil driven folk about the audibility or speaker cable.

Best not to go in discussion with those guys. Just let them waste their money on it. Placebo works and even if it were real (all cables measure different anyway) if it 'helps' for them I am all for it. As long as they can afford it and it is their money they are spending on it. Most likely they own lots of other 'tweaks' as well.

Life is too short to spend on arguing with people.
People that are convinced can never be unconvinced even if you prove it to them by blind listening tests.

 

[Calleberg]

Also we must not forget the Audiophool "formula" to figure out what is better, when comparing gear.

Audible Difference+Expensive=Good

Audible Difference + More Reasonably priced =Baaaaad, very bad...

Also as a bonus we have the professional reviewer Formula:

Regardless of audible Difference + new model= Better

 

[Jack Harrison]

There are snake-oil driven people in any area, and audio is no exception. While believing in magic speaker cables is relatively harmless, it can be deadly if one believes in homeopathy.

They are isually deeply resistant to science showing that they are mistaken in their believes, but some do change their views as can be seen by a number of members here on ASR saying so.

That’s an interesting comparison because placebo effects can be measured and many medicines, drugs, and even vaccines are highly valued because they notch just slightly above the placebo effect which can cure and improve conditions on average by factors of up to/ around 18%.
And as the placebo effect is really real is it at all possible that the brains of audiophiles who are shelling out tens of thousands of dollars on scientifically unmeasurable differences are actually hearing things they personally can’t hear through lesser cables? Apparently branded drugs like Neurofen are statistically more effective than plain pack Ibuprofen because of the placebo effect. I’m glad that I’m one of the lucky ones whose wallet also has a placebo effect on their brain and responds well to aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen and electrically conductive cables regardless of their packaging.

 

[Philberish]

Many thanks for all the replies folks. I’ll read them all properly, and follow the links, when I’m back at my desk on Monday.

Phil

 

[jae]

 

[DavidMcRoy]

I'll put it this way: I am a scientist. I'm also an atheist. I would never waste time trying to talk someone out of their religion, so...

"You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think." - Dorothy Parker

 

[Count Arthur]

I'll put it this way: I am a scientist. I'm also an atheist. I would never waste time trying to talk someone out of their religion, so...

"You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think." - Dorothy Parker

"You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead." - Stan Laurel.

 

[IAtaman]

"You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead." - Stan Laurel.

You can lead a zeppelin to water, but you can't stairway to heaven.

 

[Count Arthur]

 

[fpitas]

It's a bit like that thing when the client is cimplaining or making impossible demands in the spec. "My work would be so much easier if there were no clients"

Well, I figure it like this. When I spent nothing on the cables, I got no sound. When I put back my inexpensive $50 cables, the sound was great. Obviously if we extrapolate, after spending say, $1000 on cables, the sound will be fantastic!

 

[RayDunzl]

The Amazing Randi (magician and psychic debunker) is no longer alive but he had a Million Dollar Speaker Cable Challenge.

This?

'Seth Raphael claims Randi's Million Dollar Challenge"

 

[coonmanx]

There is really only one way to get that warm sound out of your speaker cables. You need to soak them in bacon grease for at least 1000 hours.