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This audio cable business is getting out of hand...

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amirm

amirm

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BTW, I also have XLR cables that are omnidirectional. While a bit clumsy the Neutrik NC3FM-C connector is as simple as ingenious. It helps to reduce the number of cables flying around in a lab.

https://www.neutrik.com/en/product/nc3fm-c
That's cool. I did not know they made them. So many times I have been frustrated with not having the right gender XLR cable.
 

RayDunzl

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So many times I have been frustrated with not having the right gender XLR cable.

You could get a handful of gender changers while you're thinking about it...

1560104346620.png
 
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amirm

amirm

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You could get a handful of gender changers while you're thinking about it...
Usually when I am looking for something like this is because I already have one of these giant adapter to go to something else (e.g. RCA). Stringing three of them back to back is not my cup of tea. :)
 

RobertoCPD

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Out of curiosity, here burn in is used where usually break in is, right? Burn in is something everyone should do with all devices, certainly not to improve the sound quality, but just to make sure to get over the infant mortality ASAP, in time for a comfortable return.
 

LTig

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Out of curiosity, here burn in is used where usually break in is, right? Burn in is something everyone should do with all devices, certainly not to improve the sound quality, but just to make sure to get over the infant mortality ASAP, in time for a comfortable return.
There is a saying that electronic devices mostly fail either within the first 10 hours of usage, or after 10 years or more of usage.
 

TG1

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Much of this is news to me. I wonder if you could sell people pre-burned in cable.As opposed to second hand I mean. Cable that cost £30 and has been been burned in for one hundred hours ought to be worth at least £60.
 

rebbiputzmaker

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I got tired of using my long RCA cables to interconnect small DACs and Amps so decided to get a short one. Saw one on Amazon (by "World's Best Cables') that used Canare Star-Quad cable and Amphenol connectors for just $22 shipped. My time was worth much more than that to make one so I ordered it. It came promptly. When I opened though, I was shocked to see this massive sign in there:

View attachment 27076

Are you kidding me? Even a low-cost cable using proper material spreads such a myth?

It is one thing to see this on multi-thousand dollar cables but on a $22 one?

Inside there is an instruction sheet and it says that again. To their credit they acknowledge that such burn-in will take out of Amazon's 30 day return window so they provide instructions on how to still get a return.

The danger here is that such practices will spread to the general public, not just high-end audiophiles.

Yes, it is also "directional" although here, it is due to the way they utilize the shield at one end so that bit is fine.
Their cables are well made, available in many lengths and priced right,. I never was bothered by the burn in recommendation, as long as it does not require holding ones breath for the break in period. :) Overall they are a very honest seller imo.
 

agtp

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Special plea fallacy incoming.

Nope, can’t even get a fallacious reply. Sometimes the preferred move for “true believers” (Sal’s term) is to ignore.

Oddly, Sal has said it best:

“Evade or ignore. That's how they always respond to requests for evidence they're unable to supply.”

“But when it comes to ever supplying any supporting evidence they scatter like some insects do running from the light.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

“A person who experiences internal inconsistency tends to become psychologically uncomfortable and is motivated to reduce the cognitive dissonance, by making changes to justify the stressful behavior, either by adding new parts to the cognition causing the psychological dissonance or by avoiding circumstances and contradictory information likely to increase the magnitude of the cognitive dissonance.”

“4. Ignore or deny information that conflicts with existing beliefs ("This doughnut is not a high-sugar food.”)”
 

McFly

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Is it possible for speaker cable with high capacitance to create the illusion of depth, i.e. a more ‘holographic’ sound, due to knocking high freq. phase around or something?
 

Hypnotoad

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Is it possible for speaker cable with high capacitance to create the illusion of depth, i.e. a more ‘holographic’ sound, due to knocking high freq. phase around or something?

Only if someone told you that was the case and you believed them. ;)
 

JohnYang1997

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Is it possible for speaker cable with high capacitance to create the illusion of depth, i.e. a more ‘holographic’ sound, due to knocking high freq. phase around or something?
I am positive that it will change sound. But i don't think it will be more holographic. More likely to be less coherent and smooth.
 

solderdude

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Is it possible for speaker cable with high capacitance to create the illusion of depth, i.e. a more ‘holographic’ sound, due to knocking high freq. phase around or something?

It is possible to make some unstable amplifiers do things they should not do (oscillate/ring).
Creating illusions of depth or more holographic sound is not amongst the audible artifacts of it.
A gentle phase shift (which is what would be happening) won't cause this.
For phase shifts to become audible they would have to shift a lot in a very narrow and audible frequency band.
You need quite a LOT of capacitance to create a measurable and audible phase shift when it is being fed from a low resistance (the system is an LRC filter basically with a very low R)
 

Joachim Herbert

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I actually made that experience years ago with a garden hose thick cable from a company named transparent audio. These had big matching boxes on the speakers end. I used a ML 23.5 amplifier and a pair of Martin Logan CLS II panels - the sound was out of this world (phasewise). So yes, cables change sound, but they do not always get it right.
 

solderdude

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How did you determine/measure this was so 'phasewise'.
Were any controlled tests done to confirm this ?

I am curious to know which cable manufacturers get it right and which don't, and the why ?
 

McFly

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I dont want to believe it and I wont. I'm blaming it on my mood. So ill just leave these speaker cables in and forget about it. Ill change back to the old 4mm2 twin copper cables in a month if i remember and listen what happens. But im asking myself "is the treble louder around the 4-6k region" with these cables.
 

Joachim Herbert

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Were any controlled tests done to confirm this ?

Just my best guess. And this is some 20 years ago, when I spent huge amounts of money on highend and "improvements". So: No controlled tests (of course not).
 

solderdude

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I dont want to believe it and I wont. I'm blaming it on my mood. So ill just leave these speaker cables in and forget about it. Ill change back to the old 4mm2 twin copper cables in a month if i remember and listen what happens. But im asking myself "is the treble louder around the 4-6k region" with these cables.

What cable length and types are you talking about, what amplifier and speakers are used ?
It is highly unlikely frequencies in that band are audibly louder unless:
A: the output resistance is unusually high
B: the impedance of the speaker drops considerably in that part of the FR range (unlikely)
C: the resistance of the cheap cable was poor somehow as in high in resistance (oxidation, poor contact somehow)

NO speaker cable can function as an equalizer (i.e. lift or drop a frequency band) in an audible way unless the impedance of the speaker varies tremendously and cable lengths are long or very thin wiring is used.

Indeed mood, time of day, mindset, 'listening out for effects' are usually the culprit of detecting differences. And that would be correct as one indeed hears differently, it just doesn't have a technical root cause in those cases.
 

RayDunzl

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