What cables do you use in your systems?

[Julf]

But the difference after installing the wire jumpers is not imagination.

How do you know that?

 

[Julf]

I am glad you're not designing my audio system because it looks like you would use your mathematical calculations and come up with some chintzy pos jumper that would suck the life out of my system!

Right. Fortunately there are a lot of vendors out there that sell proper, natural free-range-designed gear where no mathematics or science has been involved in any way.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

No, they are not, it's not even close. It's a huge difference, not subtle at all.

Well, for the purpose they are fine. What can happen is oxidation which raises resistance or they can come loose and well, same thing really. I bet that's what happened. Not much more going on there. They are absolutely capable to conduct the current needed for your speaker.

This below is a Sanken transistor c3856 or 1492. It is capable of 15 A current within its safe operating area. Now look at the "girth" of those legs..

 

[MarcT]

Right. Fortunately there are a lot of vendors out there that sell proper, natural free-range-designed gear where no mathematics or science has been involved in any way.

Dude, it's your choice. Use a chintzy 1.5 gram jumper if you want to.

 

[MarcT]

Well, for the purpose they are fine. What can happen is oxidation which raises resistance or they can come loose and well, same thing really. I bet that's what happened. Not much more going on there. They are absolutely capable to conduct the current needed for your speaker.

This below is a Sanken transistor c3856 or 1492. It is capable of 15 A current within its safe operating area. Now look at the "girth" of those legs..
View attachment 282717
View attachment 282718

Did you look at the pictures I posted of the jumpers, which are brand new, shiny, and certainly not oxidized? So, oxidation should not be a factor.

However, I will put the jumpers back in and tighten the knobs down with pliers. It's not like I have some overwhelming need to be right on this. It's just that there was a big difference in the sound, particularly in the bass, when I inserted the jumpers.

 

[Julf]

Dude, it's your choice. Use a chintzy 1.5 gram jumper if you want to.

I just rely on the accumulated scientific knowledge and experience of the last 200 years.

 

[MarcT]

I just rely on the accumulated scientific knowledge and experience of the last 200 years.

And, apparently, not your own ears! Do you have a scientific or mathematical formula that you use to tell you if you are enjoying the music from your system, or which will tell you how well you are hearing and enjoying the bass line in a track? Or, do you just tell yourself, "this system should result in certain bass characteristics, so it must, and I should just enjoy the ride, regardless of what I am hearing?"

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Did you look at the pictures I posted of the jumpers, which are brand new, shiny, and certainly not oxidized? So, oxidation should not be a factor.

However, I will put the jumpers back in and tighten the knobs down with pliers. It's not like I have some overwhelming need to be right on this. It's just that there was a big difference in the sound, particularly in the bass, when I inserted the jumpers.

Well, it's a mystery case then. I don't know what else to say. If there really is audible more bass it would show up in a measurement for sure. I reckon it's your brain playing tricks on you though. These plates, if attached properly, are more than capable of conducting current to your drivers until the coils burn. But they can be having poor contact with the terminals though, so it sounds like a good idea to use fasteners or a set of pliers.

 

[Julf]

And, apparently, not your own ears! Do you have a scientific or mathematical formula that you use to tell you if you are enjoying the music from your system, or which will tell you how well you are hearing and enjoying the bass line in a track? Or, do you just tell yourself, "this system should result in certain bass characteristics, so it must, and I should just enjoy the ride, regardless of what I am hearing?"

That is a comment I would expect on an average audiophile site, but this is Audio Science review. Are you sure you are on the right forum?

 

[MarcT]

That is a comment I would expect on an average audiophile site, but this is Audio Science review. Are you sure you are on the right forum?

Lol, do you trust your taste buds to tell you if you're enjoying a meal? If so, you may be on the wrong forum!

 

[Julf]

Lol, do you trust your taste buds to tell you if you're enjoying a meal? If so, you may be on the wrong forum!

The Dutch have a great response to "Lol" - "Lul".

 

[Timmeon]

And, apparently, not your own ears! Do you have a scientific or mathematical formula that you use to tell you if you are enjoying the music from your system, or which will tell you how well you are hearing and enjoying the bass line in a track?

While you focus on binding post jumpers rather than using those gifted ears on actual music. Oh, the time wasted. The irony.

 

[MarcT]

While you focus on binding post jumpers rather than using those gifted ears on actual music. Oh, the time wasted. The irony.

So, insuring you have the optimal connection is a waste of time. Got it.

 

[Timmeon]

So, insuring you have the optimal connection is a waste of time. Got it.

By weighing your binding post jumpers? Probably. But don't let me stop you. I weigh things all the time. Coffee, pancake mix, and even my dog. What you do in the privacy of your home is your business.

 

[MaxBuck]

 

[OShag]

Old-style brass finish (better) Coat hangers (krinkly bit snipped off to avoid signal flow impedence) soldered using eco-friendly lead-free metal alloy solder then wrapped in teflon tape before layer of cotton responsibly sourced from an old t-shirt made in Indonesia. Final layer is rubber tube sourced from Fry’s Electronics (before it went bust due to Covid). No termination used as that diminishes signal flow.

Sound friggin’ amazing. I hear details I’ve never heard before. Everything sounds the same so I know it is reference class.

 

[GGroch]

No, they are not, it's not even close. It's a huge difference, not subtle at all.

MarcT, Sonus Faber is a great speaker brand with top engineering. If there were huge improvements, or even very subtle improvements gained by going from thin to thick bridges (a 10 cent part to a 50 cent part, at their cost) they would have done that.

The fact that you are experiencing huge differences is proof that there is something else going on here. Many people assume that expectation bias must be subtle, just a slight tweek to our true objective hearing. That is not how it works. From when we are born all of us are building expectations based on our experiences to effectively interpret sounds. Expectation bias cannot be overcome without blind testing. It is not subtle, it is all encompassing. This is not a criticism. All humans hear with our brains, not our eardrums.

That said, what matters is that you enjoy listening to your system with the new bridges more. If you tossed them out you would probably enjoy your system less. I would probably upgrade the bridges too just because they look cheap. Your happiness listening to your system is what matters.

 

[waynel]

MarcT, Sonus Faber is a great speaker brand with top engineering.

disagree

The fact that you are experiencing huge differences is proof that there is something else going on here. Many people assume that expectation bias must be subtle, just a slight tweek to our true objective hearing. That is not how it works. From when we are born all of us are building expectations based on our experiences to effectively interpret sounds. Expectation bias cannot be overcome without blind testing. It is not subtle, it is all encompassing.

agree

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

I use zip cord from the hardware store for speaker cable--14 or 16 gauge. For speaker cable my criterion is wire gauge and ease of distinguishing + and -. For shielded cable I use whatever. I buy a lot of cables of various kinds from Monoprice. My longest runs of speaker cable are well under 20 feet. Shielded cable is generally 3 feet or less.

 

[MusicNBeer]

I use zip cord from the hardware store for speaker cable--14 or 16 gauge. For speaker cable my criterion is wire gauge and ease of distinguishing + and -. For shielded cable I use whatever. I buy a lot of cables of various kinds from Monoprice. My longest runs of speaker cable are well under 20 feet. Shielded cable is generally 3 feet or less.

Yep, the internal cabling resistance is moot compared to the series inductor in the woofer circuit. A good engineer takes the circuit resistance into account anyway when designing the system box damping/frequency response with the crossover. For mid/tweeter circuits, the issue isn't damping, but just the system frequency response.

Don't mess with speaker internal cabling. It's pointless.