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The Science of Cables

It seems to me that there is too little scientific, objective evidence for why cables sound the way they do. When I see discussions on cables, physical attributes are discussed; things like shielding, gauge, material, geometry, etc. and rarely are things like resistance, impedance, inductance, capacitance, etc. Why is this? Why aren’t cables discussed in terms of physical measurements very often?

Seems to me like that would increase the customer base. I know several “objectivist” that won’t accept any of your claims unless you have measurements and blind tests. If there were measurements that correlated to what you hear, I think more people would be interested in cables. 

I know cables are often system dependent but there are still many generalizations that can be made.
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geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 

drbarney118 posts02-16-2019 4:19pmI have heard subtle differences between how different speaker cables sound in an A-B demonstration at an audio club and the difference was above a threshold of placebo effect

>>>>A threshold of placebo effect? Whoa! I did not know that.
edstrelow
26 posts
 
Thank-you  taras22. As for eric_squires all I get from you is an appearance of personal jealousy.  Dismissing a detailed argument as irrelevant shows no analytic skill and is a lazy thinker's way of trying to dominate a conversation.  You have been well and truly one-upped and the more you complain, the worse you look.
audacious
4 posts
 
What's the fuss all about when you can simply buy 'em and try 'em? 30-day, money back guarantee if you don't like 'em. But I'm betting you WILL.
fleschler
766 posts
 
millercarbon  I did the same thing for my video (non-hi fi) system.  I used a Yamaha CR620 receiver and a pair of ADS L620 speakers at a cost of $250, added my friend GroverHuffman.com much older technology ICs and speaker wire from 10 years ago (still better than a lot of expensive HEA cables), some original model Stillpoints under the speakers and one Perfect Path Omega E-mat on my power panel and voila!  A really high quality mid-fi video sound  Great bass, smooth mids and open highs.  Not to be expected from the equipment combo.   Image if I used the latest cables and Stillpoints.  Great sound can be obtained on a budget but with great accessories and tweaks.  (The room also has acceptable acoustics).
glupson
1,794 posts
 
"...an eutectic alloy of gallium, indium and tin, which neatly undercuts your claim that the only metal that is liquid at room temperature is mercury."
Probably, it meant "the only natural-occurring metal". It may not be fair comparison. I am not sure, but I think I recall that none of these three mentioned in alloy are liquid at room temperature when alone.

Concept of liquid cables is intriguing, to say the least. It makes regular people wonder "why would you"? I tried mentioning it and that was the response. More entertaining to me is that in forums that mention "snake oil" so often, someone brings up the product that has one of the descriptors as oil. Viscosity. I have never heard, and likely never will, liquid cables so I will give them benefit of the doubt that they are great. At the same time, as novelty and conversation piece, they are very clever and interesting. Five stars for that.
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