Cables - When Did it All Start?


OK, here we go...

This is not another "I just installed cable X and the soundstage and microdynamics just shot through the roof..." or "What cables do you guys recommend for..." but a simple question. When did people start noticing that different cables in audio gear apparently sound different? Or another related question, who was the first cable company to offer different "audiophile" cables?

I do not have golden ears and with two children constantly chirping in the foreground/background I can barely hear the music most times anyway, thus I really have no practical experience if cables make a difference.

Regards,
david_berry
FatParrot: The "Cobra Cables" were the Polk's that Viridian mentioned. Their design reduced inductance, not capacitance. This design was VERY high in capacitance per foot and sent many an amp into oscillation and an early death.

As to who actually "started" all of this, i really don't know. I want to say that Bob Fulton was at least partially responsible, but i really don't know for sure. I've got a 12' pair of the 4 gauge Fulton Gold's. If you want to see REAL "monster" cables, there you go : )

As far as the Polk's go, i think that they were made for Polk overseas in the Orient. As such, they might have been available in Japan, etc... quite a bit before making their appearance here in the USA. Monitor Audio out of the UK also sold some similar cables back in the mid to late 1970's if i remember correctly.

I've also got a pair of the Discwasher "Smoglifter" interconnects that Rock mentions. These were also made for Discwasher somewhere in the Orient from what i can remember and were probably available there prior to finding their way onto our shores.

As far as Noel Lee / Monster Cable goes, from what i can gather, Noel saw an opening in the market and went for it. I don't think that any of his designs were ever original or innovative. He's just good at marketing and knowing how to turn a profit. Maybe J-10 can fill us in with a little bit o' "Monster History" if he checks out this thread. Sean
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Sean, you are absolutely right! They were called Cobra Cables, the memories just come rushing back.
Marty
Thsalmon: No wonder that the wire / cable industry is such a rip-off. The guy that you claim started the industry ( P.T. Barnam ) was nothing but a pale imation / con artist working off of the name of someone else that was famous ( P.T. Barnum ) !!! A crooked industry started by a fraud !!! There IS a sucker born every minute : ) Sean
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Guys,

Thank you for the responses. I have been bitten pretty hard with this hobby (started out with a home theater setup and converted to two-channel) and I have done more than my fair share in reading/researching its many different aspects. One of them, of course, has to do with cables.

So far, the general consensus is that "audiophile" cables have been around for about 30 years.

Regards,