Speaker wire is it science or psychology


I have had the pleasure of working with several audio design engineers. Audio has been both a hobby and occupation for them. I know the engineer that taught Bob Carver how a transistor works. He keeps a file on silly HiFi fads. He like my other friends considers exotic speaker wire to be non-sense. What do you think? Does anyone have any nummeric or even theoretical information that defends the position that speaker wires sound different? I'm talking real science not just saying buzz words like dialectric, skin effect capacitance or inductance.
stevemj
Would it mean anything to anyone here if I test speaker wire and see what happens? The test is simple. I have a dual trace scope on order. I will monitor the amp output on one trace and the speaker input on the other. I can display the difference. I will test with sinewaves and with music. I'm not sure yet just how small a deviation I will be able to resolve.

I don't mind if people claim that their asperations are such that science is too narrow minded and limiting. It makes me twitch a little when the asparations are sought with what is basically scientific apparatus.

It might be helpful to remmember how sciences works. Science accepts as probably true only things which can be verified by others. Science is only interested in theories that are falsifiable - that is, that there is some test the theory can be put to that it has a chance of failing. The types of claims made here are not falsifiable. So what, I guess, who cares, but let's not call opinions about how something sounded to someone science.
Stevemj, you're killing me. You decided to spend money on a dual trace scope, in an attempt to find something that you yourself have claimed "can't be measured", instead of sinking some money into a set of good, used cables? Maybe even one of those PCs that can't possibly change the sound of the system because it isn't in the signal path?

My suggestion, which isn't much different than most other's here is to leave the science to the scientists and designers, and just listen for yourself. I would guarantee that the acceptance factor for your revelations, whether they be favorable or not, would be held in much higher regard than whatever your test results prove. To your ears, it might not matter, but there are boatload of cumulative listening years in the folks that have written on this very post that would indicate that you might. Just do it!
Great post Redkiwi. Steve; as I remember it, the decibel is defined as a "just noticeable difference" (JND) in loudness between two sounds. And that sound pressure level (SPL) or decibels is commonly called "volume" in popular terminology. In other words it totally relies on human hearing and perception. If a sound characteristic as simple and basic as volume is based on human hearing and perception, as opposed to measurement, do you not think that there may be many more-- as yet undefined or quantified characteristis of music (as opposed to just sound). I don't know what they are. Do you? Are you holding out on us? But I come down solidly in the camp that says "there is much to be learned". And until that time comes, like so many other "audiophiles", I intend to trust my own senses. You must trust your senses when you listen to music-- no? Cheers. Craig
........yes, I know that the decibel can now be routinely be measured with simple meters, but my point is that it is based on human hearing and hearing perception. Well, this suggests to me that maybe you should trust more in your senses-- but still be a scientist. Craig
Steve and anyone else who is interested, I just posted a new thread refering to an artical I read. Please read it befor you simple test the responces of wire. The thread is "Attention Scientists, Engineers and Na-sayers!"