Cables make a difference..... (made you look anyway)

[NSNO2021]

Like many people I was a tad bemused by the cost of cables because as Geoff pointed out the majority of the big UK players tell you very little about the construction so trying to work out if A or B offered good value was difficult. I started off buying recommend second hand cables off forums and flea bay. Bit by bit I understood what type of cable I preferred and to further my understanding I dismantled a few of the better ones. From there I started making my own interconnects and as my research has expanded so has my understanding. I have a few more ideas and designs to make and test and I guess I will continue to read up and experiment for the foreseeable future. I have also recently made my first set of speaker cables based on the design of Galen Gareis (Iconoclast Cables). The cost of the cable and sundries came to circa £230/250 for a 1.8m pair and two sets of jumpers. Thankfully they work very well with my system and I am extremely happy with my efforts. It goes without saying I know with my system and room, cables have a significant impact on the sound.

[Daniel Quinn]

Define difference?

What about valve amps.

Anyone who claims all cables make a difference in all circumstances , no matter who is listening is wrong .

Furthermore if you accept we are individual in the way we ear , making universalistic claims would seem absurd.

It makes this difference for me in these circumstances is all you can say .

[Geoff.R.G]

Define difference?

What about valve amps.

Anyone who claims all cables make a difference in all circumstances , no matter who is listening is wrong .

Furthermore if you accept we are individual in the way we ear , making universalistic claims would seem absurd.

It makes this difference for me in these circumstances is all you can say .

All interconnect cables will make a difference based on the electrical properties of the cables and the requirements of the components at either end. Whether any individual will be able to discern those differences is another matter.

We know that NVA amps must use NVA speaker cable for very specific reasons so clearly, in this case, the choice of speaker cable makes a difference.

An interconnect cable can be considered as resistors in series and parallel, an inductor in series with a parallel capacitor. Those who practice DIY will be well aware that adding resistance, inductance and/or capacitance to the output of, say, a CD player, will affect the sound. Any interconnect cable will do the same, though not necessarily to any great extent, depending on the exact values of capacitance, resistance and inductance presented by said cable.

The effect can be measured but, this being a subjectivist forum, the only important effect is that determined by the listener's ears. I can say with confidence that changing an interconnect makes a difference, whether you can hear it or consider it beneficial only you can say.

[Daniel Quinn]

Haven't you repeated what I said with added verbosity?

[NSNO2021]

Haven't you repeated what I said with added verbosity?

DQ, I prefer Geoff version not that you would care

[Wonfor14]

Here is the spec for TQ UB

Cable Specification

Resistance/Metre/Pair 18mΩ
Inductance/Metre/Pair (common mode) 25nH
Capacitance/Metre Between Pairs 2nF
Capacitance/Metre Between Conducting Pairs 4pF
Maximum Continues Current 11Amps
Breakdown Voltage/Metre Between Pairs >2500VAC
Breakdown Voltage/Metre Between Conducting Pairs >5000VAC
Maximum Working Temperature 150°C
Recommended Frequency Range (DC) 10Hz – 250KHz
Recommended Maximum Power Amp Load @ 8Ω 450WRMS
Recommended Maximum Power Amp Load @ 4Ω 950WRMS
Lose in Cable @ 11Amps/Metre 2.7Wmax
Cable Width max 13mm
Cable Thickness max 1.7mm

Conductors are Litz Inductively matched to length each pair.
At 60 Hz, the skin depth of a copper wire is about 8 mm. At 60 kHz, the skin depth of copper is about 0.254 mm. At 6 MHz, the skin depth is about 25.4 µm. Round conductors larger than a few skin depths don't conduct much current near their axis, so that material isn't used effectively. This causes a lose in detail and due to differences in Power/Frequency can cause phase changes producing error in depth of sound. Ordinary twisted conductor do not act like Litz as they conduct on there un-insulated surface to produce a solid conduct, only allowing the possibility to conduct more current as size increases, thus giving a larger diameter and solving the problem with brute force not science or thought. And large diameter wire increases the cost of raw materials and the wastes of money.
Please also note as the diameter increases and the gap stay relatively small the capacitance also is increasing reducing the bandwidth and having the opposite response to your need, not counting the fact of the wasted power to charge and discharge this capacitor as the amplifier swing its output voltage following the audio, this often cause another undesirable effect the amplifier become unstable and burnout in the worst case scenario.

[NSNO2021]

Thanks for that insight Colin, it's good to hear from someone who has an in-depth understanding of the subject

[Daniel Quinn]

Colin do you disagree with anything Ive said above, if so what and why .

You don't have to be coy col you're one of the few people whose opinion I take notice of.

[Gmanuk101]

Define difference?

What about valve amps.

Anyone who claims all cables make a difference in all circumstances , no matter who is listening is wrong .

Furthermore if you accept we are individual in the way we ear , making universalistic claims would seem absurd.

It makes this difference for me in these circumstances is all you can say .

oh i'm sorry I didn't consult a language technician, it would have served me well I think. Maybe you've thought about it too much mate and not just taken the word "difference" to, and I say this in all it's glorious irony, be different to your understanding of the application of "difference".

But of course this would lead on to the actual origin of the word 'difference'..... shall we therefore infer something from "the classics"...


no, that would be boring mate. lol. take it easy brother, it's just listening to other people's music man. peace.

[Wonfor14]

Colin do you disagree with anything Ive said above, if so what and why .

You don't have to be coy col you're one of the few people whose opinion I take notice of.

Hello Mr. Quinn
For me at the other cable company we found, a small anomaly because the phono cable was fast the cable rang into high impedance loads like valve amp and it sound crap, well bloody crap, so to fix this I cheated I fitted a 10K resistor at the amp end of the cable, the improvement was magical. Now I belive the cable company has drop this idea and do not recommend tube amp with there cable, because 1p was to high cost to fit, under Greed Law No 0001(Which say give me money of else) followed by a broken door or nose.