2. cables
  3. 1158363516

a/b interconnect cable comparison single ended

here is an approach to help to determine which of two cables is least colored.

asuume there exists two cables : a and b. you will need two female to female connectors.

select recordings. listen to stereo system with cable a. take good notes. listen to stereo system with cable b. allow appropriate interval between listening sessions to avoid loss of acuity. again, take notes.

listen to cable a + coupler + cable b. take good notes.
listen to cable b + coupler + cable a. take good notes

you have 4 conditions to compare. use the results to help determine which of the two cables alters the sound more than the other.

yes, the coupler may add some "coloration" and yes the reults are anecdotal and highly subjective. but, hopefully, a good first step. perhaps there are other suggestions and improvements to this process.
mrtennis

Showing 4 responses by mrtennis

mrtennis OP
3,295 posts
 
my preamp does not have a tape monitor function. other than my original suggestion or use of the y-connector, is there an idea other than using some kind of passive junction "box"
to compare cable ?
mrtennis OP
3,295 posts
 
my original question, "which of two cables is more colored" would require a signal to pass through both of them. having two pairs of cable connected to different inputs does not accomplish that.

suppose cable a is somewhat subtractive and cable b is somewhat additive. i would like to find out which of the two is "distorting" the signal more, a or b ?

regardless of the question , "which one does one prefer", is the question, "which one is more accurate", recognizing that both cables are not accurate or perfect. by the way, david salz of wireworld suggested the method i suggested above.
mrtennis OP
3,295 posts
 
mr smith, you are correct. one cannot know which of 2 cables are less accurate0.

however, anecdotally, you might have confidence based upon listening, which of the two cables seems to alter the signal to a greater degree, at the listener position, using spectral analysis. i realize this is not a definitive test, and, as you indicate one cable may be preferred, but as a first step, it may provide some useful information.
mrtennis OP
3,295 posts
 
hi cjsmith, your point is well taken.

suppose you had a high quality spectral analyzer.

suppose you had a cd which contained white or pink noise.

if you follow my paradigm, one of the cables might exhibit greater frequency response deviations, when the spectral analyzer is set up at the listening position.

yes, the room is part of the equation, but the room is a constant.
More to discover