I know I have lost my mind and have gone insane


I put my speaker interconnects up on a couple of boards tonight as a test because I have read that cable lifters change the sound, and did it ever!!! They look like a couple of sine waves behind my speakers. Believe me that I am very familiar with the sound of my system, and this was a profound change.
Before the sound was full and warm (too much so) with incredible bass, and after propping up the cables the sound was cleaner, clearer, more detailed, the upper bass warmth was gone (more natural)and there was more emotion in the system.
Now please someone, explain this to me PLEASE!!
zilla

Showing 3 responses by ridgestreetaudio

Hi Zilla.

I don't think we have all the answers to why elevating cables work but here's a bit of a brief cut and pasted from our website...

"...Speaker cables, interconnects or AC power cords that rest on the floor are susceptible to a host of sonically degrading ills such as: static electricity and/or dielectric interference from carpeting, capacitive coupling to "earth ground" and floor bound resonances. These all can affect the energy field surrounding a cable and change the electrical parameters designed into the cable robbing the music signal of it's energy and life. Strange as it may seem, lifting your cabling off the floor will result in a more focused and vivacious sonic presentation."

You're not nuts.

ENJOY! and Best Regards,
Robert
...BTW, now you got me thinking about stupid tweaks that work. Here's a worthwhile freebie I discovered years ago and that Jonathan Scull, when he wrote for Stereophile, also made mention of...

When listening in the sweet spot, remove your eye glasses if you wear them. You'll be pleasantly surprised to find your music images a bit better. I bet some of you already have experience with this.

Oh...and definitely DO NOT hold a big board up in front of your head when listening to music. You'll most likely get bored very quickly.

sorry, couldn't resist that one.

Anyway, Cheers!
Robert
Hi Fatparrot.

"...that only a minor improvement will result." I don't think such a definitive statement can be made. Change "will" to "may" and I think that expresses some folks experience but certainly not everyone's. Lots of variables involved also. Whether a cable, regardless of cost, "sounds" good or not, there are some cables that are designed pretty poorly from an electrical standpoint. These cables will probably fit in the "minor" category...says me anyway. Also, minor, when it comes to audio enthusiasts, is a relative term. I've heard the difference to be substantial and I've heard the difference to be minor in different systems but, though the differences were apparent, they were relative to my values. I'm also of the opinion that if I can positively (or, God forbid, negatively) affect enough small details, the whole will be greater than the sum of the parts.

I don't believe the type of carpet will be the determining factor on what kind of performance improvements one might expect. We've had our system on wood floors and now concrete floors. Both floors had a Berber type carpet installed and the gains of lifting the cabling off the floor, I/Cs, S/Cs, and P/Cs, were substantial enough that I wouldn't want to do without. Mind you also that it can't be said that it was gear related because a host of gear sees duty here.

It's probably not fair to say one can expect a level of improvement on par with swapping out a decent piece of electronics for a $$$$$ megabuck state of the art piece of gear but they are worth the minimal investment. As for Ridge Street, we've only had one instance where the client didn't benefit worth the investment so that says something of this tweak's effectiveness.

BTW, the "...removing eye glasses" thing I mentioned above? Not a service we offer anymore. The travel expenses incurred to go to a client's residence to remove his/her eye glasses for them made this service too expensive. $549.00 flat rate...can you believe it!? Me either. Um...I jest.

Cheers!
Robert