Interconnect Inductance vs. Capacitance


How do the inductance and capacitance of ICs impact the sound? I have seen some ICs that have low inductance but high capacitance. On the other hand, some ICs have high inductance but low capacitance. One manufacturer even claims that his higher models have higher capacitance.

So can someone explain to me how they impact the sound?
vett93
One could share to others how to measure inductance, capacitance, and resistance if they have a Digital Volt Meter.
And explain the differences when apply to power cords or speaker cables.
One could share to others how to measure inductance, capacitance, and resistance if they have a Digital Volt Meter. And explain the differences when apply to power cords or speaker cables.

Common VOM's (volt-ohm-milliameters), whether digital or analog, can measure resistance directly. Some digital vom's also have the ability to measure capacitance. There are also separate instruments specifically designed to measure capacitance. I am not aware of any low-cost instruments that will measure inductance, although there may be some.

I had said that inductance is insignificant for interconnects carrying analog audio signals. But it may be significant in a speaker cable, if the inductance is particularly high, as a result of the cable being long and/or the inductance per unit length of the particular cable being high. In which case it would attenuate the treble somewhat (inductance attenuates or blocks high frequencies).

Unusually high capacitance in a speaker cable can cause some amplifiers to operate out of their comfort zone, or to become unstable. It will not, however, produce the kind of high frequency roll-off I described for interconnect cables, because the output impedance of a power amplifier is vastly lower than the output impedance of a line-level component.

As for power cords, obviously sufficient gauge (meaning low enough resistance) is required to support the maximum amount of current that may be drawn through it. Beyond that, my opinion is that we enter the realm of metaphysics (definition: "a priori speculation upon questions that are unanswerable to scientific observation, analysis, or experiment"), and anecdotal evidence of differences is about all we can expect.

Regards,
-- Al
Call TRL and get a set of their interconnects. The Dude will easily drive these cables, which in their own right are very good. These cables were the original design behind the FIM/CRL cables. The only drawback is they are heavy and somewhat inflexible, but the sound more than makes up for it.
Interestingly, TRL told me that Blue Jeans Cables RCA interconnects are good enough. Paul may be right as these BJC ICs have the lowest capacitance that I can find anywhere! This man has integrity!!

TRL's cables are not cheap though. So I am exploring all options. It would be great if manufacturers can offer in-home trial. Then I'll find out if they can beat BJC's $50 10-ft ICs. :-)
You can try cables through The Cable Company for a fee. I did that once but don't remember the cost. It wasn't much.

I've had cables from Harmonic Technology then Cardas Neutral Reference. I tried Blue Jeans 3 meter balanced and could not hear a difference between them and the Cardas. I sold the Cardas. Then I bought some Speltz 3 meter balanced that I'm currently using. I think they might sound a bit better than the BJC in my system but it is very subtle. I highly recommend Blue Jeans Cable. They are so reasonably priced, the people there seem to know a lot about cables and are so free of hype - they just tell it like it is. I found it refreshing.