Thanks for that link, frame11…I had not seen Roger Russell’s “History of Speaker Wire” before. I didn’t need convincing but I found his closing comments revealing. He says:
“When confronted with the truth, believers do not want to hear about it. They want to remain in the magical world of fantasy where they think they can hear improvements in their wire, often arrived at by making listening tests without adequate controls or understanding of the problems involved including speaker impedance and amplifier stability. One of the prime tools in creating such a faith for the average consumer is by capitalizing on fear and ignorance as in many other things that aren’t readily apparent. There is fear that the wire currently in use is not good enough. There is ignorance because most people do not have scientific knowledge in this area and lack adequate measuring equipment to prove otherwise.”
Since those touting the increase in SQ with “expensive” cables, can, without any scientific proof, only fall back on….well…"I could hear the difference." Hmmm….the sense of hearing proves their case? Russell takes this “sense” and flips it to a sense of sight analogy…seeing, arguably a more reliable, testable and provable sense and continues with this…which, for some reason, I find quite refreshing:
“We have been told by advertising that the exotic speaker wires offer fabulous advantages over ordinary lamp cord. It would seem reasonable that using this same wire for lamps would also enhance their performance. In the same vein as wire literature, you can have your lamp reproduce light with the full spectrum color fidelity of natural daylight, finally allowing you see light the way it should be seen and bring out the natural performance of your lamp. It could offer greater warmth, detail, brilliance, definition and speed by providing wider bandwidth and reduced skin effect. It can provide a distortion free illumination that reduces eye strain, resulting in clearer vision and optimal color perception. It can allow you to work for longer periods of time with less visual distraction or fatigue. Just imagine what it might do for your electric razor or microwave, etc.!”
Bravo, Russell!!