Are current audio cable designs superior to 1980s designs?


(I'm reposting this question under a new title because the original was vague, misleading, and elicited irrelevant replies).

Been using the same pair of 1980s AudioQuest rubber-encased XLR cables between pre and power amps since 1987 with good results -- good in the noncomparative abstract, that is. Components have come and gone, but the AQs have remained the sole constant. Until Morrow's recent Reopening Sale gave me an excuse to play with a more contemporary design. Just made the switch and I know the Morrow burn-in can be prolonged. Plan to set FM tuner overnights to "white noise" rather than BBC human voice signal to speed the process.

Question: to what degree do you believe balanced interconnect designs have improved over the past 30-40 years? And, price range being the same (adjusted for inflation), would you expect the current lean, lightweight Morrows to outperform the old, heavy-duty AudioQuest design? Morrow says they will, but what do this forum's many cable experts think about it?  
hickamore

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Cables have evolve greatly over the past decades, but what has not evolve is the general understanding in the audiophile community (some manufacturer have good clues that they keep for themself) of what makes a good cable. The lack of good scientific explanations and measurements beyond RLC has failed to move anecdotal evidence of percived cables differences into theories allowing predictable results. Also the premium price of high end cables without any explanation other than you have to try it first, has moved the whole discussion in the absurd realm of crazy audifile for music lovers.

However experimenters and DIY enthusiast, in this forum and others, have provided good rules of thumb that allows to one to build cables using modern material that outperform cables of the past. My rules rules of thumb and proposed scientific explanations are:

OCC copper and its variant are better than the copper of the past. Copper like other metals are arranged in grains where atoms are aligned in organized layers.In a cable, grains having layers in different orientations are interlock together. These interlocking region from the boundaries between grains. Electricity flows better in the grains than in the boundaries between grains, OCC copper and other variant have longer grains that provide a better path for the signal and do sound better. OCC copper was not available in the 80'.

Dielectric materials have also evolve from the past and it is generally acknowledge that air is the better dielectric material for HiFi application. This is generally due to the dielectric polarization that occurs as a signal travels in a wire. The electromagnetic field that is generated by the signal flows through the dielectric, subjecting the same to a varying field with pushes and pulls on the electrons and nucleus of the dielectric material. Air being order of magnitude less dense than solid materials, cables having a low amount of material (more air) around the conductor have a "fast sound" with music having fast and precise attack.

Some manufacturer try to charge the dielectric material to reduce this dielectric polarization. Cable burning period is the time it takes for the dielectric material to settle in and have the electrons move or settle to a position of being least affected by the electromagnetic field of the signal. Cables made of braided material tend to have little or no burning period.

Then there is the response of the cables with regard to the frequency of the signal. The resistance of any cable is not constant with frequency. At low frequency the response is governed by the diameter of the wire (bigger wire, less resistance), as the frequency of the signal rises so does resistance due to the inductance of the wire, which is not link to its diameter. You end up with a hockey stick curve. The larger the wire, the lower the resistance in the base and so the higher the base response will be. Cables are small tone controls, there is not way around it, but this is where synergy of a system comes from.

So better material, better understanding of the process involve in making cables lead to better cables being made today than before. More importantly it allowed DIY like myself to make state of the art cables in their garage. This is unfortunately not true with many other hobbies.

 

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