@kevemaher you said “The community of Physicists (if you can cal it that), although aware that we do not yet understand the totality of the physical Universe, are in agreement that we now and forever know all there is about Newtonian Mechanics. The sound of cables is a part of Newtonian Physics. Physics will tell you that cables, if working for their intended use of power delivery, do not have a sound that is perceptible to human ears. Ende”
I know a physicist or two that would beg to differ. As a physicist, I am sure you do not require this refresher, but for the broader audience of readers I offer this from Wikipedia.
“In physics, classical mechanics is a theory that describes the effect of forces on the motion of macroscopic objects and bulk matter, without considering quantum and relativistic effects. It is used in describing the motion of objects such as projectiles, parts of machinery, spacecraft, planets, stars, galaxies, deformable solids, fluids, macromolecules and other objects. The development of classical mechanics involved substantial change in the methods and philosophy of physics.[1] The qualifier classicaldistinguishes this type of mechanics from new methods developed after the revolutions in physics of the early 20th century which revealed limitations in classical mechanics.”
What exactly does that have to do with the sound, or lack of sound, that can be attributed to one audio cable or another experienced by any listener in any possible state of mind? I am quite surprised that you chose to cite 17th century Newtonian classical mechanics as the most/only relevant field of study. I thought you might have cited how these phenomena are explained by electromagnetism. Again from Wikipedia:
“In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature.[1] It is the dominant force in the interactions of atoms and molecules. Electromagnetism can be thought of as a combination of electrostatics and magnetism, which are distinct but closely intertwined phenomena. Electromagnetic forces occur between any two charged particles. Electric forces cause an attraction between particles with opposite charges and repulsion between particles with the same charge, while magnetism is an interaction that occurs between charged particles in relative motion. These two forces are described in terms of electromagnetic fields. Macroscopic charged objects are described in terms of Coulomb’s law for electricity and Ampère’s force law for magnetism; the Lorentz force describes microscopic charged particles.”
Doesn’t that sound more relevant to this conversation? And at least several practicing cable designers cite the influence of quantum mechanics in their considerations and designs. From Wikipedia, and again recognizing your presumed knowledge and grasp of these concepts, I provide here only for the sake of grounding the argument for all readers and myself:
“Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms.[2]: 1.1 It is the foundation of all quantum physics, which includes quantum chemistry, quantum biology, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.”
”Quantum mechanics can describe many systems that classical physics cannot. Classical physics can describe many aspects of nature at an ordinary (macroscopic and (optical) microscopic) scale, but is not sufficient for describing them at very small submicroscopic(atomic and subatomic) scales. Classical mechanics can be derived from quantum mechanics as an approximation that is valid at ordinary scales.[3] “
I am fairly certain that there are material research frontiers that have steadily advanced in radio signal and acoustic properties that have been and are being developed for military applications related to very low signals and reducing noise. I suggest that these advances are trickling up to consumer products (including connecting wires) to assist with protecting small signals in the complex and noisy electrical environments around your hifi gear and in the modern home, and that these advances have very little to do with Newtonian classical mechanics. Your turntable, the transport mechanism for your CD player, or the tactile feel of the buttons and knobs on the face of your gear? Sure.
I leave you with this Keven - I assemble power cables for my own Hifi use, and after assuring myself that they won’t cause a short and burn something up, I listen to them. Often sound differences between different cables are subtle, rarely I can hear no difference at all. And sometimes, the difference is just astonishing. If you were to listen to a digital audio converter with a power cable made of Furutech FP-SO22N wire and FI-28 rhodium connectors and compared that to the same cable but with SonarQuest SQ-C39(AG) carbon fiber edition cryo silver plated connectors, and you couldn’t tell the sonic difference between them, even if it took you ten minutes to change the cable and you sat in a different position in the room, then maybe this is the wrong hobby for you.
kn