Cable Quality Control and Objective Reviewers

Cable quality control is rarely discussed among audiophiles I know in person.

They would much rather chat about the claims made by manufacturers that include specific, system-level improvements that cannot be validated. 

I’m all for high quality cables with proper terminations for long-term reliability, and proper gauge wires, and connections that fit snugly enough on ports. 

I was browsing the web yesterday and found this: Kimber RCA Cable vs Amazon Basics (Video) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

Now, in all fairness, the Kimber cable is a luxury item first, and an audiophile item second.

I really like a brand called "world’s best cables" on amazon. Their cables are very high quality and the their quality control is top notch.

How do I know this?

Well I’ve used their cables for many years; and have spliced some of them open just out of curiosity to see what’s inside, because I intentionally bought extras just for that purpose.

I really hate cost cutting in audio. Especially when it happens to be from a vendor that should do better. 

Inside the amazon basics RCA cable, we find mostly heavy-duty tubing and very little copper. 

The worst cable I’ve ever seen was the Hosa HRR-005X2 5-Feet Dual REAN RCA Pro Stereo Interconnect Cable.

Cut it open, and inside found what looked like a cotton ball stretched apart, and the thinnest, cheapest, ugliest copper I had ever seen in my life. Thinner than hair on people who have very thin hair. Weak, brittle copper that was soft and rough to the touch as the same time. Disgusting. 

Did it make a difference in my system? Yes it did. 

And not in a good way. the midrange became "glassy" and the treble took on a hard edge. The bass frequencies sounded more rounded and less tight, and the soundstage shrunk. I hated them... 

Now before anyone accuses me of talking nonsense, we need to acknowledge that cables are physical devices and don’t pass sound through a quantum vacuum. Physics still applies, whether objective reviewers like it or not. It’s not an opinion, it’s a fact.

Interconnects measured under resistive loads will of course not be impacted in the same way as how they are when plugged in to real audio electronics. Numerous electrical factors are missing from the equation with "test bench only" reviews.

It’s like saying a piece of chocolate tastes good - in isolation (on its own) 

But melted in to a cake you’re baking - well that’s a different equation. The flavor of the cake will change; the balance and texture may change too... You get the idea.

The cable being so thin, the dielectric being so lousy, and the shielding being so poor means it could not only pick up noise, but acted as a suboptimal conductor; a bad bridge between two points -input and output. And I’d wager to say the most important connection, even before your source is between your preamplifier and power amplifier. Keep the resistance and cable length as short as possible, and choose truly high quality interconnects.

Some may dismiss this as folklore, yet videos like this paint a broad brush and force a specific kind of cognitive dissonance on the audience: 

$4000 Audio Cable vs $7!!!

First of all, it’s heading is completely illogical. 

What it sounds like: 400 dollar steak vs. 7 dollar prime rib sub from a random shop in a ghetto.

The naysayers, non audiophiles, and people who genuinely hate us for our hobby will laugh and write drivel in the comment section on the video as they always do, talking about how we’re such fools.

Yet we have a right to pay for quality control and a higher bill of materials is a often a better indicator that a manufacturer "did their homework" and has higher quality control standards. 

This has been my experience with interconnects.