audiophile folklore - cables and claims from manufacturers
The cable debate.
Cables make a difference, sure.
But SHOULD they?
I have been grappling with this question for the better part of 20 years!
Fanatical claims from manufacturers, talking about how their cables will improve your system in specific ways, sonically.
More accurate bass, cleaner midrange sounds, treble resolution... etc. soundstage and imaging, you get the idea.
The fundamental disconnect is - they have never heard YOUR system!
So then, how do they know what their cables will sound like in your system. Not to mention, astronomical prices on some of these interconnects. The wilder the claims, the higher the cost.
The behavior we should be looking for is passing on the signal, with as little losses as possible. That can be done relatively cheaply, with well made professional interconnects that cost less than 100 dollars in most cases.
If you could build an audio system (all of it) from thrift store finds and cables really did make that much of a difference, then wouldn’t the sound quality scale that way?
It seems many audiophiles I know are in denial. And even worse, some use cables as TONE controls! This is where audiophoolery becomes a religion. Audio dealers promote it, because it impacts their bottom line!
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You are now going off on an unrelated tangent. This post is about CABLES Not speakers, preamps, power, amps, integrated, amps, etc. Cables - a simple device used to connect electronics together. Cables are not some new invention by NASA in the year 2026. Yet every year, some audiophiles "upgrade" their cables with hopes of improved sound quality. There’s nothing to improve, you simpletons. Since you want to talk about audio electronics --- I have to tell you - The AUDIO ELECTRONICS are doing the heavy lifting. For example, if you have a matching preamp and matching power amp from the same series, same manufacturer - were meant to be sold as a set, then you get system synergy. If you buy some random preamp and try to run it with that power amp, then the sound will change, but may not be ideal. Volume match precisely as well. And play the same music. Don't do the above, then you can't make a real-world comparison with any accuracy. |
@deep_333
I think you’re just being sarcastic (maybe?) because those brand name interconnects are honored with the stamp of "audiophile-approved" made in USA, whatever. I care about the bill of materials and/or if the manufacturer produced a reliable, good quality product that I can depend upon. Who cares where they’re made. Well think about it logically. If they sold let’s say 4k interconnects total so far, after 1 year, its in their best interests as a high volume retailer to NOT provide garbage products to customers. Economies of scale. Take a basics economics class. They want repeat customers, and thrive off of them. It’s common sense. I have bought a few things from aliexpress and never had a problem. Some were even delivered to one of my homes before the amazon parcels, which were expected to arrive earlier. If you think the Chinese can’t produce quality products, then I’m sorry but you are a racist and a bigot. I've been to China a few times and was astonished as just how advanced they are. |
Please quote what you assert is me going off on an unrelated tangent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHkFRYiRG0s
Simple is subjective. The cables on the space shuttle are not simple. The cables in stealth bombers are not simple. The cables in the James Webb Space Telescope are not simple. Have you sliced open a Shunyata Research Omega-X cable? Tell us how it is constructed. Tell us about the materials that are used in its construction.
Nothing to improve, evidences that you have never heard a revealing stereo with quality cables. Your reply was full of weaving, dodging, and dancing. You replied. But a reply is not the same as an answer. You answered none of my questions. Here s a reminder, and another opportunity for you to "answer":
-- And --
If you refuse to answer, then it mans that your assertions were fabrications. You wrote BS and tried to pass it off as factual. So name the parties that you claim are doing the above quotes from you. You wrote it. You own it. You can run from it. But you can't escape from it. |
It amazes me that you took more time than necessary to rip out sections of my posts and then end it with a firework - calling my posts BS,. I can do that to, just not at your "level"
You are not comparing apples to apples here. Nobody is suggesting that cables used in mission critical applications like where research programs alone cost tens of millions or billions of dollars are the same as audio cables. Many of you are not even audio professionals, yet live in a dreamland where improvements can be heard beyond what you heard last year, yadda yadda. Shunyata Research Omega-X Cable? Are you talking about their power cable, ethernet cable? etc. ? Would be even more interesting if you were talking about their ethernet cable. You can buy a CAT 8 or 8.1 ethernet cable for about 10 dollars on amazon.ca or a more costly varient from a brand called LinkUp that tests all of their cables and provides a print out of the results so you know you’re not being scammed. The internet runs on TCP/IP. Packets either get sent or they don’t. If something happens mid-way, they are retransmitted. And look up the Shannon-Nyquist Theorem for how signals actually work. Audio depends on the same foundational theorem, which without, audio reproduction would never have been possible. A FANCY ethernet cable is not going to change those packets in any meaningful way. A FANCY power cable is not going to change the electricity inside the audio device, because it needs to go through a stage of power rectification, which is the JOB of the power transformer(s) inside the equipment. It gets converted to DC and passed along at the output... The power cable does not improve anything unless it was faulty or too thin to carry the current/voltage in the first place. Shunyata - IT IMPROVES THE SOUND QUALITY, BLAH, BLAH. We have a revolutionary new device... new cable... whatever. There is even an article dedicated to medical-use, which I find laughable. If it were really necessary, any hospital operating around the world would use them and it would be MANDATORY industry standard, and a violation of code if they were not using Shunyata. Hostpitals are about life or death... your audio system, not so much. You seem to not understand how things work in the real world. Living in an audiophile fantasy land. |
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