That depends on how one thinks speaker cables make an impact
From Kurt of BJC -
:
“Speaker cable is a bit different from a lot of the interconnect cables we handle, in several respects. Because speakers are driven at low impedance (typically 4 or 8 ohms) and high current, speaker cables are, for all practical purposes, immune from interference from EMI or RFI, so shielding isn’t required. The low impedance of the circuit, meanwhile, makes capacitance, which can be an issue in high-impedance line or microphone-level connections practically irrelevant. The biggest issue in speaker cables, from the point of view of sound quality, is simply conductivity; the lower the resistance of the cable, the lower the contribution of the speaker cable’s resistance to the damping factor, and the flatter the frequency response will be.While one can spend thousands of dollars on exotic speaker cable, in the end analysis, it’s the sheer conductivity of the cable, and (barring a really odd design, which may introduce various undesirable effects) little else that matters. The answer to keeping conductivity high is simple: the larger the wire, the lower the resistance, and the higher the conductivity.”
Hmmm, can’t say I have. I changed mine to Naim NACA5 earlier in the year as the majority of people on Naims forum said or suggested it sounded better and would improve any Naim system. I have a Naim Atom so went along with the majority and bought a run of this cable. Initially as you do I thought it was better and brought more out of my system. I recently changed back to my old basic Chord speaker cable it sounded no different.
You can also add me to the collective who have not detected a sound quality difference between standard cat6 and so called ‘audiophile’ ethernet cables, but have detected significant differences between different (analogue) interconnects and speaker cables.I think that we number way over 1% of the hi-fi owning public. I would probably put the figure closer to 99% than to 1%.
My testing of ‘analogue’ speaker cables has in the (fairly distant) past included ‘blind’ testing where results were statistically conclusive. I haven’t attempted to carry out blind tests on ethernet/streaming cables since I haven’t yet detected any difference in conventional listening comparisons.
Zip (lamp) cord would work and actually function, I suppose. There are several inexpensive options out there that work well. I use Canare 4s11 Star Quad. Works great.
I understand the meaning now and it makes sense - it was the reference to ‘Zip’ that threw me.
Yes - standard lamp cable does work and pretty well too, but just not quite as well (in my opinion) as some other ‘specialist’ speaker cables. However, perceived differences will vary from person to person and system to system. It is a purely personal subjective matter as to whether the differences will be considered to be ‘significant’ or value for money.
The vast majority of people who listen to music have no interest in pursuing ‘best’ possible sound. Th e law of diminishing returns kicks in pretty early in the hi-fi upgrade path. I have no issue with people who are happy to listen to music on YouTube with cheap headphones. They may obtain just as much pleasure as some of those listening to finely tuned hi-fi exotica. It is a matter of personal priorities and I would guess probably also a generational thing.
There was a fad in the early 80s in UK hi-fi circles for using standard solid core ‘mains’ cables as speaker cables, and back in those days I used mains cable myself pretty successfully for a number of years before reverting back to more conventional speaker cable.
Around 4 or 5 years or so I carried out a comparison of a number of a range of interconnects and speaker cables in my main system and came to the conclusion that one brand/model in particular improved (to my ears and in my system) the sound quality and which, in respect of my personal priorities was a worthwhile upgrade. I decided to make the change and am now content to simply sit back and listen to my music when the mood takes me.
I have no interest in further upgrading or tweaking.
Think some might benefit from doing a little reading and then making up their own minds, but at least start from an informed point of view (I’ve heard interconnects make a difference, whether expectation bias or imagination not sure). Could I pick them blind? Maybe, probably not. Day and night differences between them? Nope, nothing of sufficient difference to warrant change. Do I care? Nope.
Exactly. There is a plausible, engineering based answer to why analog speaker cables can sound different. While there is none about proper spec ethernet cables (absent incorrectly using shielded cables and associated ground issues).
yes, to some extent. The better cables are stiffer, and larger in diameter than cheap cables, making them less likely to get sharp bends in them. Any ethernet cable can lose performance if there is a sharp bend in it. I sold Cat 5 and Cat 6 cable to installers for several years, and learned from the pros that sharp bends can reduce cat 5 performance to the performance of that of a Cat 3 cable (or worse). Also, the better cables provide better isolation from various sources of interference. But, that being said, if the cheap cable is installed and located optimally, the differences can be greatly minimized, sometimes to the point of being insignificant.
Agree with install issues etc. that you mention. But such potential problems cause dropouts, reduction in transmission speed, etc. These problems wouldn’t produce subtle changes in audio quality.
Are the standard fuses in audio equipment truly 100% non reactive? Logically, that tiny strand of wire running through it should be susceptible to microphonics. It may be more susceptible than any other component in that audio component. It’s construction is similar to some early microphones. High end audiophile fuses are filled with materials to deaden the microphonics, and it is totally logical that they should sound because of that.
It also underlines the case for properly designed DSP active speakers. No cables to bugger about with, no amps to miss match etc. It all there by design, you demo , you like it you buy it and forget the rest. Just enjoy the music and keep life simple.
Yes, they are passive components. Yes, they have resistance and this changes with temperature, but equipment designers consider this when selecting the correct fuse to protect the cable or equipment.
I think the suggestion that a fuse is affected by microphonics is clutching at straws. Microphonincs takes mechanical vibrations as an input to cause an undesirable electrical effect. But this is in sensitive electronic devices that are part of the audio chain, e.g. headphones.
I’d be more concerned about using a fuse that doesn’t meet the required standard, e.g ■■1362.
This is a can of worms just like any audiophile cable discussion. You’ll find people who swear that little crystal pyramids sitting on a shelf on the the back wall of the listening space, or placing wooden blocks unter your speaker cables will improve the SQ, so of course you’ll also find tons of audiophile discussions on teh webz about Ethernet cables, switches, etc. improving (always improving) the sound. From an engineering perspective, none of it should matter at all. But if you think it matters then it does. Who knows, try it you might like it.
I bought the Canare 4s11 cable in bulk (from BJC) and terminated them myself with locking angle bananas I picked up from Parts Express. Made them well over ten years ago. I actually used them in a bi-wire setup for awhile, but re-terminated them and now use some jumpers I made with BJC Belden. Nothing fancy, but good quality.
We put on live gigs regularly with world class artists and you should see the cables we use. Decent quality stock cables and B grades for monitors if we have to, but still decent enough.
Not time or room to separate then or put them on fancy wooden blocks.
Do we separate mains and signal cables? Not much, we don’t have room all though I take care laying stuff out.
The result, with a great sound engineer… Amazing.
We do use quality DI boxes and microphones, the best we can afford then the artists do the rest.
Just tonight we were listening back over dinner and wine to some of our recordings, and honestly, they are often better than the studio work…
So, if you have a good system and decent quality cables, that should be enough. If you are chasing the best cable route for the extra 1%, in my mind, you have lost the plot… Get into the music, the water is lovely…