Dogma rules

This is my dogma rules according to audio

  1. in the early days the most important stuff was in the end, like cartridge and speakers. A bit different today in the digital era., so its just in the end end :)
  2. Its impossible to notice any difference between power cables (how about cables before the socket?)
  3. It’s almost impossible to detect any difference between any cheep and very expensive low signal cables. If the cheep cable is a low capacitance then its impossible.
  4. For speakers cable, if the area is not to small then a cheap simple electric cable is indistinguishable from an expensive one.
  5. since about year 2000 or a bit earlier compression is doing more harm to music than anything mention above, it’s horrifying that “audiophiles” use these compressed cd’s as reference cd’s in listening tests

comments?

  • Woofy98102@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    My observations with audio cables: The most important thing for cables is multiple layers of EMI/RFI shielding. It’s easily verified and quantified so it’s only the boneheads that find controversy, here.

    Power Cables: Your goal is to keep the EMI/RFI that radiates from ALL electrical cables from reaching the outside of the power cable. Good power cables have at least three layers of shielding to keep all that noise INSIDE the cable sheath. If you doubt it. Go get yourself a no-contact electrical current cable tester. It will sing with extension cords and romex. A good, shielded power cable will test like it’s not even there when plugged in.

    Signal cables: Again, shielding is important. But unlike power cables where shielding must keep the noise inside the cable, with signal cables, they must have multiple layers of shielding to prevent all EMI/RFI from entering the cable. Two layers of shielding is the minimum for line level signal cables that carry between 2.0 volts (RCA) and 4.0 volts (XLR). Some brands like Kimber have models of signal cables that rely on cable braid geometry to minimize EFI/RFI interference.

    Phono Cables: This cable requires three layers of shielding and is used exclusively to transfer signals that are small as 0.001 volt. Phono-specific cables are used after the phono cartridge and before the phono preamp and frequently include a grounding wire.

    Speaker Cable: If you take care of signal, phono and power cable shielding. Speaker cable shielding is of little concern except in special cases.

    Now the controversial stuff…

    After shielding comes dialectric choice, preferred metallurgy and cable geometry.

    Dialectrics include polyethylene, foamed polyethylene, teflon, compusilex, organic cotton and whatever filament type Nordost uses, laquer, various polymers.

    Metallurgical choices: Copper or silver; monocrystal copper or silver, solid core, hollow core, stranded, asorted gauges of solid core wire enclosed within a single dialectric strand.

    Geometry: twisted pair, star-quad, braided, hollow-core braid, radial twist over a solid core, etc. Honestly, the variations are endless.