Home Cable Asylum

Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

What's all the fuss about? (long)

As a former designer and producer of custom QA/QC process control and metrology machines/instrumentation for over 20 years I can assure you that "cryo" has been around for a long time. The companies that I used to work for during the 80's and early 90's used the "cryo" process of the day (a number of cycles between -100/-150F to +300 F) to stress relief and toughen the metals used in machine construction. This thermal cycling would stress relieve the metal making it less likely to warp and move with changes in temperature, a particularly valuable asset for a machines designed for 'round-the-clock quality control measurements at the sub-micron level!

Likewise, tooling pieces and parts subject to repetetive wear (i.e. robotic mechanisms, linear guide bearings, etc.) would also last longer due to the beneficial effect of the thermal cycling process. It was obvious that thermal cycling had an effect on a variety of materials, including plastics, aluminum and steels. Though the mechanism for this change was not completely understood at the time (and still isn't to this day) it was obvious to our engineering and production staff that we got longer and more reliable life from the machine parts that had been appropriately cycled. Having noted these changes, I kept tabs on the field of deep cryogenics and ultimately opened my own cryogenic processing facility, addressing industrial markets affiliated with my former business. As such, my comments below are also empirical in nature and simply reflect my experience.

Audio components are typically made of metals and plastics, to name some of their constituent materials. These materials will react to thermal cycling, particularly when subjected to modern-day computer controlled deep cryogenic processing, which now goes down to approximately -300F.

In the realm of audio, many presume that these reactions are found in the electrical realm, perhaps ascribing the sonic differences deep cryo produces to a reduction in DC resistance (fewer grain boundaries?)lowered capacitance (fewer grain boundaries and material voids?), or other related phenomena. It is certainly possible and probable that these effects do exist, but in what proportion and quantity? It is my belief that the majority of the audible effects of deep cryogenic treatment owe their genesis to mechanical means, and that the changes produced are the result of less intermodulation of the electrical signal by mechanical energies. Hopefully, the story that follows will help elucidate this assertion.

Stress relieving materials, by whatever process, changes the resonant behaviour of the material. Not only will the resonant spectral content shift, but the amplitude of those resonances will change as well. One of the greatest benefits of the deep cryogenic process, is that it is all encompassing and affects the material to its core, not just its surface. For instance,this will produce a resonance-damping effect not only for the outer jacket of a cable, but to the atoms centermost in the conductors as well.

For a local company that produces expensive (and strikingly handsome) custom drum sets for musicians all over the world, I deep cryo treated a number of drum "shells" (the open cylinder shaped part of a drum) made of a variety of materials. The drum company was interested in finding out whether cryo treating the shells would cause them to produce different sounds, sounds that could be marketed as a new sonic "flavoring" for their discerning and highly varied clientele. First, a small group of metal shells was selected, all having the same geometry and thickness, comprised of titanium, aluminum, brass and bronze. Wooden shells made of thin plys of birch and oak were also used. Drum shells in each of these materials were also chosen to be used as controls in the experiment, and were not cryogenically treated.

All of the drum shells responded similarly to the cryo processing. The sound had changed, in some cases more so than others. When struck, the cryo shell produced a slightly lower pitched tone, devoid of much of the overtone structure of the standard shell, and more quickly decayed to silence than its untreated counterpart. Clearly, the cryoed drum shells exhibited a much more highly damped sonic signature, regardless of composition. Though, ultimately, the drum company did not find the sound change appealing, all involved in the experiment were amazed at the scope of the sonic change cryo treatment produced.

Audio components and their materials also behave like the drum shells, they all exhibit characteristic resonant sonic fingerprints, that shift when appropriately stress-relieved, whether by deep cryo or other means. (BTW, if believing that mechanical energies can affect electronic signals in audio componentry is difficult to swallow, why is it that simply changing the feet under an audio component can change its sound? But I digress . . . )

In reading about the attributes ascribed by audiophiles to the effects of cryo treatment, I find it interesting that there is a consensus regarding the nature of those effects: "a more open sound, greater detail, more time between the notes, a quieter background, etc." It implies, at least for those who hear the effects, that they are hearing the same kinds of things, indicating a common mechanism behind the effects themselves.

For my way of (decidedly mechanically-oriented)thinking, the high internal damping of vibrations produced in an audio component by cryogenic means provides a viable methodology and explanation of its effects. I'm sure that many of you will have comments regarding these ideas?

Craig Goff
Kryophysics




This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Signature Sound   [ Signature Sound Lounge ]


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups


You can not post to an archived thread.