Home Speaker Asylum

General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

It's possible that older ears...

and older components might sabotage an attempt at improving nuances by changing wiring. I'm guessing that in 30 years, when I'm 72, I won't care much which cable is used.

How old is your gear? 20-30 years? If so, I would assert that newer components might yield better results in a cable shootout.

I heard someone once say, "Don't buy $2,000 stereo if you have a $200 pair of ears."

Truth was, when I was a skeptic, a good portion of it was because I didn't want to spend the money on quality cables. I suspect this is what lurks behind much (not all, of course) skepticism regarding cabling.

I'm not suggesting you're a cheapskate! I'm admitting my own thought process from the past. But, I bet I'm not alone on that.

Just recently I had a relapse; tried making home made power cords with 10ga from Home Depot. Slight improvement over the stock cords, but when I put in a Harmonic Technology Pro AC cord, not even close! EASY to hear the differences. I'm just amazed when others cannot hear it. By the way, no one who has ever been in my HT has failed to hear the differences in power/interconnect/speaker cable shootouts. Fellow audiophiles and I have changed one pair of interconnects and both agreed a significant change had occurred. We spend fifteen minutes discussing the nuances in the change!

One scientific (as far as I understand it) explanation to cables I have seen/heard is the "single crystal" method of manufacturing wire. The idea is to make it with less fractures in the copper. Voodoo? Who knows. But, they give an explanation, along with microscope photos of the copper. Hey. They're showing us something materially different in their wire. And, frankly, I heard a difference.

I would think another significant manufacturing difference would be solid versus stranded cables. I very much prefer the solid to stranded (i.e. trying to achieve a guage, such as 12ga via smaller strands added up or via a thicker wire), and I have tried enough of both to feel confident in my conclusion.

I have more skepticism regarding cryogenic treatment, since I don't see that changing the molecular structure of the wire. But, different manufacturing processes? Sure, there'd be a difference, I would think. Now, if those differences were worth potentially 25$ per foot. To each his own.
That takes us back to the wallet issue, doesn't it?
Now, if honestly you can/would buy whatever wire you want without regard to price, and you simply cannot hear the difference, then we need not quibble any longer, but simply enjoy our music.
Blessings!


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  • It's possible that older ears... - Doug Schroeder 01/6/0619:27:51 01/6/06 (0)


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