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General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

Once again, how were the "top" cables selected?

A list of cables was presented in the post and then
we're told which are best with no explanation of how
the "best" were selected. That was my primary question
and I still don't know the answer.

The down 3dB at 20,000 Hz. seems to be a worst case
hypothetical scenario rather than an actual measurement
and not worth arguing about .. though I know you like to
argue!

I said can't hear 20,000 Hz. ... If the frequency response
was also down 1 dB at 10,000 Hz. (not stated in the post),
I'd probably enjoy that coloration, assuming I could actually
hear it while listening to music.

Concerning your wiring theories, I have read your theories that
audio frequencies travel MAINLY in a field outside the speaker
cables rather than primarily electron flow within the wires with
a weak magnetic field outside the cables.
A few electrical engineeis applicable to audio frequencies
-- perhaps there's a small possibility you are not correct.

You also write you can hear differences among speaker cable
insulator materials and rate each commercially available
material for audio use in your report.
I'll assume these insulator differences you claim to hear
were tested with blind or double-blind methodology before
you wrote your preferences and recommendations.

If this is true, you would be the only person I've heard about
in 33 years as an audiophile with such sensitive ears!
Perhaps your ears are too sensitive -- and your hearing is
not representative of a typical audiophile, who might have
difficulty hearing the difference between 10 feet of 12 gauge
copper speaker cable and 10 feet of 14 gauge copper speaker cable.
You certainly would have hearing sensitivity different than mine --
I have no idea what gauge of speaker wire is being used when I
listen to a stereo, much less what material the speaker wire
insulator is made of -- yet my hearing has been tested and it's
normal for my age (over 40).

Your buy-wire report used a unusual new test signal that you
invented, I suppose, rather than music or more common
test tones. Was the new test signal designed or chosen
specifically to emphasize a measurement that supports
your wiring theories?

You also do not mention the gauge and type of wires used
for the charts, except to say one is a single wire and
the other is a buy-wire. Does that mean you are comparing
one 14 gauge wire with two 14 gauge wires, for example?
Or would you be comparing perhaps one 11 gauge wire with
two 14 gauge wires in an attempt to have roughly the same
amount of copper in both circuits? You don't specify what
you are comparing but I certainly won't argue if you are
trying to prove two 14 gauge wires are better than one 14
gauge wire because I buy-wire my own speakers with two
12 gauge wires.

Your theory that an advantage of buy-wiring is the ability to
separate the magnetic fields of the woofer and tweeter wires
is based on your other theory that audio frequency current flow
is primarily a field outside the wire -- an unproven theory
theory for audio frequencies according to electrical engineers
I've talked with.

That you can cause a sound by hitting a speaker cable with a
hammer or with a pulse from a car battery does not seem to
prove your theory about separating buy-wire speaker cables
because the magnetic fields of two nearby cables would cause
audible distortion. On the other hand, it would make no sense
to tape those buy-wires together.

On a more positive note, the electrical engineers I talked
with support experimentation and agreed that if an audiophile
wanted to experiment with different cables and interconnects --
your do-it-yourself designs make a lot more sense than buying
expensive commercial products.
I've also passed out several copies of your DIY Acoustical
Treatments article. I'm not sure all spouses will like the burlap
covering -- speaker grille cloth can be used too, at greater
expense -- one audiophile i know built fiberglas acoustical panels
over ten years ago using a 1/4 inch thick charcoal grey foam speaker grille material -- you could see some of the pink fiberglas through it but
his wife could tolerate it -- they looked like two big speakers
from a distance rather than cheap 2 x 4's and fiberglass insulation.



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