Cable Theory

Early B.

Interesting read...

http://www.audioquest.com/pdfs/aq_cable_theory.pdf

dorokusai

Here is some additional information worth reading.

Music Interface Technologies (MIT)

Early B.

Cool.

It's amazing how much technology goes into a freakin' cable!

Skynut

Good reading.
I want to learn as much as possible and then try making my own.
I am thinking about pure silver for interconnects and speaker bi-wires.
Perhaps someday I will actually pull the trigger.

Early B.

Originally posted by Skynut
Good reading.
I want to learn as much as possible and then try making my own.
I am thinking about pure silver for interconnects and speaker bi-wires.
Perhaps someday I will actually pull the trigger.

It's good reading, for sure, but much of it is fiction. problem is -- it's hard to determine fact from fiction.

You may find that it's just as cost effective to buy new or used speaker cable rather than build your own. I just nabbed a new pair of 8' Audioquest Bedrock cables with silver bananas for $99. It would have cost a lot more if I tried to build something similar.

dorokusai

It's no more fiction than the following link EarlyB....this is a subject that will never be 100%, and who cares.

Here's an "anti-cable" website....Roger Russell is an old school audio pioneer and it's worth the read.

http://www.roger-russell.com/

I spoke with Mr. Russell about some issues a couple weeks ago and he's a down to earth, nice guy. I enjoyed the discussion and while we didn't agree on everything, I liked his summation of this whole debacle.... "Hearing is Believing"

I couldn't agree more as it's really a personal issue in the end and everyone subscribes to their own interpretation when it comes to audio.

Skynut

Originally posted by dorokusai
It's no more fiction than the following link EarlyB....this is a subject that will never be 100%, and who cares.

Here's an "anti-cable" website....Roger Russell is an old school audio pioneer and it's worth the read.

http://www.roger-russell.com/

I spoke with Mr. Russell about some issues a couple weeks ago and he's a down to earth, nice guy. I enjoyed the discussion and while we didn't agree on everything, I liked his summation of this whole debacle.... "Hearing is Believing"

I couldn't agree more as it's really a personal issue in the end and everyone subscribes to their own interpretation when it comes to audio.

Also very interesting. I think I still want to build my own wires just for the pride factor he talks about.

JDSMOKE

This was some great reading from a newbe

DarqueKnight

A basic tenet of the anti-quality power cable viewpoint goes something like:

"What good will a high quality cable do between the amplifier and the wall jack? You'd have to replace the cable all the way back to the power station to realize any real improvement!"

On an intuitive level, the statement makes a certain amount of sense. However, if you take a moment to examine the journey that electrons take from the generating station to an amplifier used in the home, it will become obvious that better wire between the wall jack and the amplifier can improve performance regardless of the quality of wire and cable going back to the power generating station.

I would like to preface my discussion with the claim that electrons "prefer" orbiting around the nucleus of an atom rather than being forced to "skip" from atom to atom by an electromotive force. Thus, the electron in transit through a conductor is always trying to find a more stable state, similar to what it had when it was orbiting its "home" atom.

Now, if we can engage our imagination a bit, I would like to use an analogy to illustrate the journey that electrons take from the generating station to a power amplifier used in the home.

Let us assume that the power generating station will be represented by a huge warehouse full of trucks that are identical in every respect. Furthermore, these trucks travel at a constant speed for the entire length of their journey from the warehouse to the final destination. The trucks will represent electrons. For completeness, we will let the truck driver and engine represent the electromotive force (voltage).

The warehouse (generating station) is connected to various extremely wide highways which are smooth-surfaced and well maintained. Assume that a destination for a portion of these trucks is a race track (representing a power amplifier circuit), located 1500 miles from the warehouse. The trucks (electrons) exit the warehouse and travel at a constant speed regardless of the road conditions. Furthermore, the trucks encounter roads that are narrower and narrower as they make the journey to the race track. In addition to the roads becoming narrower, they also have rougher surfaces (more resistance) all the way to the race track's local neighborhood street (house wiring).

Recall that the final destination of the trucks (electrons) is a very smooth surfaced two lane circular race track which represents the amplifier circuit. The track is located in the middle of a field that is a mile from the neighborhood street. The trucks must make the trip to the track to pick up some important cargo.

It is your choice as to what kind of access road (amplifier power cable) will connect the race track to the neighborhood street.

The choices are (in descending order of cost):

1. A smooth surfaced six lane road.
2. A smooth surfaced four lane road.
3. A smooth surfaced one lane road.
4. A cobblestone road.
5. A dirt road
6. A gravel road.

While you are considering your access road options, also consider this: immediately upon entering the track, the trucks will be "magically" loaded with ten crates of eggs while in motion, without breaking any of them. The eggs are contained in special crates that protect them from mechanical shock, but not vibration. Remember, the trucks are still traveling at their full constant speed. The trucks must make it around the track once (through various inspection stations) and exit the track on an exit road (speaker cable), which again will be constructed with a surface and dimensions of your choice.

What do you think?

Will a truck entering the track from option #1 provide a safer travel experience than a truck entering the track from option #6, or will it make no difference at all?

What if the road surface from the neighborhood street all the way to the power station was the smoothest asphalt possible and 15 lanes wide? Would the importance of the quality of the last mile access road be diminished?

What if the road surface from the neighborhood street all the way to the power station was a one lane gravel road? Would there be any benefit to having the last mile constructed as a smooth surfaced six lane road, or would that be a waste of time and money?

What do you think?

TheReaper

Originally posted by DarqueKnight
...What do you think?

You forgot that the entrance to the track is only one lane (the fuse). And that due to zoning regulations, tracks come with a one or two lane, asphalt or cement road, already built. Also, the better the track, the longer of an entrance lane it should have, getting rid of any bouncing from the road.

My opinion of the question is this. Why buy a cheap track and an expensive road. Instead use the same money to buy a better track that comes with a 2 lane cement road, and a longer entrance lane to the track. Now if someone bought an expensive track, and it came with a one lane asphalt road and a short entrance lane, I would start questioning the quality of the track also.

PolkThug

Also, only 119-125 cars are going to travel on the road at any given time, so there's no point in a 6 lane road if a 2 lane road can handle the flow.

neomagus00

good analogy, i thought, for someone who's just beginning to learn about the infamous cable debate

devil's advocate - is the difference between 1) and 6) actually that large, or is it more like the difference between a class 5 and a class 6 ABC gravel road?

gravel information

Pinktulip7

Are u nut?

DarqueKnight

Originally posted by neomagus00
devil's advocate - is the difference between 1) and 6) actually that large, or is it more like the difference between a class 5 and a class 6 ABC gravel road?

Actually, there is no difference at all between 1) and 6)....if you are traveling by helicopter.;)

Skynut

Originally posted by Pinktulip7
Are u nut?

I am Nut! (s):D

read-alot

PolkThug wrote:

Also, only 119-125 cars are going to travel on the road at any given time, so there's no point in a 6 lane road if a 2 lane road can handle the flow.

And when they get to North Carolina they are all in the freaking left lane blocking traffic.

DarqueKnight

PolkThug wrote:

Also, only 119-125 cars are going to travel on the road at any given time, so there's no point in a 6 lane road if a 2 lane road can handle the flow.

That would be true if it could be guaranteed that a road would never exceed it's design capacity. We know that in the real world, many roads do exceed their design capacity, which leads to traffic jams. A 2 lane road may work most of the time, but a 6 lane road may be needed for morning and afternoon rush hours. Likewise, a smaller gauge amplifier power cable may work most of the time if the amplifier's current demands remain constant. However, we know that in the real world, an amplifier's current demands fluctuate and usually spikes upward if it is required to reproduce a lot of bass.