Should SBAF do a cable expose?

Their library is USA only but it is an excellent concept.

 

Cutting up open big fat audiophile cables and showing what its made of is the only cable expose I would be interested in.

 

Google: Virtual Dynamics Cable Dissection

 

I was at a meet demo of a system cabled with stuff like that. Looking around the back, as one does, I noticed the unused balanced sockets throughout.

Probably wouldn't have sounded any different. But balanced is an inherently superior (if unnecessary for home hifi) technology, right? But probably the cables aren't as pretty. Or expensive. Or have as high a mark up.

 

Anyone who's been in this hobby for awhile has encountered cables which were complete crap. (I'm looking at you, E-MU Teak...) I don't believe that cryogenically treated, double-litz-coated, silver-adamantium lined, unicorn fart infused cables are going to sound better. That said, after having used some aftermarket cables, I do believe some are built MUCH better in categories that count: comfort, quality, lacking microphonics, flexibility, attractive appearance, etc. Those are the only qualities I really look for if I have to hunt down a replacement cable.

If silver coated, pure silver, cryogenically treated, occ stuff mattered as much as these people claim, then the PCBs inside elite audio equipment would be made using that stuff - and it's not.

 

The main problem with this statement is that it's incorrect. It depends where you look. Many of the high end, especially point to point wired, devices use very specific hookup wire, capacitors, resistors, transformers (selected with a variety of different core materials, silver windings, OCC copper windings) etc. But it gets expensive quickly.

Anyhow, I'm signing off this thread. And I am not trying to convince anyone of anything, nor suggesting money be spent. I simply wanted to share personal experience as a singular data point, and I also think there are a great many things most folks can do in pursuit of "better" sound long before cables and such should ever become a consideration.

 

I don't believe it is incorrect at all. I'm talking about the PCB (printed circuit boards) used. I'm aware some rare and few manufacturers don't use PCBs, or solder components onto the PCB which are extremely high end and/or made of exotic materials, but the PCB itself is not. The PCBs are printed en masse for use in their products from fiberglass and copper, and if that critical part of the device isn't using these super-special cable materials - presumably because it doesn't benefit from it - why would it matter after the fact in a cable?

Anyway, not sure it matters. I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, just expressing my opinion on stuff.

 

There are many types of PCB, and more than one option for cladding, and not all manufacturers (or industries, for that matter) use the same materials in either case, even within a single product. There are significant performance differences between the various options (not to say they're necessarily audible).

Because a system is the sum of its parts.

The cable may not enhance the performance of the raw component, but it's certainly capable of harming it.

 

Romaz could. And very very accurately.

For the record, i absolutely despise many cable manufacturers, especially those whom i know all use cables from the same 3 factories in Taiwan.

Skogrand just pisses me off sometime, cheap connectors, cheap rubber, expensive looking cable cover and bam, 6k

But id happily pay money for someone to DIY me a pure silver unit using cable i bought.

 

..but how many hours are you supposed to burn them in for, anyway, and which music is best for it?

On a more serious note, anyone who has ever experienced the stiff, unruly stock HFM cables will probably value a nice pliable copper cable, even a fairly modest one. Discomfort and handling noise can really ruin a listening session.

 

"A red one"?

 

*Ding*Ding*Ding* This is the winning statement right here. A bad cable can cause literal power losses, or FR rolloff or even oscillation. A good cable should do none of those things. But if there's an inherent issue with the amp or source, a "better" cable will not magically make things better.

 

That smells like herring?

 

Oh! Come on... We've just got to start Wild Goose Cables!

They'll fly off the shelves. Like hot cakes. While we're at it, I think we should register Garden Path as a trade mark too

 

My personal belief: get a new cable for different purpose (ie balanced plug) / ergonomic reason (Litz config vs non-Litz) / Z-matching (Linum cables fucks up many IEM with high Z) / bling. And don't slap a $150 cable to $200 gear, that's just silly. And choose Cu/SPC/Ag. Gold, 0K cyro, UPOoOoOC are just jargon / worthless.

Someone should make a cable made of hundreds of Be nano strands. Turns Grados into Utopias.

 

@Torq had no particular issues with passing such a test:
http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/rings-of-gold-a-tale-of-eight-bifrosts.2643/

At the end of the day such tests very likely depend on the testers' familiarity with the gear and with the testing conditions and requirements.

 

Plenty of people have passed DAC blind tests at this point. Nobody's ever passed a cable blind test, that I've seen. Regardless of what you think of cables or blind tests, they're in a very different place from DACS, evidence-wise.