Canadian Audio / Video

[digital]

Admin' on Cable 'sound'

This is an excerpt from a previous post (forum that ended with a corrupt database). I am answering a member by the name of Chuck who is convinced that he can hear speaker cables... There are also references to a RCA cable audition here: http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2476

Chuck,

I have not been able to detect a clearly audible difference between braided vs. non-braided 12-guage wire in the past – and I have in fact previously employed one or the other on several occasions, down to 12 gauge.

With respect to Cardas, I don’t believe there is anything inherently wrong with their product, nor do I feel that their product bloats or negates any frequency of the audible bandwidth. The only thing wrong with Cardas product has to do with greed of the company’s owners.

Your statement leads me to understand that you have been able to detect a distinct enhancement of bass energy when electrons were passed through Cardas product. I find that to be quite amazing. I am sure you realize how much the metallic material which constitutes their product would have to [distort] the signal for it to be audible to your human ears...

Ditto with silver wire. Some time ago, when my wife, Goose, Kink, David, Jacob and myself had the Luscombe silver interconnects on hand, each of us were quite sure during sighted auditions that we could in fact 'hear' that the silver cables ‘sounded’ obviously different compared to the Koss copper cables which we had on hand as a comparison. The Luscombe Silvers were described as ‘sweet’, ‘smooth’ and 'clearer'...

Keep in mind that I had Luscombe Silvers and the Koss copper RCA interconnects on hand for the better part of a week prior to the group auditions. During this pre-trial period, I swapped them in any out of two different systems repeatedly. Both my wife and I were dead sure that we could hear a difference between the silvers and other cables during this ‘getting to know them’ period. Those elucidations however, were not at all discernable, once we couldn't actually see which cables were being used!

Here is the funny part that you didn't get to hear about on my CAM posting of the day's events:

After the rigid / organized part of the auditions were over, myself and the two remaining participants (David & Jakub), were playing around with CDs off-the-record. In the SACD player we had an SACD recording of a Jazz Trio that Jakub was intimately familiar with. It was a DDD, Telarc – decent recording / mastering to say the least. We had listened to a few tracks of it back and forth with the PBJ and Luscombe Silvers, David and Jakub were exchanging seats and I, the gracious host, was in the second bedroom swapping cables. None of us were writing anything down at this point and we were not keeping any secrets about which cable was in use.

Jakub asked me to do a direct comparison PJB vs. Luscombe, quick as possible so as to negate any memory loss of the ‘sound’ between them.

I played the Jazz SACD through the PBJs and then quickly as possible, swapped in a… [[cough]]] $2.50 set of insanely bog-standard Radio Shack ultimate el-crappo cables! I was biting my cheeks as I allowed them to bathe in beauty of the recording. Afterward, I listened as they gushed over the sweetness of the Luscombe Silvers - secure in the knowledge that they had just auditioned the obviously superior, silver RCA cable.

I have never told them to this day what I did; it was for my own education and enlightenment to be quite honest.

Now get this; here are two well educated, highly keen audiophiles - both into uber-expensive cables and equipment, one a member of the symphony orchestra and owner of the SACD in question. I think its safe to assume he has a decent ear for music.

Both have just completed a well designed blind audition where score was kept, and they were plainly able to see that their dismal scores reflected the fact that they had absolutely no idea which cables were which. Yet, despite this obvious fact, when they were given a chance to physically see (up to the point of my deception), which cables were which; they were still convinced that they could hear a plain and obvious difference between cables!

Its just human nature, it has nothing to do with copper, silver or whatever, humans - especially audiophiles , are just stubborn and easily deceived! These cats were heaping lavish accolades upon a set of throw-away RCA cables the likes of which ship with a $49 Wal-Mart DVD player!

Explain that man!

Andrew D.

PS: Dave & Jacob: If you ever happen upon this missive, my apologies to ya' - it was in the name of science, not making you feel foolish that I did this. I just needed to see what would happen if subjects had absolutely no idea whatsoever was going on and were convinced of an outcome or effect.