High-end audio cables

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High-end coaxial audio cable.
High-end coaxial audio cable.

High-end audio cables are claimed to improve the sound quality of high-fidelity audio systems but whether they actually do is hotly disputed. Since the audio signal passes through cables on its way from the source to the amplifier, or from the amplifier to the speakers, the cables will affect that signal. Basic system frequency response can be calculated from the electrical properties of the cables, and components on either side of the cables. These electrical properties include resistance, capacitance, and inductance. For small-signal applications triboelectric effect and the degree of shielding are also important. All of these qualities are taken into account in the design of commercial and broadcast cables. High-end cables for the audiophile market often involve intricate construction geometries and exotic materials such as silver and oxygen-free, long-crystal, high-purity copper.

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[edit] Controversy

There is controversy among audiophiles surrounding the impact that high-end cables have on audio systems. The audibility of the changes is a matter of much debate. There are claims that, even among audiophiles, in a double-blind test it is difficult or impossible to distinguish extremely expensive, exotic speaker cables from ordinary lamp cords or budget 12AWG copper speaker wire.[1][2]

James Randi, a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience, offered a prize of one million dollars to anyone who could prove his or her ability to distinguish an expensive high-end audio cable from an ordinary audio cable by means of a controlled listening test. [3] [4] Michael Fremer of the Stereophile magazine took the challenge, but satisfactory testing conditions could not be agreed upon, and the test did not take place.[5]

[edit] Digital cables

One of the more contentious areas is in digital cable design, with high end cables being sold with claims of "distortion-free signal transfer." Some have argued that since the bit rates (approximately 1 Mbit/s) and distance traveled are considerably lower than for other data transfer technologies such as gigabit ethernet, any cable appropriately matched to the correct impedance requirement is sufficient. Others claim that jitter caused by imperfect impedance matching is very detrimental to the audio signal and the most substantial shortcoming of digital audio. This has led equipment manufacturers to design new standards such as I²S which separates clock and data signals or implement buffering and reclocking, although such standards are typically aimed at synchronising multiple signals to a single clock rather than attempting to correct inaudible errors due to jitter.

[edit] Speaker cables

Another area of debate is speaker cables. Skeptics say that a few meters of cable from the power amplifier to the binding posts of the loudspeakers cannot possibly have much influence because of the complex crossover circuits found in most speakers and particularly speaker driver voice coils with several meters of wire.

A global concern with speaker cables is their inherent impedance relative to the impedance of the loudspeaker. Low impedance speakers are claimed to benefit most from low impedance cabling; this means thicker and/or shorter wires. It is claimed that longer cable runs need to be even thicker to minimize signal loss.[6]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Russell, Roger. Speaker Wire: A History
  2. ^ The Audiophile BS Page
  3. ^ James Randi's Website: on Expensive Audio Cables
  4. ^ James Randi's Exchange with Stereophile Magazine
  5. ^ Stereophile. The Swift Boating of Audiophiles
  6. ^ Audioholics: Online A/V magazine. Gene DellaSala. Speaker Cable Gauge (AWG) Guidelines & Recommendations January 21, 2008

[edit] External links