[myinitialsaredac]

Okay, I am writing a research paper for my English 101 course and I am writing about whether or not interconnects impact SQ in an audio chain. As I've seen many of the flame wars going on here I felt that where would be a better place to get an opinion from the very people buying or nay-saying them. Please answer yes or no.

SQ means Sound Quality and refers to any aspect of the sound your transducer reproduces. So soundstage, decay, attack, any change in sound should be reported as an opinion of yes. If you are looking for the yes, but only by a small amount then answer yes. This means that you believe there is even the slightest difference in sound between a paperclip IC and a Cardas Reference etc.

If you believe interconnects do not affect sound at all, please say no. This means that you believe there isn't even the slightest difference in sound between a paperclip IC and a Cardas Reference etc.

Please keep any arguments away from this thread, there are countless others to argue in. I'm assuming there may have been a poll done like this before, but I need current data, and as there is a continuously growing head-fi population, I want as many opinions as possible.

The poll is private to ensure honesty!

Thank You!

Dave

 

[panda]

you should have just done a scale of 0-5 where as 0 represents no impact and 5 means 100%
i would have voted a 1 on that scale.

 

[markieta]

I believe they are very important.

Don't skimp on anything,
listen in bliss,
say sorry to your wallet after.

 

[myinitialsaredac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panda /img/forum/go_quote.gif you should have just done a scale of 0-5 where as 0 represents no impact and 5 means 100% i would have voted a 1 on that scale.

I did think about that but I felt it best to keep it as a binary question. After all, if you feel that they effect the SQ to a small degree then the variables of your system, your outlets, your hearing, and what cables did you try - as well as a plethora of other variables - comes into play as counter arguments to the effectiveness of your experience.

In other words, if you feel it changes it a to a small degree, one could ask, "was your system able to optimize the cable, was the cable able to optimize your system, and is your hearing acute enough to hear the minutiae?'

This creates far too broad a subject for my paper, I would have written through all 15 pages discussing it

Thanks for voting!
Dave

 

[qusp]

absolutely theres a difference, not night and day, but to my ears and with my gear; I notice a difference. its not a night and day difference, but as tweaks go its substantial. plus I have peace of mind knowing that I have given my other components the best chance of sounding good, so its easier for me to know what can be improved in my system

 

[JaZZ]

Yes, clearly so (although still subtly, compared to sound transducers).

 

[tintin47]

I don't really know if it makes a difference. Probably not, but I am always going to get decent gold plated interconnects just to make sure that they don't negatively affect anything. I am never going to fork over $30+ for a pair of RCA jacks but I have no problem with ~$10 for decent Vampire connectors or the such. It seems to me that all you really need to worry about is whether the interconnect is better than the worst piece of wire in your entire chain. If it is, then I say they can't change the sound, because they are such a short part of the chain.

Also, why are you writing a paper about this in an english class?

 

[myinitialsaredac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tintin47 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also, why are you writing a paper about this in an english class?

Thanks for voting first off.
Secondly, I am interested in electrical engineering with a specific focus on audio applications, and have already done an experiment doing electrical measurements on interconnects. That said, I found it to be a very fitting topic for a paper I'll be cuddling with at night for a month.

*EDIT* I think i misinterpreted your question. The research paper was on a topic of our choosing.

Dave

 

[webbie64]

Good question so I checked. Tried the system without interconnects. Got my answer.

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by webbie64 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Good question so I checked. Tried the system without interconnects. Got my answer.

I'm guessing the sound was airier with no bass.

Yepper they do make a difference.

 

[myinitialsaredac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by webbie64 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Good question so I checked. Tried the system without interconnects. Got my answer.

Haha thanks for the opinion

Dave

 

[my.self]

personally for me, i believe IC's do change sq, but not much. only a little bit or somewhat. what i wonder tho is what makes the change in SQ enjoyable to the human ears? like do they raise the level of this and that or what? and why is it that it sounds good to most people. i believe that the more expensive ones, possibly ALO audio or soloz audio do make a difference in terms of sq, but not much imo. i wonder what is it about their IC's that make us like the sq of them. an IC is just supposed to transfer data from one spot to another. what is it about the IC's and the sound improvement? as well as what is that sound that makes it sound "good" to the human ear?

heh, i know it may sound confusing and i possibly asked multiple questions. it was hard to explain what i was getting to. i dont think theres a definite answer to it tho. maybe there is, idk.

 

[analogbox]

It does make a real difference but the cost always seems more than what you get in return.

 

[myinitialsaredac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by my.self /img/forum/go_quote.gif personally for me, i believe IC's do change sq, but not much. only a little bit or somewhat. what i wonder tho is what makes the change in SQ enjoyable to the human ears? like do they raise the level of this and that or what? and why is it that it sounds good to most people. i believe that the more expensive ones, possibly ALO audio or soloz audio do make a difference in terms of sq, but not much imo. i wonder what is it about their IC's that make us like the sq of them. an IC is just supposed to transfer data from one spot to another. what is it about the IC's and the sound improvement? as well as what is that sound that makes it sound "good" to the human ear? heh, i know it may sound confusing and i possibly asked multiple questions. it was hard to explain what i was getting to. i dont think theres a definite answer to it tho. maybe there is, idk.

The other side is what makes the other ICs sound bad? One can argue that a "good" IC doesn't sound great to everyone, the problem is sound is all subjective, which is why there are many headphone companies

We all have different tastes which is why you see people going through multiple pairs of transducers/amps/dacs/ICs etc. to find the sound that suits them.

Just food for thought,

Dave

 

[my.self]

hmm yea i see what ur saying. i really just wanna know tho whats the connection between the human brain/ears and an IC that makes them sound "good". an IC is mainly just used for connecting dap's to amps. the sq change is more of a add-on or bonus. i just wonder how something just meant for transfering data from one place to another can alter the sq in a way we like it. i guess im kinda asking how come bass is attractive to people or lots of mids or little bass for others, how is that similar to IC's and the human brain. and of course, like u said, everyone likes something different. what is it about that certain sound that makes us attracted to it?