[SmellyGas]

Say you have a 1 meter of your favorite high-end cable hooked up to your system.

1) How would it sound if you cut it perfectly and made it a 0.5 meter cable? Better? How much better? Same?

2) How would it sound if you cut it perfectly and made it a 0.02 meter (2cm cable)? Better? than the 1 meter? Better than the 0.5 meter? How much better? Same?

3) How would it it sound if you just soldered one end of the cable to the other with copious amounts of silver solder, effectively eliminating the cable? How would everything sound now? Better? Same?

Thanks! I'm curious what people think.

 

[883dave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmellyGas /img/forum/go_quote.gif Say you have a 1 meter of your favorite high-end cable hooked up to your system. 1) How would it sound if you cut it perfectly and made it a 0.5 meter cable? Better? How much better? Same? 2) How would it sound if you cut it perfectly and made it a 0.02 meter (2cm cable)? Better? than the 1 meter? Better than the 0.5 meter? How much better? Same? 3) How would it it sound if you just soldered one end of the cable to the other with copious amounts of silver solder, effectively eliminating the cable? How would everything sound now? Better? Same? Thanks! I'm curious what people think.

Sounds like you have a project.

Get back to us with your findings.

 

[SmellyGas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 883dave /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sounds like you have a project. Get back to us with your findings.

Haha, no this isn't a project. I just wonder what people would predict. What do you think?

 

[sochee]

Well, I can predict that with a 0.5m cable, the bass response will be reduced.

A 2cm cable would yield a much, much more compressed soundstage.

With only solder for the connection, the highs and trebles would be very muddled, since tin/lead does not conduct as better as cryo-treated 99.999999% (repeating, of course) copper.

 

[krmathis]

I predict you would not hear a difference between the 1 and 0.5 meter cable. Going down to 2 cm on the other hand, that may be audible.
So would going the silver solder route, depending on how the original cable were built. It it was already full silver there might be not difference, compared to it it was full copper.

 

[SmellyGas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif I predict you would not hear a difference between the 1 and 0.5 meter cable. Going down to 2 cm on the other hand, that may be audible. So would going the silver solder route, depending on how the original cable were built. It it was already full silver there might be not difference, compared to it it was full copper.

That's interesting! What if the speaker cable were 4 meters? 8 meters? What if the speaker binding posts were soldered to the amplifier-out terminals using the same solder and quality of connection that you see on the output circuitry of the amplifier?

 

[ServinginEcuador]

I think the premise is faulty. Very few people here believe that cables make a BIG difference in SQ. From the vast majority of what I've read here it's more of a tweak that gives that last few percent of improvement.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmellyGas /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's interesting! What if the speaker cable were 4 meters? 8 meters? What if the speaker binding posts were soldered to the amplifier-out terminals using the same solder and quality of connection that you see on the output circuitry of the amplifier?

Oh, so you are talking about speaker cables. From the cable lengths (2cm, 0.5m and 1.0m) I was confident you were talking about signal cables.
In that matter the result may be totally different, as the signal is much stronger.

As with most audio related it is quite subjective. What may be audible to some may not be audible to others.
...in either case, do not expect big differences.

 

[BIG POPPA]

Enjoy this Hobby and experiment. Much more fun than judging other peoples answers to questions you have.

 

[LingLing1337]

Just buy some cheap interconnects and try these experiments for yourself, we will all be grateful to hear your findings.

 

[ilovecables]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG POPPA /img/forum/go_quote.gif Enjoy this Hobby and experiment. Much more fun than judging other peoples answers to questions you have.

Ditto

 

[SmellyGas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG POPPA /img/forum/go_quote.gif Enjoy this Hobby and experiment. Much more fun than judging other peoples answers to questions you have.

I'm just wondering what other people would predict. If you're not interested, or you feel judged, perhaps you could find a different thread? Thanks.

 

[LingLing1337]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmellyGas /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm just wondering what other people would predict. If you're not interested, or you feel judged, perhaps you could find a different thread? Thanks.

He means that you're judging what would happen based on others responses. This thread is pretty pointless in the first place- it's only $15 for a pair of RCA interconnects at Target or Best Buy, and you'd be able to put all these questions to rest. I'm sure you've heard YMMV (your mileage may vary) and that sort of thing, so obviously if you want a solid answer you need to find out for yourself.

 

[SmellyGas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LingLing1337 /img/forum/go_quote.gif He means that you're judging what would happen based on others responses. This thread is pretty pointless in the first place- it's only $15 for a pair of RCA interconnects at Target or Best Buy, and you'd be able to put all these questions to rest. I'm sure you've heard YMMV (your mileage may vary) and that sort of thing, so obviously if you want a solid answer you need to find out for yourself.

If you think this thread is "pretty pointless," then you very welcome not to post in it. If you take the time to re-read my original post, you'll find that I was referring to a "high-end cable." A $15 cable at Target is not a high-end cable. However, if you have a $300-$1000 cable that you can lend me, and you don't mind me cutting it up like you suggest, I would be happy to do this experiment and report back here. PM me so we can arrange the shipment. Thanks.

 

[mike1127]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmellyGas /img/forum/go_quote.gif Say you have a 1 meter of your favorite high-end cable hooked up to your system. 1) How would it sound if you cut it perfectly and made it a 0.5 meter cable? Better? How much better? Same? 2) How would it sound if you cut it perfectly and made it a 0.02 meter (2cm cable)? Better? than the 1 meter? Better than the 0.5 meter? How much better? Same? 3) How would it it sound if you just soldered one end of the cable to the other with copious amounts of silver solder, effectively eliminating the cable? How would everything sound now? Better? Same? Thanks! I'm curious what people think.

I don't have a prediction. I don't have enough experience with cables, and have zero experience designing cables.

However, let me make one point. Some people have this rough model of cables and wire that goes like this: as the signal travels through wire, it degrades. Kind of like a car traveling a road, and wearing out. The further it travels, the more it degrades.

I don't think that's the right model. I think it is more accurate to consider the cable as one component of a system, which affects system behavior in some way. Making it shorter might change its behavior, but that does not indicate in a general way whether it improves or degrades the behavior of the whole system.