[kdaq]

I know there are many different camps in the cable world. I belong to the one that believes the differences I've consistently perceived via my own ears, and am striving to better understand the science behind why.

I just A/B'd an interconnect swap-out in this listening rig: Headroom OvertureDAC -> DIY Dynalo -> MS-2i/flats. The interconnect I've swapped is a 1/8" to 1/8" cable that goes between the DAC and amp. I found that my 12" entry-level Cardas cable wins out against my 5' DIY Canare cable/Neutrik plug by a large margin. I'm not perceiving coloration so much as veil, here. I also tried a 6' RatShack cable, which sounded similar to the Canare - except with a little more veil in the mid-highs.

I'm not entirely sure, but I think the Canare cable is shielded and generally higher quality than the Cardas, which is quite thin. I don't know specifics about these.


It got me to thinking, though. What's most important in cabling?
Solid or stranded wire?
Copper, Silver, Silver-plated copper, Copper/Silver mix?
Connectors?
Braiding (Litz, etc)?
Shielding?
Minimizing length?
Gauge?


My own current impressions are:
Solid or stranded wire? Not sure if it matters.
Copper, Silver, Silver-plated copper, Copper/Silver mix? This choice affects the presentation/coloration more than anything else.
Connectors? If it's not total crap, it doesn't matter.
Shielding? More important near noisy stuff, but provides cheap peace of mind without drawbacks.
Braiding (Litz, etc)? Helps to prevent crosstalk between channels.
Minimizing length? Most important factor, the best wire is no wire

Gauge? Only need a little to minimize resistance, we're not using much current.

 

[SemperFidelity]

Incomplete list, but only those factors I am relatively sure about.

Shorter is good.
I like the Cardas silver or copper; silver seemed a little smoother and transparent, and a bit LESS bright. (Not what I expected.) Not a great deal of difference though.
Insulation/Dielectric Absorption. Working on this made the biggest difference for me by far. Teflon and air for the win.
I've liked the results I got with the better Vampire RCA's. (800C?) I have not tried the low mass Eichmann Bullets or Neutrik nextgen, both of which many have liked.
I have not done any real tests with gauge. The silver I used was solid, #24, and the Copper was stranded 23.5 ga I think.
Unshielded if you can get away with it.

So for interconnects I feel pretty strongly about capacitive coupling from one conductor to the other, and both to shield (if any).

Work I have read about, but have not tried, suggests that for speaker cables low inductance, and of course resistance, are predominant requirements.

 

[Solude]

Most important thing in cable construction is material quality and build quality. Poorly constructed cable even if made exclusively out of pixy dust will sound bad

 

[Jeff Wong]

I'm in agreement with SemperFidelity on dielectric. It's important not to underestimate its role in the sound of a cable. Generally, I've found that cables using an insulation with a low dielectric constant like Teflon sound clearer and more open than ones that use something with dreadful electrical properties like PVC, a polarized dielectric. Keep in mind that interconnects and speaker cables are essentially really long capacitors.

 

[kdaq]

Ah, dielectric. So that's why many builders use teflon cabling inside their amps, I've been wondering about that.

When we're talking about cable runs inside a small amp case that don't even reach a foot, does dielectric really matter? I've been building with simple pvc wiring. Further, I haven't done any litz braiding, would this matter inside small amps?

 

[TURBO]

For me, these are the most important factors in a construction of a cable. It depends on you to choose wisely:

•Purity of the Copper, Silver, Silver-plated copper

•Quality of Connectors (good connection is a must)

•Gauge (choose the right one, it depends on the application)

•Solid or stranded wire (Depending on the application)

•Length

•Workmanship

If you get all this factors in 100% then you will have the best cable. This is the Taboo formula:

P + Q + G + S + L + W = 100% (QC)

 

[Jeff Wong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kdaq Ah, dielectric. So that's why many builders use teflon cabling inside their amps, I've been wondering about that. When we're talking about cable runs inside a small amp case that don't even reach a foot, does dielectric really matter? I've been building with simple pvc wiring. Further, I haven't done any litz braiding, would this matter inside small amps?

Litz braiding could be beneficial. But, at the short lengths you're using, the benefits may be negligible. Then again, maybe not... you'll need to try for yourself and see/hear. Personally, I would avoid using wiring with PVC insulation that is in direct contact with the conductor. In simple terms, PVC, with its relatively high dielectric constant, stores an out of phase signal longer and dumps it back more slowly into the signal wire making the distortion more audible (the smearing I and others usually hear) than a quicker dumping insulation with a low constant, like Teflon.

 

[bigshot]

Durability of connectors is the most important thing about cables. There's nothing worse than trying to track down an intermittant short somewhere in the cabling.

See ya
Steve

 

[Little J040]

I find almost no difference in connectors at all. HOWEVER some connectors are just manufactured better so that your connections are more solid. This is a big difference between the cheap ones and more expensive ones. Length I find is a factor when first tested, but after some use, the cables even in different lengths seem to equal out. As far as the cable conductors and gauge, usually the smaller the better, because of the lower capacitance values, (not the case for power cables however). I've just been using some carol shielded cable, with 3 24 gauge connectors. I'm sure the biggest difference is the conductor purity and the shielding.

cheers,

Jeff