SPEAKER CABLES!

[dspellman]

Originally Posted by 1958Bassman

Tell that to a pipe organ builder.

You can't tell anything to a pipe organ builder.


Whenever I've tried, the builder is inevitably gone, leaving behind a Post-Tit note:

Gone Chopin. Bach in a minuet.

[Russell L]

Why do my $10 cables sound so good?

[Mugre]

14 ga. is plenty big for the current you're running. Don't be the guy that helps keep voodoo merchants in business.

I'll tell you how much it matters. We had a client who ran one of those Fender/Sunn 1200s through 2 eden 4x10's. Sounded bloody awesome. He loved it. Told me all his bandmates loved it. The Soundguys loved it. Sounds familiar right? He brought it in fried. We fixed it and it fried again 4 months later (in a different place in the amp). We told him to bring in the whole including rack, cable and speaker to look over his system. Turns out he was using guitar cable for his speakers. That explains some of his reliability problems.

ON other business, 28hz is useless, power robbing, mud and rumble. Impact and punch starts around 40hz and goes up to about 120-180hz. I was taught P.A's by a guy good enough to work for Barry Manilow and he high passed EVERYTHING at 40hz right at the channel strip, even when he had 12 2x18 subs to play with. The iconic svt 8x10 is already 3db down at 58hz. So what can it hurt? A half octave or so of LF extension? The lower you go in frequency, the more power it takes to amplify. So the octave from 28-56 takes more power than the octave from say 80-160hz. IMO having the headroom for 40 and up is more important for punch and impact than having 2/3rds an octave of indistinct rumble.

[Britbonic]

Originally Posted by NOZMEDA

I went to the practice spot and adjust some eq controls around while the band was not present(after learning stuff here) and when we got together the next day, it was so smooth. One of the terms used was gel-ing. The volume battle was totally eliminated(not that they would win anyways).

The most productive thing you can do to sound better in a band context and tackle the volume issue is to minimize conflicts in the low to low mid range frequencies. Depending on the band, instrumentation, style of music and experience of players the low end can become a loud, muddy mess that no bass, amp, speaker or expensive cable can fix. Often the culprit is a keyboard player with a heavy left hand or guitar players who have too much bass in their tone. When this happens you lose definition in the lows and if everyone turns up it just gets worse. In most cases, the bass sounds best if it sits just above the kick in the frequency spectrum. That's typically in the low mid, not the sub frequency range. If you haven't experienced this you'll be amazed how much bigger and better your bass sounds when this comes together.

[B-string]

I don't understand the skeptics on claims of hearing range? When I was 18-19 my hearing tested 18 Hz to 23,500 Hz. Anyone can doubt it if they wish, but you will also be doubting the abilities of the US Navy to perform the test. Too bad for them I could not handle being in a sub.

[Hactar]

Originally Posted by dspellman

Gone Chopin. Bach in a minuet.

...slow clap...

Well done sir, take a bow.

[62Jazzbass]

I would go with a new cable. It will be between 2G and 4G better, in terms of sound quality, depending on which you choose.

[Balog]

Originally Posted by B-string

I don't understand the skeptics on claims of hearing range? When I was 18-19 my hearing tested 18 Hz to 23,500 Hz. Anyone can doubt it if they wish, but you will also be doubting the abilities of the US Navy to perform the test. Too bad for them I could not handle being in a sub.

I've had Navy health care, albeit as a Marine. I doubt everything they do. :P

No, but 1. that level of hearing sensitivity is unusual even in the young, and almost always gone quickly with age 2. Fletcher Munson curves dictate that even if your audience can hear those frequencies at all then the rest of the freqs would need to be super quiet in order to be heard at the same level 3. live audio speaker systems cannot reproduce those frequencies at gig levels, esp given how loud the SPL levels for them would have to be to compete with higher freqs.

[Balog]

If you want to push 20hz, you need a couple of these http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/produ...y-subs/dts-20/

[megafiddle]

Originally Posted by B-string

I don't understand the skeptics on claims of hearing range? When I was 18-19 my hearing tested 18 Hz to 23,500 Hz. Anyone can doubt it if they wish, but you will also be doubting the abilities of the US Navy to perform the test. Too bad for them I could not handle being in a sub.

I think the original question was more about how the sound was produced, not how it could be heard. It's not easy to do.

Also, unless it was a sine wave, it doesn't count.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by Balog

I've had Navy health care, albeit as a Marine. I doubt everything they do. :P

No, but 1. that level of hearing sensitivity is unusual even in the young, and almost always gone quickly with age 2. Fletcher Munson curves dictate that even if your audience can hear those frequencies at all then the rest of the freqs would need to be super quiet in order to be heard at the same level 3. live audio speaker systems cannot reproduce those frequencies at gig levels, esp given how loud the SPL levels for them would have to be to compete with higher freqs.

Oh I agree. Florescent ballasts, old (now) tube TV HV supplies would drive me nuts all the time. I couldn't live in a down-stairs apartment, heck people walking on the top floor were easily audible. This unusual "gift" was deemed perfect for a sonar operator, but as I said, tight/confined places and I would not get along.

[tonybassman]

Originally Posted by Menno

As long as your cable is less then 40 ft (14 gauge, 4 ohm amp), you're good to go.

The resistance of the cable is related to gauge and length. More resistance leads to powerloss and less dampening. Fortunately these effects only become noticable when your cables are of serious length. A reason why internal wiring of the cab isnt done with 12 gauge or so.

See here a table for gauges/lengths etc

The question was answered here. The larger gauge makes sense for long speaker runs.

[Stephent28]

Originally Posted by dspellman

Why would someone berate someone who puts berets on home theater owners?

Beret:



Berate:

I see the "spell" in you name serves you well!

And thanks for the visual aids.......but can I blame the auto spellcheck?

[Hactar]

Originally Posted by Balog

If you want to push 20hz, you need a couple of these http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/produ...y-subs/dts-20/

Or, if you'd like a nice little something to wobble your couch that doesn't drop off below 16Hz: Eminent Tech Model 17

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

The weakest link in your system is the notion that your loudspeaker cable is the weakest link.

Learn what cables do and why--or listen to the advice of persons who have learned--and you will have eliminated that weakest link and can focus on the real stuff.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Bob Lee (QSC)

The weakest link in your system is the notion that your loudspeaker cable is the weakest link.

Learn what cables do and why--or listen to the advice of persons who have learned--and you will have eliminated that weakest link and can focus on the real stuff.

Nice way to sum it up!

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Originally Posted by Stephent28

There are a lot of things unexplained that basic physics cannot explain. Why does there always have to be a reason for someone's beliefs.

Why do people buy Mercedes instead of Volkswagons...they both get you there...
Why do people buy a swimming pool for $50K that they use once a week and beret people who spent $50K on a home theater as wasting money...
Why do people buy a 10K custom bass when a $100 hits the same notes....

You double blind guys just need to ignore these threads and enjoy your ipods.

Correction: There are a lot of things imagined that physics cannot explain because they do not actually exist.

For example, physics does not need to explain how fire-breathing dragons can exist, because they don't--even if people have believed they do. Physics does not have to explain how horoscopes predict our daily lives, because they don't, even if some believe in them faithfully.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Originally Posted by SactoBass

Nozmeda:

Based on my research, silver is a better conductor than copper.

The absolute best speaker cables I have found (and are the only ones I ever use for my bass rigs) are the Dominator Silverflex cables. I use 10 gauge "just because".

Here is a link to where I buy them:

http://eventhorizon-srv.com/ecommerc...9jmj5rv7dtrj10

Scroll down until you see "Horizon Dominator Silver" cables.

You can order them any length you want (even odd lengths that are not listed...just let Brandon know in the comments section). You can order them with whatever type of connector you want (Speakon is most common).

I'm not saying you will notice a difference in sound by using these speaker cables. But if you really want the best, these are the best IMO.

Silver has slightly better conductivity than copper--by about 5%. Therefore, in order to match the performance of a silver cable of a certain gauge, you would have to use copper wire that is about 0.2 AWG larger. Or make the copper wire 5% shorter than the silver.

[ThisBass]

Originally Posted by Bob Lee (QSC)

Correction: There are a lot of things imagined that physics cannot explain because they do not actually exist.

For example, physics does not need to explain how fire-breathing dragons can exist, because they don't--even if people have believed they do. Physics does not have to explain how horoscopes predict our daily lives, because they don't, even if some believe in them faithfully.

IMHO you forget a valid point.

Physics does not need to explain why some people believe in fire-breathing dragons and horoscopes predicts.

[ThisBass]

Basic literature for every severe audiophile people:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_line
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitungstheorie

I'd be glad to discuss on the basics.


Most of folks believe the transmission/transport of electrical power is done by electrons but, they are wrong but, they all discuss a very lot stuff about losses.
But probably only a few people are familiar with the "real" physics.