Can a Cable Make That Much of a Difference?!

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Really? According to your theory, materials make absolutely no difference as long as capacitance is ok. Capacitance is the ability to store an electrical charge. Cables do not store electricity, they simply transmit electrical signals. Since all metals have differing properties of conductivity, it makes sense that cables made with better quality metals will conduct electricity better than those of inferior quality and your bass should sound better.

You are correct that capacitance is the ability to store electrical charge, but you may be thinking that affects only DC. You must also understand that capacitance has an effect on AC as well. That charge-holding ability makes a capacitor able to block DC but pass AC, an electrical property called susceptance. In an ideal capacitor, that susceptance will be directly proportional to frequency. In a cable with high capacitance, higher frequencies will more easily shunt across the two conductors, reducing the amount that appears across the amp/preamp's input terminals. That's why high capacitance cables will tend to reduce the highs. The differences in conductivity among cable conductors is minuscule, considering the very high impedances of typical amp or preamp inputs.

 

[silvertripper]

I once sold a Ampeg 3 pro head on CL. The dude came over, plugged in his brand new MM Jazz bass and the head sounded thin and sterile, but he thought it sounded great but I knew better. I got to fiddling with his bass and I couldn't figure out why the sound was so thin. I finally replaced his cable with my Monster Cable and the sound came to life. The dude was floored. What cable was he using you might ask?? He used the CHEAP Fender cable that came with his bass he just purchased new.

So... you decide.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

By "thin," do you mean it had more highs?

 

[Major Softie]

Silver actually conducts better than any metal—it has a very slight advantage over copper. Gold, OTOH, does not develop surface corrosion in normal environments, so gold plating is a good way to maintain contact quality in connectors that don't get plugged and unplugged periodically.

He probably meant "silver-colored," as in chrome or nickel plated, and he didn't even mention brass. Who's ever seen actual silver plugs? And, copper ones are pretty rare. Lots of old brass ones though.

I did have silver plated HO slot car "shoes" (the sliders that pick up current from the track). They were a hot upgrade back in the day. The abrasive nature of their job quickly defeated any surface tarnish, but you'd spend a lot of time polishing silver cable plugs.

 

[ggunn]

I once sold a Ampeg 3 pro head on CL. The dude came over, plugged in his brand new MM Jazz bass and the head sounded thin and sterile, but he thought it sounded great but I knew better. I got to fiddling with his bass and I couldn't figure out why the sound was so thin. I finally replaced his cable with my Monster Cable and the sound came to life. The dude was floored. What cable was he using you might ask?? He used the CHEAP Fender cable that came with his bass he just purchased new.

So... you decide.

I decided a long time ago. Monster = unsubstantiable hype.

 

[pnchad]

all copper is not created equal - I know, I've been in the pro-audio/video & low-voltage biz for 30+ yrs

I can tell you that Cat 6 has a much better data rate than Cat 5 for instance - cable manufacturer's are no different than any other 'commodities' provider - if they can get away with it OR, if the market/price point dictates an inferior product for profit, they'll do it

However, that being said, they also will take advantage of a falsely perceived 'value' buyer who just HAS to have the name brand - that's when they stick it to you

I've bought some excellent hand-made instrument & speaker cables off evilBay from guys who use the highest quality components - wire, shielding & connectors - which have lasted forever at a reasonable price - usually >$2/foot

Sorry I can;t remember the exact sources

 

[Floyd Eye]

Best sounding cable is a wireless unit.

 

[DieterVDW]

Always funny to see so many creative interpretations of physics and electronics .

Anyway, this calls for a double-blind test! Pretty easy to do it seems. Who's in?

 

[Major Softie]

all copper is not created equal - I know, I've been in the pro-audio/video & low-voltage biz for 30+ yrs

I can tell you that Cat 6 has a much better data rate than Cat 5 for instance.

LOL

"Just like Cat 5 and Cat 5e, Category 6 cable is typically made up of four twisted pairs of copper wire, but its capabilities far exceed those of other cable types because of one particular structural difference: a longitudinal separator. This separator isolates each of the four pairs of twisted wire from the others, which reduces crosstalk, allows for faster data transfer, and gives Category 6 cable twice the bandwidth of Cat 5"
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Shielding and other isolating components. NOT magic superior copper.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

I did have silver plated HO slot car "shoes" (the sliders that pick up current from the track). They were a hot upgrade back in the day. The abrasive nature of their job quickly defeated any surface tarnish, but you'd spend a lot of time polishing silver cable plugs.

I remember silver-plated HO car shoes! Yeah, the shoes abraded in the center, so any plating didn't last long.

One thing that silver has in its favor is that although a thin layer of silver oxide develops on the surface, that oxidation is highly conductive. It's more harmless than it looks.

 

[TuneIn]

Used plent of cheapo cables in the past, with plenty of bad cables, just bad quality. Went to Monster Cable and they've NEVER failed me, as of late using Line 6 Wireless unit is even better!

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

At what resistance do you find the volume and tone to drain?

 

[baileyboy]

If there is any difference my ears are not able to detect it.

 

[Bean639]

At what resistance do you find the volume and tone to drain?

+1

 

[SolarMan]

For even better sound, put the cables in the freezer before recording.

You will be amazed at the difference!

[Science: cold metal conducts more easily]

 

[seamonkey]

Who you going to believe? Science or your lying ears?



Twisted Marx quote

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

You must have an extraordinarily low input impedance on your amp or preamp, like about 30 ohms or so.

 

[fokof]

Best sounding cable is a wireless unit.

Almost spilled my wine on my CPU !


That is a very good joke !!!

 

[wcriley]

On my cheap Radio Shack VOM, using a range scale of 0-5 OHMS, anything less than 4.9 is where it starts to fall off. And anything less than that goes in straight into the iffy box.

This makes no sense to me. Wouldn't lower resistance be better?

I would think it would take 100 feet of VERY thin wire to measure 5 Ohms end to end unless the cable is defective in some way.

Last evening I went though a box of instrument cables of various lengths, ranging from dirt cheap to moderately expensive. The highest reading I got was 0.7 Ohms on the shield of a cheap 20'.

 

[karl_em_all]

You can pay for better durability. That's all you're getting.