How much difference does a cable make?

[GBassNorth]

I stay away from Monster cables; most unreliable cables that I have ever purchased.

Interesting. What kinds of problems have you had? The only issues I've had with monster brand cables were user error - one cut in half (due to me rolling over it with heavy gear) and one angled jack broken because I walked further than the cable was long (lesson learned, a straight plug would have just pulled out, not so with angled plugs).

 

[Turock]

Interesting. What kinds of problems have you had? The only issues I've had with monster brand cables were user error - one cut in half (due to me rolling over it with heavy gear) and one angled jack broken because I walked further than the cable was long (lesson learned, a straight plug would have just pulled out, not so with angled plugs).

Two of them crapped out within just a few months of purchasing. I didn't treat them rough either. I have a Planet Waves that I have owned for probably 20 years still going. I bought some Bayou cables several years ago that have given me no problems. In fact, the only cables that I can think of that have given me problems are Monster. That lifetime guarantee ain't worth a d@mn on a gig.

 

[warnergt]

For cables that were not outright bad or intermittent, I have
never heard a difference that could not be dialed out with a
small adjustment to the tone control.

 

[chadds]

If you honestly not just believe this but think you can prove it objectively, there's a guy named James Randi who will give you a million dollars.

One million dollars. Seriously. Google him. His offer has been open for over a decade I think.

On the other hand, if you just believe that "most cables" have audible differences based on your empirical, subjective listening, forget about Googling "James Randi" and start by Googling "Expectation Bias" and "Double-Blind ABX Testing".

This has been beaten to death so many times.
An interesting question is can you hear the difference? Are you okay with it if others can?

Why would you deny someone is having an experience that you can't perceive?

I know about the placebo affect. I've experienced it in a funny way first hand.
The huge weakness of the dble blind test is not in the theory but that how different the results are depending on how you ask the questions.

Lastly when these cables cost within dollars of each other and you disregard the advertising why care if someone hears a difference?

There are the wood matters deniers, the finish doesn't matter folks, the fretboard dismissers, the P sounds like a J people, the passives are better than actives adherents, a certain Amp is the only one anyone uses, if you've paid more than .50 for your bass you're a snob, and 4 strings are better than anything.
If I've left someone out I am really sorry.

Why the positions?
Do they make music?
Do they make separation or show us as a community of folks with different ears and tastes who love bass?

 

[Roscoe East]

Why would you deny someone is having an experience that you can't perceive?

I haven't denied someone is having an experience that I can't perceive...I'm suggesting that perhaps someone thinks they're having an experience that they can't actually perceive.

 

[bassdude51]

IMHO, I'd say that different cables can make a noticable difference!

It's all about how much capacitance an instrument cable has. All cables have capacitance but some more or less than others. If it has high capacitance, the cable will filter out the high end and can add a slight "muddy" tone to a bass.

A low capacitance cable will allow the bass to deliver the best possible signal to the amp. The bass will sound clearer and cleaner with a nice tight low bass and nice high end with excellent definition!

As far as I know, George Ls cable are lowest capacitance cables on the market. They have the best sound. A 20 foot (6 meters) cable is about $40. The 2.... 1/4 inch ends are self service for repairs. No soddering. Ebay is an excellent place to buy George Ls.

Not the most durable cables on the market but the best sounding! Your bass will sound better with low capacitance cables!

Finally remark about cables. For Hi Fi Stereo, cables are called interconnects and they can cost several hundred dollars for top of the line solid silver wires that are only 1 meter long for two cables. Why?...........because cables DO MAKE a difference in sound!

 

[chadds]

I haven't denied someone is having an experience that I can't perceive...I'm suggesting that perhaps someone thinks they're having an experience that they can't actually perceive.

Yes, that's a distinct possibility.
Let's give equal time to "I can't hear it but I can believe you do."
"I'm going to use science to not only disprove your theory but to attempt to prove it."

 

[Ric5]

No, they either work, or they don't. Otherwise, a cable is a cable. Don't waste your money on them.

+1

 

[bareass]

Lifetime Warranty!

i only buy cables that have one. never need buy new ones when i can just exchange them for new ones.

 

[FuturePrimitive]

I have not heard any difference in any cable I've ever tried.

I think the only benefit to a "high end" cable might be if it includes a replacement warranty. OTOH the only cable to ever fail on me was an expensive one that had the replacement warranty. Kinda odd. All the other cheapos I have, including my first ever cable I got back in 1987, still work fine.

Actually I did have another cable fail on me, the lead to my wireless crapped out on me a few weeks ago. Also a "high end" custom ordered cable..... Hmmmm.....

 

[chadds]

Capacitance can be measured. The effects of what material the ends are made can be measured. Switchcraft input jacks are nickel and sound different depending on whether the cable ends are nickel or gold etc. As your jacks age they lose their plating and or corrode. This can change your sound.

With your own ears go to GC select a SS amp set it flat & plug a Monster "for bass cable" in and switch it out for a Mogami. The highs are attenuated in the Monster and the Mogami will sound full range.

 

[Turock]

Finally remark about cables. For Hi Fi Stereo, cables are called interconnects and they can cost several hundred dollars for top of the line solid silver wires that are only 1 meter long for two cables. Why?...........because cables DO MAKE a difference in sound!

"From the straight razor, to the safety razor, to the injector system, amd finally the highly acclaimed twinblade cartridge. Almost perfect, yet not quite the superlative groom. Introducing the Triple-Trac. Not just two blades in one system, but three stainless, platinum teflex-coated blades melded together to form one incredible shaving cartridge, easily fitted into your old twinblade holder. Triple-Trac's triple-threat cartridge, with more close shaves than ever before...Triple-Trac's third blade, a finely-honed bonded platinum instrument, cuts cleanly through the whisker at its base, leaving your face as smooth as a billiard ball,

The Triple-Trac. Because you'll believe anything."

 

[fishtx]

This has been posted, but some great information here regarding different cables and their properties...

http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cablechoice.shtml

 

[Roscoe East]

Let's give equal time to "I can't hear it but I can believe you do."
"I'm going to use science to not only disprove your theory but to attempt to prove it."

While hopefully not dragging this into the realm of Politics/Religion, I feel compelled to point out that the notion of Giving Equal Time is flawed for precisely the same reason as what's going on in some US schools is flawed, where folks believe giving equal time to an explicitly unscientific alternative to Darwinian Evolution somehow yields a better educated child with more insight into the phenomenon.

And fwiw, my personal reasons for not giving any lip service to the "I can't hear it but I can believe you do" stance are because in many cases I have heard it (yes, you read that correctly)
...but I've also read a lot of literature on consciousness and cognition and how human sensory apparatus works, and so I recognize how potentially flawed (and/or meaningless) it is to believe that "I heard a difference" equals "there is an audible difference."

 

[bongomania]

For Hi Fi Stereo, cables are called interconnects and they can cost several hundred dollars for top of the line solid silver wires that are only 1 meter long for two cables. Why?...........because cables DO MAKE a difference in sound!

Calling them "interconnects" doesn't make them any different from guitar cables. The reason those cables cost so much is not because they make a difference, but because audiophiles feel that it makes perfect sense to pay astronomical prices for cables since premium quality demands a premium price, and since they like to say that using less expensive cables with their high-end audio components would be like putting cheap tires on a Ferrari--even though the comparison is literally meaningless.

My thanks to the guys who posted my "cable choice" page; here are direct links to some related (and more pointedly relevant) pages:
http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cablewaves.shtml
http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cables.shtml
http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cablesinseries.shtml
http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/buffer.shtml

tl;dr takeaway is that cables can make a difference, in certain circumstances; but the vast majority of descriptions and explanations given by cable sellers and their hoodwinked audiophile customers are FALSE.

 

[Febs]

Finally remark about cables. For Hi Fi Stereo, cables are called interconnects and they can cost several hundred dollars for top of the line solid silver wires that are only 1 meter long for two cables. Why?...........because cables DO MAKE a difference in sound!

Or because people THINK they make a difference in sound.

 

[Lichtaffen]

Now I'm more confused.

 

[wideload]

cables do sound different.
It is not about works /doesn't work.
The differences from one cable to the next are often not huge though.

I respectfully disagree. The MOST important feature is WORK. Every time. I can compensate for lost lows/lost highs. I can't adjust my system to accommodate a cable that passes no signal.

 

[bassgrooves2]

You actually need a cable well, maybe not if you use a transmitter. But without a transmitter, you'll sound a lot better with a cable.

FWIW: (and I'm shilling for GFS here) their cables are really nice. I've got a few of their cloth-bound ones and they are years old, quiet, solid and the sound actually makes it to the other end.

LLINK::: http://store.guitarfetish.com/30-foot-Cotton-Wrapped-Plaid-Cable-Gold-Tipped-Plugs_p_25.html

+1
I had been using middle of the road cables for years in my setup and one day wandered across the cloth braided cables at guitareftish.com
I got a 10 footer and noticed that it was dead quiet when I plugged it in. In fact I thought at first it was a dud, because I am used to a certain amount of noise from my amp when plugged in. Not the case anymore.
Oh and they are dirt cheap.

 

[cnltb]

I respectfully disagree. The MOST important feature is WORK. Every time. I can compensate for lost lows/lost highs. I can't adjust my system to accommodate a cable that passes no signal.

That's fine.
But...
What is it, you are disagreeing with ?
Did I say anything about anything being most important?
All I remember saying is that for me it goes beyond a cable merely working or not.