I've been thinking a lot more about cables and just got a new pair of speaker cables in the mail today. I enjoyed your video and appreciate your open mindedness and that you're trying stuff out.
Best audio quote ever... When speaking about Monster Cables: "Noel Lee appears to have found the solution to a problem nobody actually has." Acoustic testing incorporate a real wealth of variables... everything between air pressure, temperature, humidity, sitting position and the last dump you took will affect your perception of sound. Move your microphone a couple of inches and the spectrum analysis will shift dramatically. And on it goes... Unless you can eliminate all the variables, so that you are only testing the cable... not the room, not your ears, not the weather... you cannot trust your results. I have lots of those freebie cables that come with your gear... ALL of them will pass a 1mhz square wave perfectly... which tells me there are no changes to the actual signal. So, now that you've heard differences (real or otherwise) you need to ask one more question... *Why* did you hear it... Find the cause and you answer your dilemma.
There are times when cables can give you by far the best bang for the buck. First of all, cables do not end around the $1,000 mark or slightly above. There are 6 figure cables ($100,000) and cables at every price level in between. I once found a deal on a top of the line MIT cable, years ago, and I was offered it at a small fraction of its $5,000 retail price by buying used. The cable was so thick you could barely get your forefinger and thumb around it. My good sized bookshelf speakers no longer needed a sub. Bass guitar lines which stopped before, CONTINUED with notes further down than my system could make audible before. What kind of monster amp would do that? Maybe a $15,000 Krell that it takes 3 people to lift? MAYBE! The instruments sounded near twice as big in size, there was so much warmth, you couldn't even imagine anything sounding thin because of lack of body. The sound was velvety smooth and you could hear all kind of detail, both spatial detail and transient detail that you could not hear before. When on a whim I put the older $100 cables back in place, the soundstage simply collapsed, and everything sounded relatively uninteresting My speakers in the bass sounded 20 hertz deeper. It struck me that thousands of speaker model's low frequency specs would have to be adjusted to 20 hertz lower, if they measured their companies. speakers frequency response with this cable, or others of its quality. There are loads of people out there with $75,000 Hemmingway cables, and even others well under $5,000 a pair that are scratching their heads and getting a chuckle that there is a controversy over cables making improvements. "Sometimes" they can make the biggest improvement possible per dollar. Like near doubling your sound quality for less than half what you paid for your system. Live with (audition) higher end cables in your home for a few months. Some you will need to return and some you would not return for anything.
_"There are times when cables can give you by far the best bang for the buck."_ Absolutely ... nothing is going to happen if you don't have the means to hook stuff up.
I just came from church so I can't argue for exactly one hour. But even those who can't judge midrange and treble quality (who are open minded enough to give premium cables a try), buy a cheap thick speaker cable and A/B it against a much tbinner 18 guage or 16 guage. I can almost guarantee you, that the thicker cable will sound richer and fuller in the bass bass.and lower midrange. Higher Midrange and treble quality improvements may require more expertise by more advanced listeners. Not that the differences are small, it's just that neophytes and people with bad perception often miss anything short of mountain moving improvements, before they hear anything Amen.
I agree...DIY is definitely the way to go. Some details on the components you used would be helpful. And maybe a how-to video one of these days? :-). Thanks for posting this.
I never spent extra money for a speaker-cable, but if I would I'd look for the following: - High copper quality - Cable with PE-jacket around the wire instead of PVC - A heavy but flexible cable. - Maybe a 4-string Cable with twisted pairs. - Maybe a shielded cable To my knowledge, often stage-cables could match these criteria, and you may get them for around 10$/meter. Also there are claims that multi-string high speed IT-cables delivering very good results as speaker-cables too. But they are probably stiff and a challenge to put a connecter on.
If you were a cable denier I will give it a try. Found speaker wire upgrade from monoprice to belden made a midrange difference with a/b blind test with mono music in each speaker. Confirmed by wife. I am still skeptical but can hear a difference in this video. P.S. supposedly silver wire adds db.
the underlying truth that drives the urge to upgrade is that human senses are very good at distinguishing between two sensible phenomenon when presented in the same context (time / setting / source) - while not being quite so good as establishing relative superiority (or an absolute) when presented w/ a single source in isolation.
What about when you listened to Dark Side Of The Moon hundreds of times and all of a sudden you are hearing things, dozens of things that sounded too buried in the mix before, that you couldn't hear were even there before?... And to be sure, you tape the album with a tape deck using the old cables, and then tape it again using the new cables, and total strangers can only hear those sounds when you play the tape, taped with the newer more expensive cables. And they've never even heard the music before. Are we all hallucinating the exact same instruments? Or is "the truth in reality", some of you don't want to spend big money on cables, or can't. And the cure for your "fear of missing out" is just to deny the improvements; big obvious as hell improvements.
If an interconnect resolves better than another one, and when recording to a tape machine, certain details and instruments are only audible on the tape made that was recorded with the better cable; that is proof positive that cables make an improvement. If the cheap cable resolved as well, you'd you'd also be able to hear the hidden instruments on the tape recording made with it. But with it, certain instruments remain buried in the.mix.The two tapes made with 2 different quality cables prove and document that, when played back without argument forever.
To save time asume I have a nice system ,always bought as cheep as posible so far running at over £10.5K . All my interconnects are Midfy Silverplated ones. Mostly I think Due to clean power, eg Linier Power , galvanic bridges ,Tassimo leads etc. My Tambor is perfect not least I think because My Valves are the same ones used in Guitar amps My currant dilemma is that given I have the best sounding system I have ever heard, with my Speakers (Focal Arias ) running off a 6 Ohm output through £4.99 cable do I want better. My clarity is pin accurate so I am not looking to improve it just experiment with tone by using quality Copper cables rather than Silver or Gold. The further complication is that as I have a Valve Amp I can change Valve types never mind manufacturers etc. so will KT88's Benefit from the same cables as EL34's. etc.
@@Lancaster_Hi-Fi you soon get used to it. i use top grade neutriks for both balanced and unbalanced cables. nothing to complain about it. I have heard megabucks cables and cant hear any difference
Those prograde Neutriks are about $20 ea. IIRC. For that kind of money, I think I'd prefer the Viborg that I got. The rhodium plating is nice. The tightening can be difficult, but it's simple. PTFE between pin and ground is nice; no worry about it melting. I'd try the Neutriks if I found a good deal on them, though.
Yeah, I'm a cable skeptic, too, but rather than being binary about it, I'm an economist and go with expected value. That is, I pay an amount like it is insurance against being wrong!
@@Lancaster_Hi-Fi Should I? Upgrade my cables? You can answer in 8 seconds if you're up against the firing squad. Do a 120 second version. Cheers. 😎 (P.S. I have brand new Acoustic $50(AUD) cables, so it's just for knowing.)
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Nice video. I like the DIY approach too
I've been thinking a lot more about cables and just got a new pair of speaker cables in the mail today. I enjoyed your video and appreciate your open mindedness and that you're trying stuff out.
Best audio quote ever... When speaking about Monster Cables: "Noel Lee appears to have found the solution to a problem nobody actually has."
Acoustic testing incorporate a real wealth of variables... everything between air pressure, temperature, humidity, sitting position and the last dump you took will affect your perception of sound. Move your microphone a couple of inches and the spectrum analysis will shift dramatically. And on it goes...
Unless you can eliminate all the variables, so that you are only testing the cable... not the room, not your ears, not the weather... you cannot trust your results.
I have lots of those freebie cables that come with your gear... ALL of them will pass a 1mhz square wave perfectly... which tells me there are no changes to the actual signal.
So, now that you've heard differences (real or otherwise) you need to ask one more question... *Why* did you hear it... Find the cause and you answer your dilemma.
There are times when cables can give you by far the best bang for the buck. First of all, cables do not end around the $1,000 mark or slightly above. There are 6 figure cables ($100,000) and cables at every price level in between. I once found a deal on a top of the line MIT cable, years ago, and I was offered it at a small fraction of its $5,000 retail price by buying used. The cable was so thick you could barely get your forefinger and thumb around it. My good sized bookshelf speakers no longer needed a sub. Bass guitar lines which stopped before, CONTINUED with notes further down than my system could make audible before. What kind of monster amp would do that? Maybe a $15,000 Krell that it takes 3 people to lift? MAYBE! The instruments sounded near twice as big in size, there was so much warmth, you couldn't even imagine anything sounding thin because of lack of body. The sound was velvety smooth and you could hear all kind of detail, both spatial detail and transient detail that you could not hear before. When on a whim I put the older $100 cables back in place, the soundstage simply collapsed, and everything sounded relatively uninteresting My speakers in the bass sounded 20 hertz deeper. It struck me that thousands of speaker model's low frequency specs would have to be adjusted to 20 hertz lower, if they measured their companies. speakers frequency response with this cable, or others of its quality.
There are loads of people out there with $75,000 Hemmingway cables, and even others well under $5,000 a pair that are scratching their heads and getting a chuckle that there is a controversy over cables making improvements. "Sometimes" they can make the biggest improvement possible per dollar. Like near doubling your sound quality for less than half what you paid for your system. Live with (audition) higher end cables in your home for a few months. Some you will need to return and some you would not return for anything.
_"There are times when cables can give you by far the best bang for the buck."_
Absolutely ... nothing is going to happen if you don't have the means to hook stuff up.
I just came from church so I can't argue for exactly one hour. But even those who can't judge midrange and treble quality (who are open minded enough to give premium cables a try), buy a cheap thick speaker cable and A/B it against a much tbinner 18 guage or 16 guage. I can almost guarantee you, that the thicker cable will sound richer and fuller in the bass bass.and lower midrange. Higher Midrange and treble quality improvements may require more expertise by more advanced listeners. Not that the differences are small, it's just that neophytes and people with bad perception often miss anything short of mountain moving improvements, before they hear anything Amen.
I agree...DIY is definitely the way to go. Some details on the components you used would be helpful. And maybe a how-to video one of these days? :-). Thanks for posting this.
Nevermind...just found your cable construction video. Man you are speedy! :-).
I never spent extra money for a speaker-cable, but if I would I'd look for the following:
- High copper quality
- Cable with PE-jacket around the wire instead of PVC
- A heavy but flexible cable.
- Maybe a 4-string Cable with twisted pairs.
- Maybe a shielded cable
To my knowledge, often stage-cables could match these criteria, and you may get them for around 10$/meter.
Also there are claims that multi-string high speed IT-cables delivering very good results as speaker-cables too. But they are probably stiff and a challenge to put a connecter on.
If you were a cable denier I will give it a try. Found speaker wire upgrade from monoprice to belden made a midrange difference with a/b blind test with mono music in each speaker. Confirmed by wife. I am still skeptical but can hear a difference in this video. P.S. supposedly silver wire adds db.
Great video. Never made interconnects but I have made many speaker cables.
the underlying truth that drives the urge to upgrade is that human senses are very good at distinguishing between two sensible phenomenon when presented in the same context (time / setting / source) - while not being quite so good as establishing relative superiority (or an absolute) when presented w/ a single source in isolation.
What about when you listened to Dark Side Of The Moon hundreds of times and all of a sudden you are hearing things, dozens of things that sounded too buried in the mix before, that you couldn't hear were even there before?... And to be sure, you tape the album with a tape deck using the old cables, and then tape it again using the new cables, and total strangers can only hear those sounds when you play the tape, taped with the newer more expensive cables. And they've never even heard the music before. Are we all hallucinating the exact same instruments? Or is "the truth in reality", some of you don't want to spend big money on cables, or can't. And the cure for your "fear of missing out" is just to deny the improvements; big obvious as hell improvements.
@@sidesup8286 yeah. what about that.
If an interconnect resolves better than another one, and when recording to a tape machine, certain details and instruments are only audible on the tape made that was recorded with the better cable; that is proof positive that cables make an improvement. If the cheap cable resolved as well, you'd you'd also be able to hear the hidden instruments on the tape recording made with it. But with it, certain instruments remain buried in the.mix.The two tapes made with 2 different quality cables prove and document that, when played back without argument forever.
Great video. I've been happy with diy mogami cables. I'll have to look into those Viborg connectors someday. I dig your Rick!
Kimber kable for the win 🏆
Thanks!
Welcome!
To save time asume I have a nice system ,always bought as cheep as posible so far running at over £10.5K .
All my interconnects are Midfy Silverplated ones. Mostly I think Due to clean power, eg Linier Power , galvanic bridges ,Tassimo leads etc. My Tambor is perfect not least I think because My Valves are the same ones used in Guitar amps
My currant dilemma is that given I have the best sounding system I have ever heard, with my Speakers (Focal Arias ) running off a 6 Ohm output through £4.99 cable do I want better.
My clarity is pin accurate so I am not looking to improve it just experiment with tone by using quality Copper cables rather than Silver or Gold.
The further complication is that as I have a Valve Amp I can change Valve types never mind manufacturers etc. so will KT88's Benefit from the same cables as EL34's. etc.
Star quad with high quality neutricks is as good as it gets. £50 for the connectors then £4 a metre. Don't pay any more.
You like the Prograde Neutriks? I was considering those, but I was thrown off by the moving sleeve thing.
@@Lancaster_Hi-Fi you soon get used to it. i use top grade neutriks for both balanced and unbalanced cables. nothing to complain about it. I have heard megabucks cables and cant hear any difference
Those prograde Neutriks are about $20 ea. IIRC. For that kind of money, I think I'd prefer the Viborg that I got. The rhodium plating is nice. The tightening can be difficult, but it's simple. PTFE between pin and ground is nice; no worry about it melting. I'd try the Neutriks if I found a good deal on them, though.
@@Lancaster_Hi-Fi they were a lot less when I bought them!
💯yes. Does it do anything? Who cares you have new cables
Yeah, I'm a cable skeptic, too, but rather than being binary about it, I'm an economist and go with expected value. That is, I pay an amount like it is insurance against being wrong!
🤯 mind blown!
Nah man, 21 minutes on should I upgrade my cables? Take it down to 3, or maybe 6. Lots to do.
So much that you can leave a comment on a video you didn't even watch? Please.
@@Lancaster_Hi-Fi Should I? Upgrade my cables? You can answer in 8 seconds if you're up against the firing squad. Do a 120 second version. Cheers. 😎
(P.S. I have brand new Acoustic $50(AUD) cables, so it's just for knowing.)