Is Synergy in Audio Cables Real or Snake Oil?
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- čas přidán 11. 05. 2020
- Check any audiophile facebook group or forum and you will find dozens of enthusiasts asking "what are the best cables to use with my audio components?" There are never shortages of recommendations from fellow enthusiasts and sometimes even industry experts have their own recommendations too. PS Audio recently announced a partnership with Audioquest citing that their products have a real "synergy" together. Is there any merit to this claim or is it pure marketing BS?
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#audiophile #cables #science - Věda a technologie
Gene, you make too much sense to be popular with most audiophiles. 🤣
You just summed up why @Audioholics is so darn amazing. Keep being awesome Gene!
I used to watch videos from PS Audio..... But then my wife complained that she could hear the BS from the kitchen!
Elderly salesmen...
@@Bob.martenswhat’s the alternative to being elderly? Being dead. Sounds like you don’t want to become elderly.
I stopped watching that fraud after he says power cables make A difference.
Think about it…listening to copper, nothing else, listening to copper! Either dumb or crazy!
I love how hard you crush people's hopes and dreams, no remorse. Some of this fantasy stuff is fun to believe and audio jewelry is beautiful, but it's so important to have someone like you bringing everyone back to reality. Let's make real improvements rather than spending so much time and resources on nonsense. Keep up the great work!
I learned my most important lesson about placebo effect when I adjusted a tone control on a console several times until it sounded perfect only to realize that I had it bypassed.
Dan That’s happened to the best of us, usually after too much listening.
Ouch!
Stumbled on your channel researching cables after reading up the science behind the resistivity of different metals before I made a purchase and in your video you confirmed exactly what the figures I was reading seemed to suggest.
Now I'm hooked on your other videos! Can't deny the science that is there👍
I hear you get the best synergy when you put a Spock cutout in a Ferrari , it lifts a veil on the exhaust note!
Oh look it's my favorite cigar channel commenting on my favorite audiophile channel. Nice.
@@youngmrjazz That's synergy for you. :D
I'm really glad you called Paul out on his bs. Lying about your product is a fast way to sink your company. I watched Paul's videos until he made the one about Audioquest cables and how they made his system soooo much better. The problem was that he was talking about power cables going into his own Power Stream power conditioners that cost $10,000 each! Shouldn't a $10k power conditioner already have amazing power cables on it? And if the $7k cables fix everything then why do I need a $10k power conditioner? I was really interested in his products until he lied. I'll be looking elsewhere for my new DAC when I buy it!
i mean. kinda silly to think he's *lying* about it, when his own company makes a competing product. wrong, sure, but if he was lying surely it'd be in the other direction.
wober777 At least Paul has a company making great sounding audio gear, I think he knows what he is talking about. Go read the article Gene posted. Maybe you guys should go on a road trip to Colorado to meet and listen and then make a judgment.
I really enjoyed Paul's videos, and had considered buying PS Audio products until I got the email announcing the PS Audio line of cables made by AudioQuest. It was really disappointing and I lost a lot of respect for him and the company.
I agree . If the PS audio functioned as advertised you should not need a fancy cable .
The synergy here is a business contract to align the two companies marketing machines together to promote snake oil products.
I remember a review of the Technics Reference Series System where the reviewer thought the system was not sounding great until he switched the Ethernet cables that send a digital signal from the preamp to the amp to some fancy cable ethernet cables. This reviewer "discovered" how these magic cables changed the data stream from the digital signal and made it sound like magic. I stop reading that magazine that day. It was The Absolute Sound BTW
If anyone isn't fully convinced why data cables (and hard drives) can't change the sound, imagine you're transferring a file instead. If there were differences, the file would be full of errors. Executables simply wouldn't run. Websites wouldn't load. It would be useless.
It can happen but not because some esotherical reasons : I had troubles with a server farm which were showing intermitency. The reason: cable quality (the wires weren't holding in place after patched) and the technical aid (student) didn't patch correctly the cables. It was around 20 yr ago.
@@Yu-Fei-Hung yeah absolutely. But if the cable is well made and in good condition….
@@irisfailsafe there are cable comparisons made by musicians to check how these can modify the sound. Check this CZcams video (Spanish):
czcams.com/video/mw6Ja1o0mzE/video.html
No, I don't get tired of these sorts of videos on what works, and what does a bit of difference, and benefit; and what factors don't do anything. Thumbs up easily. You tell it as it is in the real world.
I've seen a ton of videos about speaker cables and I think Mr. Gene Dellasala knows what he is saying.
I bought recently audio cable KnuKonceptz 10 Gauge with Nakamichi screw lock banana plugs and I am quite happy with the sound.
I hope I won't regret it after few years.
Thank you Mr. Gene for sharing your knowlege.
The simple answer is: The Audioquest CEO is the PS Audio CEO’s friend. He has said so.
And audio quest is a huge rip off.... lol
Totally agree with this one. I have had this discussion at my hifi dealer several times. I tell them that in the circuit the goal should be that the cables do not contribute to the circuit for resistance or capacitance - in other words disappear in a thevenin equivalent circuit so that they do not influence the sound. As soon as the speaker cables begin to be a contributing part of the circuit you are now listening to something other than the way your speakers are designed to sound. I hate being told that there are some things we can hear but can't measure. We have been characterizing and measuring audio for longer than almost anything else. We know how to do it, and our instruments are much more sensitive, accurate, and repeatable than the human ear.
Paul must be referring to the synergy with his bank account.
Haha... So true
Would that be his wife and the bank account more likely
😭😭😭
@@kevonmanuel 99% True to be precise :D
LOL!
Gene, have been listening to you for years. Thanks for all you do, but I wanted to make a comment. I LOVED your mention of Hitchens Razor!!! RIP Christopher.
Great vid. I eagerly await the day when you can measure these cables and come back with results(test).
Hi Gene
Love your videos! I can`t se the problem in recommending cables. For the audiofiles that "believe" in cables strongly, Paul is making their life easier. When he says that the synergy is good with their produkts, that is what they will think, and relax, not having to chase for a "better" solution :)
For people that don`t care about very expensive cables will not run buying those cables.
My personal experience and belief is that cables are important. As I started building my hifi system I have had many different cables. It is very hard to say why and what changes in the sound, and I need to "listen to" a cable for a longer time in order to say if I like it or not.
Quite early in my quest for a great hifi system I "upgraded" to some Van Den Hule cables. I was proud of my new cables!!! But after a few months I realized that I listened less and less to music. Then one night I changed back to the old 50NOK (5USD) cables and the joy and energy in the music came back:) But it was easy then to hear that those cables lacked control, and had bad phase control. The stereo perspective was "messy"
So then I started looking for "good cables" that had It all. Good copper, seems to be the sound I like, and they don`t need to be very expensive. I don`t know why, but I have not had any cables with other metals for very long. Silver, gold and rhodium just not my cup of tea, and I can`t tell why......
Gene is one of the few people that review products and various claims made by the sales side of the audio business with an eye towards the consumers best interest so God bless him for that. In this case I'd love to see if Gene could get the owners at Blue Jean Cables to weigh in on this, not to bash their competition, but just to offer their opinions on various types of cables and how they manufacture and sell very reasonably priced interconnects.
I love this channel and Paul's as well - and, I think that Paul might even secretly agree with you to an extent. But he's a manufacture that has to "play nice" with other manufactures in the space. As long as cable manufactures spend huge money advertising in stereo related print and internet ads, I doubt manufacturers and even many reviewers, will call them out for being snake oil. It's one of many issues in the industry on a whole.
PS Audio now sells audioquest cables so of course Paul is going to talk them up in hopes of increased sales when someone buys an amp they can sell expensive power cords ,interconnects and speaker wire all at the same time. One thing I find particularly amusing is they now sell and use Audioquest Dragon power cords on the INPUT and output of their Power Plant regenerators ,now since the Power plant makes it's own clean power regardless of input why use expensive inputs.
I've always found the PS Audio videos to have very dubious and sometimes incorrect claims, with poor explanations of engineering.
@@rarelycomments You're alrignt. I apreciate Paul as a person, but his channel is based mostly on non-sense claims and audiophile BS...
@Mr Do I agree for 192Khz... but if you can't see the difference between 4K and 1080P contents, you need to change your glasses.
PS: there's no 16b/44Khz-only DACs anymore....
@@vintageflanker7096
Cd's are 16 bit 44.1 khz so 24 bit etc DACs is meaningless and 4k is stupid! If you have at minimum a 55 inch screen and sit 3 feet from it you will notice a diff, otherwise you won't. I couldn't give 2 craps about 4k.
Gene you're awesome, and I'm stoked to have stumbled on your channel. The answer to the question you proposed is..............Engineering grade cables may sound good to engineers, but since they don't look very cool they lose sound quality when they enter a consumer's home.
Thanks for the video. They were talking business synergy and how both companies can make more money. Please do a video on conditioners (types), regenerators and if they matter and measurements.
I am myself an electrical engineer by profession...and the audiophil for some 40+ Years...
Great observation...and the previous one about speaker cables as well.
Congretulation!
Henry Ott's book has been one of my favorite reference books since decades! Thank you for keep sharing rationality and truth.
As someone who seeks the best from both Home and Car audio, I must agree with you Gene! Car audio has its own unique obstacles to overcome. Years ago when I first started, I learned early on about cable quality in cars. I've been using RG6 as interconnects and ALL the noise is gone. A dear friend of mine loves his AudioQuest junk. I swapped in a pair to test with just for shits and giggles in my last build and all the issues of using cheap Walmart interconnects came back, alternator whine, spark noise, etc. Now I only use RG6 in my house as well. If it's good enough for automotive use, it's good enough for my home!
I once solved a problem I created with cheap EQ/Amplifiers. I had the Alternator whining noise. I tried filters and nothing worked.
Finally I learned the importance of a great close common ground. I took the ground wires of the head and EQ amps grounds to a common thick wire with as little distance between them. I grounded those to chassis. It made a world of difference. The power wire was RG59U coming straight from the battery and switched on by a relay.
Glad to see you healthy and back!
The owner of Audioquest lives in a 5 million dollar condo IN a Newport Beach shopping center. Lots of markup in Chinese-made cables.
What's wrong with Chinese made cables?? Raw material and literally everything is made in that place. Also alot of aq cables are made in USA high end ones.
Stanny1 Shows he’s a successful businessman, no different than restaurant owners that serve $500 entrees or someone selling $200 jeans with rips in the knees. No one HAS to buy their goods, yet people do.
Stanny1 should he live in the hood to make you feel better? Where would you live if you were in the same situation?
He could go shopping every day 🎁
When I sold Audioquest us salesmen got 75% off retail. We also got points for all the Audioquest we sold. I have AQ cables everywhere in my house. I would never in a million years buy those cables at retail.
Also met Bill Lowe of AQ once. He was an interesting guy.
Love these informative videos, I can't comment on power cables for now but I definitely can contest that my experiences with audio interconnects (both rca and xlr) has been a mixed bag. Also the headphone replacement cable market has grown beyond belief thanks to rise in higher performance higher costing audiophile headphones. One slick move that most audiophile headphones manufacturers pull is to use proprietary connectors on their higher costing lines to keep d.i.yers from making adequate enough quality cables for pennies on the dollar. Cables for the Abyss 1266TC and Focal Utopia can cost over two thousand dollars but both still can use 3-4 wires total.
Thank you so much for explaining this crystal clear. I've been watching a few videos and reading forums lately, as I want to buy some audio equipment.... and I felt like this hole industry is full of myths and marketing BS. But it seems like the consumers defend the BS, and are proud buyers, instead of searching for the truth.
Thank god I found your videos!! Great job!!
Gene, you're so passionate and knowledgeable about this. That begs the question, have you ever considered creating, marketing and selling Audioholics brand cables? I think many people would be interested in buying something that you'd be willing to put your name on.
I've had many offers from 3rd party cable companies to do just that. It may be something I consider in the future as I have an idea for an inexpensive easy method to make a cable that measures very well.
Glad you’re calling them out, you’re the only one to do so.
“Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in.”
Very useful information here. Agree cable specs/ measurements should be available for consumers to consider and evaluate.
Thanks Gene, you certainly tell it how it is, which is always appreciated.
Your take on PS audio re: magical cable synergy with that brand of cables was an interesting one. Many moons ago I decided to compare my "WirePlanet" speakers cables with a 6 foot pair of "Monstrous" 12 gauge zip cable and BINGO, the whole sound stage collapsed, pin point imaging became a muddled mess of instruments and the speaker coherency (Thiels) disappeared.
At the same time, my other set of cables - "Bardas" - had a sweeter treble and a wee bit fuller lower mid-range than the "WirePlanet" cable (tone control), but both were very coherent.
There is something going on that yet cannot be measured. Similarly measuring power-amps can sound very different in tone, staging, imaging, slam, clean top end or grainy, etc. Things that to this day cannot be empirically measured.
On the other hand, mega thousand dollar cables are pure foolishness.
Best and cheers!
I've done a/b blind testing with expensive and cheap cables and really nobody could consistently tell a difference. Even had spliced together speaker wire at times. Cables and wire are the biggest crock of b/s in the consumer market.
@Mr Do not sure what point you are trying to make here.
Have you gone down that path and done a video on Speaker cable and interconnect impedence characteristics? Great video by the way. Awesome channel!
I think I talked about that topic in several videos but may do a dedicated one on it. thanks.
Never get tired of the truth. Excellent job, as always, Gene. Love your channel.
Hi Gene, which Mogami cable would you recommend for XLR interconnects (between pre/pro and amp) 2549, 2534, 2791, or other? Thanks in advance.
I think mogami 2549 is ok.
The 2534 is quad conductors cable，you dont need to use it because of short distance.
mogmai 2571 I dont recommand，because this cable made for special purpose (high flexibility)
Great video, I agree 100 percent with your reasoning. Now can you do an expose on Mpingo wood Shunmook discs? I hear the finest audio systems employ these devices....
Keep the great information coming Gene
Sup Godfather of Home Theater, Gene Corleone aka Don Dellasala. I think you were fair in this one. Constructive in your criticism. Tough to argue with science.
I could sell a $#!∆ ton of high end cables just by saying they look awesome, they feel awesome, they're expensive and therefore exclusive. No unproven claims there. And throw a hot chick in for good measure. $$$$!
Joe N Tell well said brother. He really is GENE Corleone. I Hope you have a great day Brother.
:)) Cheers to the Audioholics Mafia
Joe N Tell
Hey, Joe. Wanna start a cable business? I know a couple of very attractive females. 😜
In this stoneage good looking guys might work too lol
The "hot chick" is ongoing expense.
This is an excellent argument about cables. Thanks! Never got sucked into the exotic nutz cables. I like 10 gauge multi-stranded copper cable that I picked up from Lowes, works great! And shielded interconnects with good ends.
Don't tell me, you voted Brexit too.
Gene great video, this topic is never tiring, i have a question, under what circumstances can a cable be made to act like a tone control ? If we add more capacitance or inductance to a cable on purpose will that change the tone or sound in any way ? Also do different materials used to make a cable make any difference in measurements silver vs ofc copper ?
Sanjay Salariya the resistance, inductance, and capacitance of a cable acts as an RLC filter. That is how it behaves like a tone control.
I recently did some modeling of this for Gene with a reactive load and I had to vary the values substantially to actually see a big change in the performance. Which really supports the notion that the difference the cable makes is too minuscule to matter. Further, no reason to believe an expensive cable would be any better in this regard.
For the experiment I plugged in actual numbers Gene measured of real cables. The cables that did the best were often the run of the mill cheap cables. The ones that did the worst were often expensive exotic cables. Though in reality, within the audio spectrum, we are talking like 1/5 of a dB or less in variation. Very little. I had to put in crazy values to show something approaching .5 dB or more.
Matthew Poes thankyou for the reply, in your opinion using silver or copper makes any difference ?? .. looking forward for the polk audio L800 review.
Absolutely true Gene . Paul also claims that we can't measure everything we hear in cables. As you said cables should not act as a tone control.
So how else do you tone control if the amp has no tone controls. You have to use cables to do it.
@@aussie8114 nice one 😂
I agree :) but how about copper vs silver ? does it change some measurement ?
great video Gene!!!! I agree!
I use Mogami and Canare cables nothing fancy just great quality cables with good shielding and no fancy crap, reasonable price and studio grade performance!
same cables used at the studio I had labs in at college haha go figure
haha cant believe what people believe
What analog XLR interconnect balanced cables do you recommend? I don't see Mogami offering these, unless you are using their microphone cables. Is that what you use and show in this video?
Does it make sense to buy expensive headphone cables ? I have spent thousands of $$$ on "pure silver" headphone cables but I haven't noticed any sound difference from stock cables.
How are they supposed to sound different?
Not sure if you've touched on this, but recently I saw a PS Audio video about a braided power cable making a night and day difference. Building amps myself, I understand how twisted pairs can be a benefit in certain parts of an amp, but I'm not sure the last few feet of power cable before you plug into an amp will matter? The cable running from your breaker box to all of your lights, receptacles, and so on are parallel conductors; not twisted. Thoughts?
Dear Gene....you made my day. These snake oil guru's must hate you! Thank you for standing up!!!
Incidently, I have an E.A.R 518 amp that was designed and built by Tim de Paravicini himself.
You are the Boss! Love your down to earth videos. Be happy, be safe
I would like you to talk about network switches for audio, things like jitter, and how buffers are useless
I've heard a little about using silver cables vs copper cables, I'd be interested to hear your opinions on that. I'm by no means tech savvy, my home theater is a basic 5.1 running only on my avr, so anything I could learn would be great, thanks!
It seems every few years Gene has to discuss the snake oil market of the audio industry.
been minutes lately
I agree, my A-S801 tone controls have never been anything other than flat, pure direct and using Blue Jeans Cable 10AWG.
I agree with you about the “filter effect” cables have on gear. I’ve seen audiophiles claim that they liked a $2k cable better than a particular $10k cable. And I can’t explain that. The placebo effect would naturally push the $10k cable to the top of the list. I asked you a question on your “power cable debunking” video about if we know what to test for when it comes to things like cables. It was a really good question I won’t repeat the whole question here (it was eloquently written) . I hope you read that question and give it some thought. But you own that kimber cable and it measures better than your 10g. Can you actually hear any difference between the two? It seems silly that such a small difference would be audible. Just curious if you can hear a difference?
I hope AudioQuest is watching this too. Definitely keep trying to measure them!
Tho to a small degree I do use some interconnects for tone. After all is said and done with my gear it gives just a slight tweek to put it a little more to my liking. I don't use hi end cables, just a touch above entry Transparent. I found the networked cable sounded a touch smoother on the top end than the same level of say a Tara cable, but really almost imperceivable.
I've been buying cables for years from mit and audio quest and I'm happy thanks gene,I respect your opinion.
Your not an engineer, what do you know!
Thank you for making this up peoples need to get refreshed about this Snake Oil cables markets! I was tricked with sale man swear by the Audioquest im glad i found your post on this years ago, but i see allot of people still get tricked and buy thoses 1k$ speaker cables non sense,
havent seen you for so long....always like your video...hits hard on snake man. i believe everyone will appreciate and send you donation if you actually take the cable and do details test on it, then publish it. save ppl tonnes of money.
I think there is good synergy between my Luxman integrated amplifier and Alpha hook up wire :) And even more so with my wallet.
I am not a great believer of expensive cables. I had an issue with hum on my TT and it ended up being the cables but the solution in my case was to use Thermocouple extension cable (Which is Cu / Cu) which is reasonably priced despite the Teflon Dielectric which is there purely for temperature resistance purposes.
I do believe synergy between some components, like turntables and cartridges for instance but that is a logical one if you look at needle compliance versus tonearm designs.
Looking good Gene. Looking healthy as well. Keep up the good fight against audiofoolery.
AudioQuest does make some nice looking cables! I can't say that I would spend the money on them, but they are pretty!
A sane man in an insane world of audiophiles with more money then sense
The crux of the mater is do you like the sound?
Gene,
I watch your channel when I want to learn something.
I watch Paul's channel when I am eating food and want to be briefly entertained.
And I complete agree, PS Audio makes some products that I too would be interested in playing with. However, I think Paul is 100% batshit crazy when he's talking about synergy in cables. I posted in his channel a long time ago, a sarcastic comment stating that I use my cables as tone controls. And here we are in 2020 and you made this video!
Glad to see you are feeling better. Keep doing what you do, we appreciate it!
This is a very well composed answer. Great job Gene!
When did we start talking about bicycles? Is there a Schwinn cable?
Don't stop doing these videos please Gene, I keep an open mind and an eye on my wallet
Thanks
Great video, been a Bluejeans fan for years. I do have some Audioquest interconnects in my system but I like being able to order the exact size and color I want from Bluejeans. I marvel at some of the prices of these premium cables, and find myself laughing out loud at times, who buys his shit.
Awesome video I agree 100% with you: above a certain price point audiophile cable are totally snake oil. I did a blind test once for speaker cables with very good equipment at an audiophile store many years ago: I could tell the difference between a 1€/m cable and a 50€/m cable but not between a 50€/m and a 1000€/m cable. The equipment for testing was not at the very top high end but very good, with Rogers LS3/5a speakers and I think an Acoustic Research pre with 2 high end monoblocks I don't remember which... Nobody in the room except for the store owner could tell the difference between the 50€/m cable and the fancy 1000€/m cable
I would love to see a similar feature video about audiophile capacitors. I can believe more easily that those components will make an improvement. I also wonder how many people have bespoke speaker cables AND electrolytes in the cross over network of their speakers. I think that before you buy expensive cables you should upgrade the cross overs in your speakers.
(I want to do that with my speakers, but I am satisfied with the sound I have as is. Is that bad? Sometimes I get the impression that you have to be unhappy with something to be taken seriously)
If I were you I wouldn't mess with your crossovers, they're very carefully engineered in tandem with the voice coils. To do that right, You'd need to have someone on staff in my opinion, you can just swap it out for something better. It's like they correct very specific anomalies that only that speaker system has, at least that's my impression from what I've learned.
before you did this vid i already owned the audioquest " water" cable.ive now removed the batteries from the 2 sets i have in my system. i think the word " synergy " is the wrong word to use in hifi. i agree with you ,i dont look at purchasing cables to have " synergy " personally for me its to make it look good and not to pick up interference etc. it would be great Gene if you would please measure the bhk appliances just to see exactly what ive purchased according to your side of the this past time.. also in cables from a hifi angle,i dont think it really matters how they measure ,its all to do with how they sound. if i had the worst cable in the world according to measurements but sounded the best cable ever ,then id buy it. i wouldnt buy a cable just because it measures well. it comes down to the fact that theres 2 ways of looking at all of this. no side is wrong. you guys are all correct in your arguments.
If i send you my cable, that i designed, will you skip measurements and go straight to sound validation? If you hear a decent difference, will you advertice it on your channel and become a dealer? It will be a 50-50 after cost...
What about a shout-out between the belden 5t00up and the super expensive blue jeans cable iconoclast?
I have a audio quest subwoofer cable that was given to me with some speakers. Cant tell a difference between that and the rg6 subwoofer cable I had been using forever. 150 vs like 30...
What are your thoughts on the enclave cinehub pro
Thanks for this video !!
Hey Gene, I just watched an old video of Dillons audio in California. Did you ever take him up on his challenge? Is so what did you find?
Thanks for your time.
Don't even know who that is so...no.
Gene I have Kimber cable 8tc just for the fun of it and comparing it to regular 10 gauge i only notice a slight change in sound listening around 0db on the receiver which is really loud. I am wondering on Chinese cables from eBay and Ali Express they sell the very same exact that looks like Kimber cable using 16-24 threads for much cheaper.
Thang I’ve actually bought some of these to see what they are. You have to be careful. Often very crappy connectors and the cable gauge was less than advertised. In one case I found a cable using aluminum instead of copper. I also found a scenario where the cable had a very thin strand with a lot of filler.
It’s not that there are no good chinese cables, but if you aren’t sure what you are getting, it can be a bit Wild West. I also got some very good raw cable stock from a chinese supplier at a very good price.
@@PoesAcoustics alot of cables put filler even u.s made ones it's for rca . But alot of Chinese ones that are expensive look and see made very high quality. Even u.s cable people who custom make they own they look exactly like the Chinese ones part for part.
can you put banana plugs on belden 1694A? Maybe do a tutorial on how to convert it into a speaker cable
Excellent video. Anything to discourage snake oil is a worth supporting.
Great video. 2 different speakers can measure the same in most ways, but sound completely different. Even though we have the measurements to verify it that still doesn't tell what they actually sound like. Many amplifiers can measure the same but sound completely different. I am not excusing the cable industry for not supplying specs. I am just pointing out why measurements can't tell the whole story. I am not sure we know the "whys" of everything yet. I think not long ago Gene didn't like turntables until someone set it up correctly:) Anyway, Thanks for all you do to educate us.
Gene said the cable is acting like a tone control. Does different mean better? Maybe, but probably not. Is the "difference" worth thousands of dollars? Absolutely not. The predatory business tactics exhibited by these cable companies is inexcusable. If they want to have fancy cables costing a few hundred fine, but thousands is predatory.
Assuming the subjective perception is subject to bias, how can you confirm that they sound different? Have you done it in at least blind test using statistically sufficinet amonut of retries? If so, then we can proceed from that point on
I too use high end cables mainly for aesthetic reasons, but also because they're decent quality cable relative to the free ones that come with the equipment .. my brand of choice is Gutwire from Canada, and for about $500-$1000 you get a VERY top notch cable, but I don't trust when PS Audio says they're seeing a synergy, its just marketing which is something Paul is very good at I've learned.
I'm withholding judgement till i see the audiologist report to know Paul's level of hearing loss and at what frequencies.
Brilliant review. Being an engineer, I would say this is is reasonable review, based on reality.
about vibration how to effect sound, or just sneak oil, some hi end cable brand said vibration bad for sound,even very very little vibration.
Heh, I have been putting the money I didn't spend on snake oil cables back into components and speakers for years! I can certainly say my system does not suffer from loss even though I only use 10gage braided copper wires. I do believe that braided speaker cables help keep stray noises out of speakers, but that's about the furthest it goes.
What is a good target for L and C per foot ? besides the ideal of very low values.
L = < 0.2uH/ft C = < 100pf/ft
@@Audioholics Thanks.
Thank you Gene. You will always be a standard barer for me. I have some electronics and communications background. I too loathe the application of RF frequency theory to the audio spectrum. I do have a question if you don't mind.
I promise this one, while off the topic of audio, it has RF relevance.
I used Cable modem for ISP service. I believe the Home, being 1984 construction is RG59U and the feed outside is RG6. My ISP service is a theoretical 1200 Mbps. I have considered coupling at the source and bring in an additional RG6 cable for speed tests. My highest test speed was 1192 Mbps.
I think this likely verifies that my older Coaxial spec isn't hurting me.
Would that match your thoughts on this ?
It's rare I get that great of a test speed but it is my max on a shared bandwidth with my neighborhood.
I'm surprised you're getting 1Gbps speed from RG59U. Check your upload speed as well. RG6 has superior BW especially for longer runs. However, if you're getting those kinds of speeds, why fix something that isn't broken?
@@Audioholics I would typically get 945 down on a good day but that was from a test from a PC on the other side of the router.
Router only has a 2.5 ethernet to the 2.5 on the cable modem.
The rest are 1G LAN.
The best numbers I got was with dual teamed Ethernet on that 1g LAN.
I would typically get 945 Mbps at best.
The best number was direct from the router
down 1192 Mbps
up 44.65 Mbps
It's 1984 it's gotta be RG59 U right ??
Measurements also cause placebo effects, due to preconditioned information. Why would you not rely on your ears when it comes to audio? Where do you draw the line? Can you hear your measurements, or is it just the placebo you're hearing?
Gene, I believe in synergy and cables make a difference. I do think you have a point on why PS Audio recommends Audioquest. Interesting that they also sell them on their website. Maybe there is a lot of extra profit to be had... Do you have to pay extra for the arrows on Audioquest cables?
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Great video.
Objectively what you want is a flat SPL output from 20-20khz *and* a flat phase response. If you can measure that (with a calibrated microphone) you pretty much have the original sound as it was recorded.
Ok you need a DSP to do that but that's maybe a few hundred dollars.
But that begs the question - if you can achieve that with a $500 system (amp+speakers+sub) then is there any point is spending more?
28/03/2024.Have enjoyed your information very much.I do use the Kimber 8tc and the cables that came with my Hegel H390/Hegel Viking.
I found this out over 30 years ago when SIGNET was selling higher end cables. Nice cables but when I hooked them up and did A-B for my wife because of the placebo effect knowing which one that I had to have someone that didn’t and she has better hearing than I do and so much better today. She couldn’t hear any difference between the cables and this was on a Tandberg 3018 preamp and my Sony CDP-705esD back then. I came away with yes they are nicer built and look good! 😁
Question for you Gene (from the 🇬🇧)......hopefully one that hasn’t been asked before.
It’s about speaker cables 😳 I have a small sofa in between my speakers at one end (if you imagine a rectangular room) and my hifi rack against the side wall, is there a negative effect either though capacitance or inductance by running LH & RH speaker cables next to each other for 4 meters until they reach the point at which they separate at the first speaker? Also with equal length cables I have to somehow hide the extra length for one of the speakers, what’s the best method. Unfortunately all a product of fitting a stereo setup in a family environment. Real world problems hey 🤦🏼♂️
thanks, Paul! keep up the good work!
I never tire of snake oil videos. Who knows, maybe one of these vendors will present real science behind their claims and I know you’ll share their findings!