Posted by: BeethovenRocks
Re: "Golden Ears" Thread cont. - 05/10/05 01:32 PM
The cable discussion is a lively one...but as someone who is NOT new to the engineering field, my advice is to consider all the possibilities.
Some random points, in no particular order, just food for thought:
Why is no frequency given on the EMI plots?
What value of capacitance (gigantic in any case) would actually cause the amount of square-wave distortion shown in the time and frequency domain example? Or change in resistance that would cause that attenuation?
What is the typical resistance of a termination (at either end) in comparison to a worst-case impedance of 500mOhm/100ft at 20k?
What is the effect of NOT having these super cables inside my enclosure also, from the binding post to the crossover, and from there to the speaker? In the Characteristic Impedance example (figure 3, etc.) why do they use Solid 12AWG as the "bad" example? Does ANYONE use solid cable to hook up speakers? Doing the math on stranded cable and considering that the skin depth is probably not uniform...a 150% increase in resistance seems quite high. Where is the actual formula they used?
I'm not judging. I'm just asking.
If their information is correct, in any case, all I need to do to fight it is run TWO cables, "bi-wire," so to speak, to make up for my "lost signal." Now the current carrying cross section is nearly the same, and somewhat better at the low end.
The square wave attenuation? Get out your function generator. Run it through 10ft of cable, and see if it looks like that at a reasonable audio frequency. Then get some that Super Cable and check it too. Did it cure the problem?
It may, beats me. But I will not believe it just because it's in print. I need to see (hear) for myself. Everyone should.
No one - least of all the EEs in the bunch - will deny that as frequencies rise, strange things happen. The idea that you can HEAR IT is what's in question. And the idea that a vendor can fleece the public with a product using this vague science to suit his needs is annoying.
One more...where are the double blind tests of these cables?