Newsgroups: rec.audio.opinion,rec.audio.misc,rec.audio.tech
Subject: Re: Interconnects and Speaker wire?
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From: Tomi Holger Engdahl 
Date: 07 Jul 1999 15:58:27 +0300
Message-ID: 
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Lines: 62
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"Powell"  writes:
> > The best database by far in my opinion is a high school level book on
> > elementary physics.
> Hehehe, such is the difference between those with field experience
> and those that practice audio theory (high school level).

 
> > The cost is and should be the most noticeable difference.
> Things like quality, durability, material science, fit & finish,
> reputation and warrantee come to mind.  

Quality of work, fit & finish are usually very good in very
expensive cables. It is matter of reputation not to sell
crap. Cheapest cables can be sometimes bad in mechanical
contruction, but withluck you can get usable cheap cable.
If you go to cables which are few times more expensive 
than the cheapest cabkes, you will usually get good cable
and good construction. I see no point paying astronomical
money for some esoteric cable materals, because you can
get decent quality and cheap cables from many manufacturers
which make  also cables for professional audio use.

Last for warranty thing. For cheap cables I would not much worry
about it. For cheaper you usually can get new cable so cheaplyu that
you would not bother on any warranty. For very expensive
cables I understand that people want warranty when cable cost
the same as somebody else's cheap equipments... 
If I would be buying very expensive cable (which I am
not plannign to do because I cosider it as a waste of money),
I woudl then also check the warranty. Otherwise I woudl not
much bother in it.

> would be missing from your audio experience not being a
> *practicing* audiophile... instead participating from the
> vantage point of the gallery, on high :).

For many people "practicing" is quite good word, because
in many thign the audiophole things sometime sound like a religion.

I am in some sense an audiphile and on the other hand I have
engineering background. I have studied things like audio, acoustics
and signal processing. I use my brains and ears on audio things.
I know how easy it is to cheat the ears to believe that something
is better than somethign else even though they have no difference.
Or even when the one claimed to be better is indeed worse.

> > And also proving that the sensible approach to optimizing the quality of
> > sound in one's system is to use plain old ordinary unglamorous zip cord
> > of adequate gauge and to concentrate on the more mundane approach such
> > as speaker placement and room acoustics anon, anon.
> There is a place for everything, that's why we call it a hobby (Hi-Fi).

There is place for everything. The system is as bad as it's worst
part, and that is not usually the cables (unless they are really
bad and broken). For most of the people investing the money
they plan to put to highly expensive cables is much better
spend if it is used instead for improving speakers and(or the
room acoustics. 

-- 
Tomi Engdahl (http://www.iki.fi/then/)
Take a look at my electronics web pages at http://www.hut.fi/Misc/Electronics/