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Registered Member #2123
Joined: Sat May 16 2009, 03:10AM
Location: Bend, Oregon
Posts: 312
For a short time I had a neighbor here who bragged about all his top-of-the-line audio gear including $1K+ audio cables. Some people have less brains than money.
I told him his audio cables were a scam. His reaction was not unlike telling a Christian the Bible proves their God is a monster. Never underestimate the power of ignorance and religion to seperate such people from their money. There is always some deceitful individual out there waiting to exploit that.
My neighbor eventually declared bankruptcy (no, really) and moved away.
Registered Member #30
Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706
Oh dear!
Maybe if he had used HD14G speaker cable he'd still be solvent.
I used to half-believe that stuff until one year I got a summer job working as a technician at the BBC, and saw the terrible things that actually happen to your audio signal in a studio. It goes through about a mile of ordinary copper wire, and hundreds of op-amps that only cost about a dollar each! That was where I first saw the "HD14G" speaker cables.
Personally I prefer the 2-core orange stuff used for operating lawn mowers and power tools outdoors. The orange PVC jacket gives it a zesty, tangy upper midrange.
Registered Member #2261
Joined: Mon Aug 03 2009, 01:19AM
Location: London, UK
Posts: 581
Steve McConner wrote ...
Personally I prefer the 2-core orange stuff used for operating lawn mowers and power tools outdoors. The orange PVC jacket gives it a zesty, tangy upper midrange.
Then you'll love regularly cleaning your connectors with our special citrus vitamin complex (with VO5) for a refreshing clarity that will make your hair stand on end! Available for one week only at the special introductory price of £375 for one 10ml bottle (or £800 for two).
Registered Member #30
Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706
Your connector shampoo reminds me of Dieter Ennemoser and his C37 lacquer. savaged by Rod Elliott here
I've got a piece of audiophile speaker cable somewhere with arrows on it for signal direction. Which end to connect to the speaker and which end to the amp. If you use it the wrong way, it's not supposed to sound so good.
Registered Member #1408
Joined: Fri Mar 21 2008, 03:49PM
Location: Oracle, AZ
Posts: 679
IntraWinding wrote ...
What got me started on this was I bought a voltage regulator on eBay for a precision job and then started worrying it might be counterfeit. I asked the seller where they came from three times without any reply (he'd replied to a previous question), so I sent a photo to National Semiconductor. They said it looked ok, but they couldn't be sure. So I decided to bin it and buy one from Farnell. That's when I realised it was actually cheaper to get it from them than eBay, and it arrived quicker. No more eBay components for me without a good reason.
I think that was smart. There are some things I would buy on eBay; but there are many things I would never buy there! I know that the way eBay is run, it's almost too easy to get your money back; but there are somethings that getting your money back is the least of the problem..... The lowest I have personally seen is blown TO-3 type cases sold as new, high value switching transistors for top dollar. They were re-stamped & blurred a bit to make the thing illegible. Sleazy stuff to make a few bucks. What class....
Registered Member #1334
Joined: Tue Feb 19 2008, 04:37PM
Location: Nr. London, UK
Posts: 615
Steve McConner wrote ...
Your connector shampoo reminds me of Dieter Ennemoser and his C37 lacquer. savaged by Rod Elliott here
I've got a piece of audiophile speaker cable somewhere with arrows on it for signal direction. Which end to connect to the speaker and which end to the amp. If you use it the wrong way, it's not supposed to sound so good.
Ahhh. Who remembers the "Tube-o-Lator" that gave "tube" sound to your digital electonics by varnishing the DAC & other chips!
At least its no longer for sale...
However, I have a good friend who was the European sales manager for a major high-end speaker manufacturer whose speakers I use, and who swears that good cables make a difference. I'm a HUGE sceptic about loony cables, but even I could tell the difference in a blind test between the various cables he bought along (they are sent cables by all the top cable manufacturers to try, and then hopefully use on their speakers at exhibitions).
It was an interesting evening, and a lot of wine probably helped the process along...
(before the wisecracks, yes, there are actually 2 speakers in the room...)
What you see there is one of the more esoteric cables, 8 conductors, solid GOLD, and flat. Looks nice. I've a fair bit of it, and always thought that it'd make a nice primary... FWIW, I normally use just decent plain copper wire, and without the benefit of alcohol, cannot hear the difference
Registered Member #2463
Joined: Wed Nov 11 2009, 03:49AM
Location:
Posts: 1546
In the days when hugh expensive theatre size systems were about, damping factor was an issue and differences could be heard if resistance crept into speaker leads. An example was the Electrovoice "Patrician" box. (tightness of bass) Back then Onkyo Corp was selling a "motional feedback speaker" with a seperate servo signal to go back to the amplifier.
If I was flogging pure metalic unobtainium speaker leads in a demo and somehow didnt tighten down the grubscrews on the terminals, maybe it would sound different. Who amony you would go pick a physics argument with a wind pipe organ tuner?
Registered Member #30
Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706
Nicko wrote ...
However, I have a good friend who was the European sales manager for a major high-end speaker manufacturer whose speakers I use, and who swears that good cables make a difference.
It was an interesting evening, and a lot of wine probably helped the process along...
Looks like KEF?
Nothing wrong with listening to music and drinking lots of wine. And, I think speakers are one part of a hi-fi system that it's worth spending lots of money on. But I'm not sure about the cables.
Radiotech's point about cable resistance and damping factor is a valid one, but the cables don't need to be expensive to address that, they just need to be beefy.
Registered Member #543
Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992
Steve McConner wrote ...
Nicko wrote ...
However, I have a good friend who was the European sales manager for a major high-end speaker manufacturer whose speakers I use, and who swears that good cables make a difference.
It was an interesting evening, and a lot of wine probably helped the process along...
Looks like KEF?
Nothing wrong with listening to music and drinking lots of wine. And, I think speakers are one part of a hi-fi system that it's worth spending lots of money on. But I'm not sure about the cables.
Radiotech's point about cable resistance and damping factor is a valid one, but the cables don't need to be expensive to address that, they just need to be beefy.
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Deceitful Electronics
