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Old 13th Oct 2017, 10:54 am   #116
stevehertz
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
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Default Re: Audiophoolery. 'Cable Break In' - I never knew that!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig Sawyers View Post
The only thing that cables effectively do is manage RFI. Say what?

The problem is that we live in an increasingly RF polluted environment, from mobile phones to digital cordless phones, to LED lights, to ethernet over mains, to bluetooth etc etc.

The main effect on audio is that when high frequency RF gets into audio electronics, unpredictable effects can happen. I'm sure we've all heard our mobile doing a station seek, when the sound system goes zzt-zzt..... . That is high hundreds of MHz getting in and being rectified by junctions in your audio gear, mainly the preamp section. Even the BBC is not immune to this - I've certainly heard that when a guest has their phone on while being interviewed.

That these effects are real underlies the no-phones in aircraft and hospitals.

And if RF is picked up by your speaker cables, it gets into the feedback loop of the power amp with very unpredictable effects, dependent on the design of the amp.

Anyhow, my system is balanced in and out, with due consideration of the pin 1 problem. I use studio grade screened twisted pair cable from Canford Audio, which is about £1 per metre. I use Neutrik EMC series XLR's. My only audiofoolery is the speaker cables - for which I use Kimber. This is a woven construction, with very low inductance and very high capacitance - so it inherently acts like an RF filter - although another way of skinning the RF cat is just to use a Zobel at the speaker end.

Also mains cables need careful consideration to manage the junk that comes out our mains, particularly in these days of ethernet over mains. Once inside a chassis, that can radiate via anything that looks like an antenna. Mains filters a-la Shaffner are next to useless since they are only specced to operate up to 30MHz (or occasionally to 60MHz), and can often resonantly amplify interference at higher frequencies.

I believe that when listeners report different sound quality between cables, they are mainly hearing the difference in RF characteristics when linked up to their particular system, in their particular location.
Hmm, interesting stuff Craig, I've learned from that. Just one point, wrt your very high capacitance speaker cables, how does that work when you are effectively putting that 'very high capacitor' in parallel with the speakers' crossover unit? it must screw things up terribly surely? In particular, a reduction of the high frequency content of the audio signal reaching the speaker/crossover.

Also, you mention that mains cables need careful consideration but you do not provide an answer as to what you think does work/is good, only what won't work. Thanks.
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