Coat Hanger Cables

[Mike B.]

Seems I see one of these articles comparing decent cables to junk every few years. I present this latest one I ran across for your enjoyment

https://www.androidauthority.com/pre...th-it-1001521/

[Shadowfax]

LOL, written for people who listen to all their music thru $10 ear buds on a phone.

[mulveling]

I also like how they completely downplay/ignore the potential effect of up to 1 dB deviations. I'm sure they're quite happy with their systems and cheapie cables, but why pretend to be an audiophile just to pick fights with more extravagantly geared audiophiles?

[BlueFox]

Where do you get a coat hanger that will stretch out to 8 feet? The problem with these cable tests is that cable differences require dedicated listening on a system you are extremely familiar with. Just having random strangers listening to strange stereos accomplishes nothing.

[jdandy]

To each their own. Wire the system with barbed wire for all I care.

My experiences with quite a number of audio cable manufacturers over many years has clearly demonstrated performance differences. Quite frankly, I am not the least bit concerned with how someone else decides to cable their sound system. The only sound systems I am concerned with are under my roof. The only person I have to satisfy is myself.

[Mr Peabody]

Right, and if those who are new swallow this stuff with at least not trying for themselves then they deserve what they have.

When you don't know who is right, you try for yourself.

To each their own. Wire the system with barbed wire for all I care.

My experiences with quite a number of audio cable manufacturers over many years has clearly demonstrated performance differences. Quite frankly, I am not the least bit concerned with how someone else decides to cable their sound system. The only sound systems I am concerned with are under my roof. The only person I have to satisfy is myself.

[jdandy]

Right, and if those who are new swallow this stuff with at least not trying for themselves then they deserve what they have.

When you don't know who is right, you try for yourself.

Mr Peabody.......We all started somewhere, flipped, flopped and floundered our way to where we are today. When I built my first high-end system in 1968 there was no Internet, no audio forums, only friends and a few stereo stores to offer advice. I managed to get where I am today one step at a time. I believe for anyone truly interested in our hobby, beginner or not, it is much easier now to assemble a decent system with good performance without having to be a full blown audio nerd such as the likes of us.

[UltraFast69]

To each their own. Wire the system with barbed wire for all I care.

Now that is funny


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[Mr Peabody]

Sometimes, as in the referenced article, all the information can be a henderence to putting together a good system. Neither of us would have gotten anywhere without an open mind is all I'm saying.

As an example, I borrowed a multi outlet power piece from a store thinking it may do something, the guy throws me a power cord to try as well, I sort of laughed lightly but took it. I at least tried it. The outcome, I ended up taking the outlet piece back and bought as many power cords as I could replace.

I remember first starting out and learning about phase of speaker wire, splicing is bad, etc. I didn't even hear of higher quality cables until early 90's when a place I worked at picked up Audioquest. Then it was only speaker cable in bulk.

I think people in the hobby have to experiment for themselves as there are too many idiots like Ethan Weiner deliberately misleading people for some reason. So many out there ragging on cables and tweaks who won't even try it.

Mr Peabody.......We all started somewhere, flipped, flopped and floundered our way to where we are today. When I built my first high-end system in 1968 there was no Internet, no audio forums, only friends and a few stereo stores to offer advice. I managed to get where I am today one step at a time. I believe for anyone truly interested in our hobby, beginner or not, it is much easier now to assemble a decent system with good performance without having to be a full blown audio nerd such as the likes of us.

[Mechnutt]

What a crappy comparison in that link. They used zipcord to compare it to along with some other junk cables on a POS system.
I would not expect to hear a difference. You can't make $hit look pretty.

[Projectman]

Sometimes, as in the referenced article, all the information can be a henderence to putting together a good system. Neither of us would have gotten anywhere without an open mind is all I'm saying.

As an example, I borrowed a multi outlet power piece from a store thinking it may do something, the guy throws me a power cord to try as well, I sort of laughed lightly but took it. I at least tried it. The outcome, I ended up taking the outlet piece back and bought as many power cords as I could replace.

I remember first starting out and learning about phase of speaker wire, splicing is bad, etc. I didn't even hear of higher quality cables until early 90's when a place I worked at picked up Audioquest. Then it was only speaker cable in bulk.

I think people in the hobby have to experiment for themselves as there are too many idiots like Ethan Weiner deliberately misleading people for some reason. So many out there ragging on cables and tweaks who won't even try it.

The problem I have with experimenting with cables and tweaks is it can get expensive and it isn’t the best use of my money to hope that an expensive cable will give me a “jaw dropping experience” or present some new “astounding” impact. Also, there are way too many people that embellish and out right lie about the benefits of certain tweaks and cables, and reviewers often can’t be trusted or believed since they have a bias or financial incentive to review a certain piece of equipment, tweak or cable as “the best I’ve ever heard”.

I have mostly decent cables but I’m still skeptical of $5,000 power cables and $2000 interconnects. I would like to compare other cables to what I own but I’m not willing to plunk down the money on the hope it will take my system to another level.

What is an audio enthusiast supposed to do but wonder and scratch his head when they see people touting how great some tweak, cable or piece of equipment is and months later put it up for sale and claim there newest acquisition is now the best ever?

Choosing cables and tweaks to put in my system is a process I mostly avoid, but I still wonder what I’m missing out on...

[Speedskater]

If real differences are heard in speaker cables, the difference is often caused by contact resistance in the connectors. In some recent amplifier power tests, unexpected power differences were traced to the banana plugs.

[mulveling]

It's true the question of effectiveness of cable upgrade vs. money spent, is a good one. But again, many of us have evolved our systems to where we're settled (relatively) on the major components, and switching speakers and cartridges require a lot of hassles & readjustments, not to mention the havoc it can wreak on system balance. So cable loom upgrades can be the nice way to wring out that extra performance out of the systems we already love, without having to start over again in a major re-balancing.

Personally, I was using and liked the AudioQuest copper cables - and when it came time to upgrade, each step made towards a full PSS silver loom was exhilarating, without significantly upsetting system balance.

On the issue of connector resistance, I remember my old dealer (a wise man) reminding me to periodically make/break/clean all connections in a system. Actually, I need to do that again soon. But I have gone back & forth a few times between AQ Mont Blank & AQ Kilimanjaro speaker cables - same cable design, same connectors, only difference is the Kili being silver vs. the Mont Blanc's copper. I clean both sets of connectors. The Kili is easily the better sounding cable each time.

[Mr Peabody]

It helps to have a store willing to lend. Many cable companies provide shops with demo pieces just for lending. Also, friends or audio clubs are a source of listening and comparing.

There is, The Cable Companies lending library.

I have now what I feel is good cables. Unfortunately, I find cables are system dependent. So if swapping gear a lot, it can be expensive to keep up with cables. A real downside the used market is ruthless and cables really seem not to keep value, in general.

I've had cables/cords make significant improvement though and I wouldn't have a high quality system without high quality cabling.

The problem I have with experimenting with cables and tweaks is it can get expensive and it isn’t the best use of my money to hope that an expensive cable will give me a “jaw dropping experience” or present some new “astounding” impact. Also, there are way too many people that embellish and out right lie about the benefits of certain tweaks and cables, and reviewers often can’t be trusted or believed since they have a bias or financial incentive to review a certain piece of equipment, tweak or cable as “the best I’ve ever heard”.

I have mostly decent cables but I’m still skeptical of $5,000 power cables and $2000 interconnects. I would like to compare other cables to what I own but I’m not willing to plunk down the money on the hope it will take my system to another level.

What is an audio enthusiast supposed to do but wonder and scratch his head when they see people touting how great some tweak, cable or piece of equipment is and months later put it up for sale and claim there newest acquisition is now the best ever?

Choosing cables and tweaks to put in my system is a process I mostly avoid, but I still wonder what I’m missing out on...

[Mr Peabody]

Just rolling eyes and wondering, what cables has this guy ever actually compared for himself.

Granted, if someone has a HT receiver differences could be so subtle as not to be worth the expense. Although, something like Bluejeans would still get my vote.

If using gear capable of better resolution and someone can't hear the difference, then they aren't willing to admit it. If you honestly can't hear the difference you shouldn't buy the cables or more expensive gear. If a person claims to be able to detect a difference in any range of component, whether amp, cartridge, or, whatever, then says they can't hear a difference in cables, they just aren't being honest or never tried. If your position is nothing makes a difference I have to wonder why you are here then.

If real differences are heard in speaker cables, the difference is often caused by contact resistance in the connectors. In some recent amplifier power tests, unexpected power differences were traced to the banana plugs.