Do materials matter in cables and connectors?

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Here we go again. Do silver cables sound different than copper? Sure they do, and that's bound to stir up an entire new hornet's nest. But, it needs to be said because it's the truth. Have a question you'd like Paul to answer? Go to www.psaudio.com...

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4 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 361

@Bekent 3 года назад

That is probably the best balance walk on the tight rope that this subject is, well done Paul

@kwacked1 6 лет назад

Anecdote: In the late 80’s there was no web browser or RU-vid or social media. Like minded people would participate in Usenet newsgroups which were like our modern forums. I used to read the one for audiophiles. People then spent time talking about different speaker cable thicknesses, materials, and topologies asking each other what they heard. One of the contributors was an engineer at Beldin. He would make up different cables and send them to audiophiles in the group to get their feedback. One person would listen and then send them on to the next person. While he would come up with different things to try from the products they made, he would also create new combinations. He would even ask people for ideas to try. Some of the speaker cables made were very expensive because of the materials and manufacturing process. But the company was not selling them but lending them to get feedback because this engineer was an audiophile trying to help improve music reproduction if it turned at that cabling mattered. Some types helped in certain ways and other types didn’t. (I don’t know what kind of experimenting people may have been doing before this.)

@latourhighendaudio 5 лет назад

A good question. There is absolutely a difference in the sound with the use of different materials in cables and connectors. The challenge is deciding which materials you prefer the sound of. I would not let the technical numbers tell you which is better but rather which materials in cables provide a more desirable sound. As Paul had mentioned silver sounds different than copper and its clearly audible. I also agree “typically” silver has a brighter and leaner sound to that of copper. But there are also some cables that i like that are silver plated copper. Personally i feel copper provides the most musical and natural balance of sound. Same goes for connectors. The issue which Paul also addresses is that silver or copper will oxidize very quickly and that is why gold is commonly used on cable connectors, its not for better sound per-say its just to minimize the issue of oxidation. Rhodium is another alternative but for me doesn’t seem to sound right. Another thing to keep I’m mind and take in consideration is what the connectors are made from not just what is used as the protective coding. I personally like like the sound of copper connectors. Anyone who says there is no difference I’m sorry is just plain wrong.

@juliaset751 6 лет назад

One of the things I have noticed on this channel is that even when people disagree they are pretty civil. I’m sure we have all seen the channels where people get so nasty that it takes the fun out of the discussions.

@jcarb123 6 лет назад

Paul, You are so full of great wonderful information. I could never afford your equipment, but have heard it. Wow! The legacy you continue to bring is amazing. Please don’t stop doing these videos. Maybe someday I could make it out to see your business and get to meet the legend and all the history you brought to this very important thing, God gave.... our ears!!! Love you brother!! Carbonaro!!! You truly rock!!!!!!!

@Synthematix 6 лет назад

My wife lived in hong kong for 3 years, she knows what youre talking about here paul, a fabulous place indeed.

@AudiowaveTV 5 лет назад

*Please do an oscilloscope test on this....very interested!*

@falcon048 4 года назад

An oscilloscope can't determine quality of audio, only presence and wave form of the signal.

@falcon048 4 года назад

@@SDMasterYoda Then invent the technology to measure it, as the ability to measure it also doesn't exist.

@falcon048 4 года назад

@@SDMasterYoda He ruined his entire argument by saying at the very beginning that wire affects "Frequency response." Frequency response is essentially what we are hearing as the over all end result, is it not? So therefore, wouldn't you want quality cables in order to transmit quality frequency response? Case in point. If cables do not affect audio quality in any way shape or form, because the specification says it cannot, then high end, audiophile speakers cannot deliver any difference in sound quality as long as their drivers are rated to the same frequency response as low fidelity speakers. We all know that is nonsense because people can clearly "HEAR" the difference between a cheap Jensen 2652 bookshelf speaker and a high end Dynaudio Focus 20 XD. But oh noes, we are using our ears as judgement against sound quality!!! Frequency response from 20 - 20K should be no different in sound quality and clarity from one speaker to the next, if what Ethan Winer says is true. It is also true what Ethan says, "cables do not create noise." No, they don't, but they can accept noise from outside sources and will pass noise it is given. What a cable does, in its most basic form, is transmits what it receives. If external frequencies or noise enter the cable, then it will transmit that noise and frequency. If what it receives has noise, then it will transmit that noise. If the materials inside the cable are of inferior quality and more importantly, the GEOMETRY of the cable construction is inferior, then it will have difficulties transmitting a QUALITY FREQUENCY RESPONSE, as noted by the engineer in your video. Case in point, read the white papers on the HDMI spec. It seems you cannot achieve faster data transmission unless the geometry in your cable is precise and specific. Any deviation in the geometry yields slower data rate speeds and slower performance. Yet, according to nay sayers, that cannot be possible because it's just 1's and 0's. Well, because regardless of whether it is a 1 or a 0, it is still electricity through a conductor and therefore is subject to the physics of that medium. From 30+ years of experience, having this SAME argument with naysayers, I have come to the conclusion that 99% of naysayers have never actually bought the cables or tried them for themselves. They looked at what other people said about the cables, looked at the costs, balked, and then found as much counter information as they could find, creating their amazing sense of cognitive bias. The other 1% borrowed or were allowed to test someone else's cable and attached it to a system that wasn't going to be able to take advantage in the first place. If your receiver or amp cannot produce nuanced and spacious sound, then no amount of high dollar, well engineered cable is going to help you. I guarantee you that NO ONE who bought a $15,000.00 dollar sound system, connects it with $9.00 cables. So, conversely, if you have a $300.00 sound system, don't buy $15,000 cables.

@zulumax1 3 года назад

I would use a RTA spectrograph waterfall time based display showing an A/B comparison between copper and silver speaker wire. Should show something, because I can hear it. My iPhone X can do that, I am sure someone with a studio should be able to do a better job.

@Woofy-tm8si 6 лет назад

That said, I have noticed a significant improvement using pc-occ speaker cable, particularly in longer runs. And pc-occ interconnects make a positive difference. What stands out the most is a smoother top end without roll off and a significant increase in spatial details that reveal more info on the space the better recorded music was recorded in. So much so that it becomes painfully obvious when the recording engineer inserts a track recorded in a different space like a booth vs studio vs concert hall.

@krismichalsky 2 года назад

Your ears cannot determine the extremely slight differences that you think you are hearing. Most of the time if it is not an A to B to A test back to back, you cannot tell a difference. And if you are able to tell a difference then something else was wrong with your cable. When passing electrons through a metal there's not a limiting factor from what you think you heard. Only on an oscilloscope would these different metals even begin to be measurable....

@gioponti6359 2 года назад

@@krismichalsky yet you can on a good system - and with good ears

@gioponti6359 Год назад

@@squicker who participates in “correctly administered” ABX tests? I for one accept only the best ear/brain combos, not Tom, Dick and Harry’s abilities. Why, because its my money that goes into it. So, lets face it, the only meaningful ABX test would involve me, as a requirement to be meaningful to me. Plus, I strongly disagree with the usual short term switching between 2 items. If i change anything on my system I give it at least a few days to convince me, unless short term test clearly shows the mod has gone in wrong direction. A few days are needed to discover differences that go unnoticed in short term listing tests. And there always are things one gets aware over a couple of days, even weeks.

@gioponti6359 Год назад

@@squicker double blind studies in eg medical application serve the purpose to eliminate a human influencing factor on the objectively measurable results. one can do that also with a frequency response measurement which is rather meaningless. now, in music reproduction the judgement is highly subjective (provided typical set of measurements, eg freq response, all show good quality, think of DACs that measure quite similarly, but sound different); so I wouldn’t mind a long term double blind test, meaning I’d would rank long term tests much higher than short term double blind tests, provided I want to make a judgment that shall hold true for the next 200+ records ;). A “lifted vail” on one day can also turn into a strange over-presence noticed the following days, added detail can turn into loss of balance etc… The other topic about cables in a studio.. well, I see things as a chain, and quality reduces a bit along every step from recording to reproduction, but eg the use of xlr cables (and prerequisite symmetrical design of devices, enabling elimination of several effects detrimental to SQ) is rather widespread in studios and rather rare in people’s home audio, making a proper setup e.g. free from ground issues, more relevant in home audio, and possibly the influence of cable quality more relevant as well. not sure.. re studio: I was always wondering why no 2 records have the same absolutely balanced sound, there is always one brighter than the other, one lighter in bass, one a little harsher in treble than the other.. could it be that studio quality doesn’t mean perfectly flat neutral gray sound, free of any colouration?

@epi2045 4 года назад

Materials is one thing in cables. Insulation as well. That’s what everyone is focused on. However there’s also the mechanics of the cable. How the cable’s mechanical geometry of winding and layering is very important and sometimes more expensive than the material.

@tzed2509 Год назад

Paul specifically mentions that and says that in his opinion cable design is more important than materials.

@georgelewis3047 3 месяца назад

Best non-answer to this question I have seen!

@capecodtuber Год назад

I've been to HK at least 20 times. Always ride the star ferry and call my daughters back in Massachusetts. I love it too.

@nicholascremato 6 лет назад

You can measure the difference in impedance between materials and gauge sizes. I have even heard differences between silver and silver plated speaker cables.

@travis1240 3 года назад

The cable impedance is going to be negligible compared to the speaker. Yes you need the correct guage for the amount of current you're going to send. As for silver wires or plating actually making a positive difference... Blind tests or its a placebo.

@gubx42 6 лет назад

What is missing, I think is the practical aspects. Some cables are more flexible than others, there is robustness, tolerances in connectors (does it fit properly), fire safety (some cables can't be installed into ducts for that reason). Corrosion resistance is touched upon with the idea of gold plating. Also, though it doesn't matter as much for audio, the proper dimensions for impedance matching is important for analog video. Because different materials have different electrical properties, changing the material (the insulator in particular) can change the ideal dimensions.

@micgomac Год назад

Hi, Paul. Greetings from a Hong Kong subscriber, 4 years after this video was published. I love the Star Ferry like you do.

@user-od9iz9cv1w 4 года назад

Perfect answer. I absolutely concur. Is silver better than copper? That is up to your personal taste. I make extensive use of silver in cables and in signal connection within components. Often I use a 24 gauge silver paired with 20 gauge copper for signal wire. Copper imparts a bit of an edge. In some cases it feels like a warmth that is missing in silver. Silver is just clean and in some cases the copper effect is desirable. BTW, 3 9's silver is available at jewelry supply stores at reasonable prices.

$@luminousfractal420$

@luminousfractal420 Год назад

Thats what i go for also. They pair up to give a fuller more dynamic sound. I got a load of surplus single crystal silver communications cable that they used in russian jet fighters. Its stiff as hell (totally impractical) but sounds so good, and was cheap. I hate that the off the shelf cables are so expensive, and so many are both bad and expensive.

@ericmc6482 4 года назад

"Do materials matter in cables and connectors?", YES you bet, I agree with all you say here Paul, the wire crystal boundaries you touched on cause directional current noises that excite insulations noises, that's part of why wires and cables sound different.

@cobar5342 6 месяцев назад

Please bring MORE engineering aspects - this is great

@NormDPlume-mc5dh 5 лет назад

Ate at the Juno Revolving Restaurant and rode the Star Ferry in Hong Kong many moons ago.

@mikecoackley6852 6 лет назад

Bang on silver is King and construction does matter... I test cables all day mostly in the microwave range. Audio range is more forgiving but same principals!!

@Coneman3 4 года назад

Some education for you... XLO: copper vs. silver conductors With the exception of XLO digital/video cables and our least expensive analog cables, XLO cables use laboratory grade copper instead of silver. Why? For the only reason that counts--copper sounds better*. Silver has slightly less DC resistance compared to copper, and, for this reason, some believe that silver conductors ought to sound better. However, that just isn't the case: music signals are always AC, not DC. As silver has greater self-inductance properties compared to copper, silver conductors will have a much sharper AC resistivity gradient between their center and their surface than copper conductors of the same size. As a result, silver conductor of any size and any length will always have more "skin-effect phase shift" than an identical conductor made of copper. Skin-effect phase shift helps explain a distinctive "shiny", "silvery" sound that is associated with silver conductors and preferred by some over copper. XLO cables utilize silver conductors in megahertz-range (digital or video) applications, because at these frequencies, the signal is carried at or very near the extreme outer surface of the cable. As a result, skin-effect phase shift is not an issue. XLO and silver-clad conductors The depth to which a signal penetrates a conductor is directly related to the frequencies with lower frequencies passing through the entire conductor and higher frequency signals confined to ever-shallower passage as their frequency increases. Mega hertz-range signals, like those for digital and video, travel on or near the very surface of the conductor. By using a precisely calculated thickness of silver cladding over a high-purity copper conductor (so that signals are passing only through the silver cladding), XLO silver-clad cables are able to provide the high frequency advantages of pure silver at a very modest price.

@gyulanagy5910 5 лет назад

Hi, If copper doesn't sound well then why the printed circuit boards of the audio stuff are made of copper conductor traces? Doesn't the "audio industry" think it should be altered to a more potent metal? Are there any plans for that or we just have live with the crap of copper in every audio equipment's core electronics and improve what we can do with silver cables externally?

@OhFishyFish 5 лет назад

Because it's all bollocks.

@a0r0a7 4 года назад

@@OhFishyFish so true👍

@nox1cous654 4 года назад

No one said copper doesnt sound well.

@gyulanagy5910 3 года назад

@@nox1cous654 There should be a trend that copper sounds better than silver and gold.

@dell177 6 лет назад

A little over a decade ago I made myself a pair of braided cat4 (I had a lot of cat4 on hand at that time) speaker wires to replace my #12 zip cord. I used 4ea cat4 cables for each speaker wire so each conductor consisted of 16ea #24 solid wires and was roughly equivalent to a #12 wire. It took me the better part of a day to do that and my hands were killing me by the time I was done. I terminated each end in banana plugs. The next day I tried them out and was surprised to find they sounded "better" than the zip cord did. I've used those cables on two different speakers in my system over that time, a pair of Dynaudio stand mounted monitors (6-1/2 woofer / !" tweeter) and a pair of Chane A5RX towers (3ea 5" woofers, 5" mid, and a folded ribbon high end). A while back I read something about people having great luck using western electric cloth covered solid conductor(?) twisted pair for speaker wire, this stuff was pretty hard to find and therefore very pricey. The same article mentioned the Japanese were enamored of Belden 9497 twisted pair wire and some of the names bandied about were pretty much respected. After some searching I found you could order the wire from Japan without breaking the bank, I paid $44 for 10m of the wire on Ebay. I got the wire in 2 weeks and terminated it with banana plugs on each end and installed it between the Chane's and the Musical Fidelity modified Hafler dh220 amp. I sat back and listened to music from my server and some records for over 3 hours, I was pretty amazed at the difference in sound. What I should do is sit down and ret-erminate those cat4 cables because after giving them a good look I can see some tarnishing of the copper conductors. Had I made those cables 15 tears earlier I would have brought them into work and gold plated the ends of the wires. I don't really tweak a lot but one thing that did seem to work years ago was weighting down the cheap metal case on my NAD CD player. Modest CD players have a tin cover that must ring like a bell but you have to be careful how much weight you use, if you stack a tuner on top of it that seems fine out if you stack a tuner/casset player/preamp that is to much, It will distort the mechanical alignment and cause mistracking of your cd's. I went all out on that tweak, I cast a 3 pound brick of solder, put some felt on the bottom and laid it on the player, it seemed to make things more stable.

@Korcregus 6 лет назад

dell177 I think I'm going to make some of those cables. So to confirm, you braided each of the tiny wires together to make one conductor and repeat for the second? Did you twist those 2 together? Also, when you say #12 zip cord, are you talking about 12 gauge stranded wire that you'd find in regular speaker cables or power cables? I ask so I get a good idea for the size I'm shooting to make. Usually I don't read long posts because there is typically a lot of useless information, but you had some really good info. Thank you for commenting!

@dell177 6 лет назад

Korcregus The cat4 cables (today I would use cat5e wire) already have 4 twisted pair per cable, I took four lengths of that and twisted them together, some people braid them but I did not. I then stripped the outer cable sheaf about 6" and stripped each conductor about 1-1/4". Then I separated the solid colors from the striped colors and twisted each group (16 #24 wires) resulting in about a #12 wire gauge. I then terminated the ends in a banana plug. I think my problem was the individual #24 wires tarnished over time so I wasn't getting the advantage of all 16 conductors. Plating the ends of them would have worked, absent the ability to plate the wires I'd solder the twisted ends. This is what I followed to make them - www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/cat5questions_e.html The #12 zip cord was speaker cable I bought at Radio Shack 20+ years ago. The belden cable I bought from Japan was #16 and it has no problem driving the Chane speakers which are about 90db efficient.

@QoraxAudio 3 года назад

IMO, the most important thing when it comes to connectors is that they have a metal barrel for shielding, good strain relief and low capacitance.

@QoraxAudio 3 года назад

Except for those properties, a good connector is just a good connector.

@Channel-cm7yc 3 года назад

No trouble here Paul. It was speaker cable that woke up what I was missing decades ago. AudioQuest made me a believer and I can’t explain that.. I feel your pain in this and yes it’s a heated argument from those who only look at it as this is technically impossible and should be from engineering standpoint! But things do happen that can clearly be heard and also things where the law of diminishing returns apply.

@oysteinsoreide4323 4 года назад

every different cable i have put in my system have sounded differently. And I have only used copper cables.

@TomerDouek Год назад

So Paul, which is better cast or excruciate? And please feel free to speak your mind , That’s what we are here for and it’s wonderful !!!!

@SJMessinwithBoats 6 лет назад

That's affirmative, Paul. As soon as I get my speaker/amps/electronic crossovers unit completed to my transparent liking, I will look into the different hook ups. Right now I suffer from frowns of the idea of bringing the Project inside from the yard!

@djsparkyy 4 года назад

I wonder if you could heat up a drawn copper cable to just before it's melting point to change it's structure to that of a cast cable. Seems like it would be a faster and cheaper way to bridge the difference between the two.

@INeedsMoneys Год назад

Probably but it wouldn't be as easy as you might think, a lot of precision and timing involved in doing that. And of course the quality of the copper itself wouldn't improve.

@davidster1704 6 месяцев назад

I love your videos Paul. I used to work in an electronics test lab that worked with military specifications. We did component testing over a large temperature range (-55°C to +125°C). Temperature probes work by a DC voltage being produced from 2 different metals welded together. This voltage changes as the temperature changes. Any DC introduced on your power line can cause the transformer to create noise. I make my own power cables and use copper contact plugs and recepticals with all my stereo gear. Part of the reason why you may hear a difference if you use say a Rodium plug and keep the brass regular outlet, is the DC voltage produced, may create noise in the transformer that makes the system sound different. but is it better? Only you can tell, mayby a combination of gear likes a little DC. This noise may be even worse on cheaper equiptment because of the manufacturer using cheaper transformers that are more susceptable to DC. I use copper connectors because it matches the wire and every dissimilar metal junction, adds to the DC voltage produced. Every connection has 3 junctions. Wire to receptical, receptical to plug, and plug to wire in the power cord then the same at the equiptment. I suspect that brass due to its high copper content may have a negligable effect. A type T temperature probe is made of 2 wires copper, and copper nickel aloy. That junction at room temperature is about 2 milivolts. Theoretically depending on the different metals used, I suspect you could see about 10mv DC getting into the transformer just from dissimalar metals touching. People want the science, this may be part of the science behind the difference. Just a thought.

@408SPLKINGS 3 года назад

Thank you Paul & PS Audio You guys are amazing Great video, audio, explanations tutorials, lessons & clarity with NO condescension. So sad after 4 decades of hands on experience, education, knowledge & expertise you still have the nay sayers, disbelievers & haters... Even a master craftsman learns something new every opportunity. Humbleness + will to learn = Paul Paul passing on the knowledge PRICELESS...

@angelodimitriadis6545 6 лет назад

Yup, Paul you said it. Due to inductance and capacitance cables will sound different. They have no choice but to sound different from each other. Well done sir.

@renejansen5939 4 года назад

Hahahaha LOL! I Love it when Paul do the "Back in my day!!"

@jtmcfarland3512 Год назад

I would agree construction is most important, but I’m surprised there was no mention of Young’s modulus or anything about longevity/durability.

@lishlash3749 6 лет назад

Non-power-handling audio cable electrical properties only make a perceptible difference when they're long enough to act as transmission lines, generally 50 -100 feet or more. In those cases impedance matching becomes significant. For short runs, unoxidized conductor metal type only makes a difference in power applications, e.g. loudspeaker or AC power cables. To minimize power loss, you just want as thick a conductor as practical. By far the most significant issue with low-level audio cables is how much microphonics they have. Microphonics are caused by friction between cable conductors and shields, and sound like short bursts of static. You can test your cables for microphonics by connecting them to a low-level input in a stereo system or instrument amp. Turn the volume all the way up, and crack the cable like it was a whip. If you hear any static at all, trash that cable and get a new one.

@bradleysmith681 6 лет назад

Lish Lash You might want to confirm those distances. At audio frequencies, the cable becomes a transmission line at distances much farther than 50 to 100 ft...

@simonlai 6 лет назад

The Star Ferry goes between Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon and Central in Hong Kong across Victoria Harbour.

@rustyaxelrod 4 года назад

Good discussion! Like someone has already mentioned, wouldn’t variations in sound reproduction be measurable by just swapping the conductors and remeasuring? If the difference is audible to the human ear it would seem it could be easily measured. Kind of an obvious point but the thickness of any plating of the connectors could be a consideration if it is routinely disconnected and reconnected.

$@luminousfractal420$

@luminousfractal420 Год назад

Your underestimating the brains processing of it all. I mean we only "see" about (what is it, 5-15%) of what we actually see in terms of photons and input into the receptor cells in the eyes. The brain recreates the rest to fill in the gaps. I think thats what were plugging into with these variations in materials. And its not really measurable yet by current technology.

@Csnumber1 3 года назад

I did find that my Pure Silver Banana Connectors definitely delivered a more robust Bass Response!! On my KLH Kendalls which get respond to a very low 25hz, the difference was astonishing apparent...so I agree with you 100%!!!

@RoaroftheTiger 6 лет назад

Paul , I do believe Your observation, on cables is correct. In general, Construction, does offer a greater amount of utility towards the alteration of sound, than the Materials themselves. But Yes, It's also the greatest can of worms in the field of Audio. But You needn't take my word for it. Hell, I do believe It was in the early '1980's'; that even the Audio Engineering Society took up the question. It took Six (6) issues of their Journal to cover the topic of "Transmission Lines". My " Old Slot Car Racing Buddy" - Sandy Gross of Golden Ear Technologies ( formerly of Definitive Audio, and Polk, before that; still swears by Polk's old (imported) "cobra cable" Speaker Wire. It was a exotic weave arrangement (high in capacitance). It did wonders to enhance High End definition, in particular. But It also fried quite a few Amplifiers, that didn't like the load It presented ! Furthermore, It's my understanding, that Sandy is still using a High Capacitance Wire to his Folded Ribbon Tweeters. And some people want to know, What's my fascination with the reproduction of Music and Sound ??? btw - I worked for a short time with Mel Schilling in Woodland Hills, CA. Shortly after Arnie Nudell, convinced Him to move from the Philly area. All that, plus a Cast of Characters to include Richard B. and John Iverson. In the early 80's, I also worked for one of your dealers in NYC … East 8th St. in the Village.. over Pat Field's avant-garde Clothing Boutique (Her 'B & D ' themed window displays caused many a Traffic accident in front of our store !) - The Electronic Workshop (Len Chase & Bill Winkler). Talk about a "misspent youth" ! ;)

@garythompson2517 6 лет назад

I love my silver conductors Paul. My balanced interconnects and speaker cables are now 4 nines silver. What a difference. I was always missing that last bit of high end and harmonics. The silver did it. I did have 6 nine copper, but no comparison. That is to my ears, and I have been making and listening to music a long time. It was surprising that it took the silver conductors to make the difference I have been waiting for. When you are matching an audiophile system, you are tuning a system with components. There are no tone controls, so you will use cables, amp and speakers to tune your system. For mine it was the clear, higher end frequency of the silver conductors. Thanks Paul for your topics. For people with bright systems, you would check out different copper conductors. Gary

@nellyt2807 6 лет назад

Gary Thompson idiot

@fredriksvard2603 5 лет назад

Gary Thompson the ”difference” is imagined

@garryhudson6945 2 года назад

Hi,i play electric guitar,and I hear big variation in sound quality using different guitar cables especially copper vs non copper,so I totally agree.same story for my audio gear.cheers.&thanks.

@mikelanden 4 года назад

Connectors make a huge difference.. I replaced standard RCA connectors with WBT RCA connectors... gigantic difference...less glassy and hard sounding, .... their technical literature claims... there connectors have no Eddy currents and I believe it...based on my listening tests...I would do a double blind test ...I believe I could instantly hear the difference between the two

@a0r0a7 4 года назад

Please can you do that then come back with the results 👍

@zaptor1514 3 года назад

Obviously gold is the best as it has the lowest resistance and doesn’t corrode. Hence, the gold plating on many quality components and connections. Silver is next then copper.

@hawkfumodee5364 5 лет назад

Materials make a difference, it would defy the laws of physics if they didn't, most of us just don't have systems that are so fussy that we need to loose sleep over it :).

@fengeugene7321 4 года назад

Quantum Physics? Micro Electronics?

@beagle7622 Год назад

It’s nice to hear a frankly unbiased opinion. I agree that cables sound different. I had a great example of that with a 1600 dollar speaker . The difference they made was dramatic. A lot of the so called experts never talk about drawn cables changing the granular structure of cables.

@petew2560 2 года назад

Haha. Audio is the only business where the laws of physics either don’t apply or where there are mysteries not yet discovered to explain these amazing effects.

@petew2560 2 года назад

I’m waiting for low propagation inhibiting plastic insulation on the knobs. I’m sure that would make an amazing difference in the sound. Especially if priced at a 75% premium.

@Nexfero 6 лет назад

I'm a senior university student in Engineering and believe that materials are superior than construction and hope to prove this (on my channel, or research paper) over the next few months trying all sorts of exotic metal cable wires, including but not limited to: -> Palladium, Titanium, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Rhodium, Zirconium, Ytterbium. I have the samples of these elements; now I just need to make the wire, and get a good setup to run the test.

@eugenepohjola258 2 года назад

Howdy. In my mind. Silver plating reduces the AC resistance. The higher the frequency the more the current will congest towards the surface thus escaping Eddy currents in the copper core. I would also assume the inductance and capacitance are not constant. I believe they depend on the frequency. Thus the reactances may be quadratically ( or some other power ) a function of the frequency. Not only linearily a function. Regards.

@ScooterFXRS 6 лет назад

If copper carries 100% current, silver carries 106%. Theory has it that the electricity run along the other side if wire, silver plating the copper will help the current. All metals are of crystal structure. I'm going to assume that the less resistance within the wire the better the current flow, the better the sound because there is less "noise".

@BopWalk 4 года назад

They do make a difference as I clearly heard a huge difference from a copper OCC IEM cable and a 8 braided silver plated OCC IEM cable.

@wa2368 2 года назад

What was the difference you heard? Which sounded better?

@BopWalk 2 года назад

@@wa2368 Well, with 8-Braided IEM cables, they have a change in impedance compared to the standard 4 strand cables, which in my opinion give more dynamic range to IEMs as the volume is quieter, plus the soundstage had more width and depth. It's more about the nature of the 8-braid vs the 4-braid not so much the materials.

@drumphil00 6 лет назад

Well, I have a suggestion for Paul. Take a silver cable and a copper cable with the same impedance (should be easy to match starting with cables that have a very similar impedance, by cutting them to the necessary length), send an audio signal through them, and record it. Then use audio diffmaker to null the two recordings. Is there anything left above the noise floor? Plenty of people who say they can't hear a difference are willing to do such a test. Why is it impossible to find someone who claims they can hear a difference who will actually do such a simple practical test, that will give you an audio file you can listen to that only contains the difference between the cables? If there is nothing left to measure, then we can skip all debate over whether there are things that are audible that can't be measured. I mean, where do you go after that? Can you argue that if the audio signal is identical right down to the noise floor of the system after passing through either cable, that it is still somehow possible for them to sound different because of the materials they went through?

@My-Pal-Hal 6 лет назад

Just simple "Skin Effect" can answer that. With the measurable and audible differences you seek. Never mind the material.

@My-Pal-Hal 4 года назад

@@SDMasterYoda I don't believe ELECTRICITY works any different because of frequency. Or your choice of music 😂

@My-Pal-Hal 4 года назад

@@SDMasterYoda Blah blah. Do I have to cut-n-paste a dozen other opinions too? Enjoy

@MrDoneboy 3 года назад

Paul, do you sell those PS Audio collared shirts?

@deananderson7092 2 года назад

Would you say that materials in cables matter with respect to the insulating jackets and the resulting noise floor within the cable?

@jamestyrer6067 2 года назад

Another fantastic video. Thanks

@Patrick_B687-3 5 лет назад

Extreme high end speaker cables....the black hole of hi-fi discussions.

@willbrink 4 года назад

Like a black hole, once passed the horizon nothing makes sense and it's as much imagination and hypothesis then established science.

@lwdp74 Год назад

I’ve been using a Topping dac as a preamp to a pair of powered speakers. Tried a set of Topping’s interconnects that claim mono crystal copper. I had previously tried 3 different interconnects, each having different results. The mono crystal wire seemed quieter if that’s possible because each set of wires I tried were differently configured. The lack of “noise” wasn’t from cracking or popping but rather like being like in a quieter room where notes were able to finish playing. I don’t know exactly why connectors and cables exhibit these characteristics but they do. Instead of refusing the possibilities just try sampling a few. May not be better but should be different. Another thing to try, use a good contact cleaner and start with the line cables. Any changes should be inaudible but are they? Don’t believe everything you are told.

@Ali_ReBORN 3 года назад

Why would you get in trouble for speaking your truth from your years of experience?! We appreciate you. By the way, i never miss the star ferry trip from Kowloon to Central every time i visit Hong Kong either 😊 have a long life Sir!

@friedmule5403 4 года назад

I do normally say that if you can here a difference and you think it's a better sound, then go for it, if you can't, then why waste money? It's the same, if you can't here difference between a clock radio and a PS Audio, then go for the clock radio. But just because you can or can't here a difference does not mean that you are right, it just mean that you know what to go for.

@torbenkristiansen7732 3 года назад

Electronics education does not explain 'material sound' (sound signature) which can not be measured with anything else in the ear and brain. But Electronics education allows you to conclude the above with great certainty. HiFi consists of precision and sound. Precision can be explained and measured. Sound can only be selected and judged by ear and brain. My 30 years of experience in a few lines that appear to be identical to Poul's Experiences. Precisely this is also the cause of perpetual debate. Thanks for your always non-radicalizing and honest videos Poul.

@BRATWURST1 6 лет назад

One of the things which can affect the sound is the type of insulation material; PVC is audibly inferior to say Teflon especially in speaker cables where there are high currents involved.The reason is dialectric absorbtion and dissipation is much higher in PVC than Teflon resulting in a smearing and softening of the sound.

@Gary_Hun Год назад

Would be important to state is it digital or analog signals we are talking when you say cable materials tremendously matter. Because in digital it should not matter whatsoever. Unless the cable is so crap, a large part of the signal gets lost and the system actually struggles to identify what the sound is. But that is not better or worse signal / cable, that is just the signal not coming through on a cable unsuitable for anything really.

@caroldelaney4700 4 года назад

Love Hong Kong.your right it’s amazing.im learning a lot about audio from you guys.thanks

@hijmestoffels5171 2 года назад

Indeed, the Star Ferry alone is worth the 12 hour flight! And there is a lot more to see and do in Hong Kong.

@georgeanastasopoulos5865 3 года назад

From what I've heard the conductivity of silver wire is a very small level beyond that of copper. Anyhow, it goes with the listener's preference, I suppose.

@Gez492 5 лет назад

Paul mentions construction of the cable makes a bigger difference but surely that includes the way the conductor is manufactured. I have a pair of Robert Lumely Solid silver speaker cables that are not drawn or extruded the manufactured using a continuous cast method which means the crystaline stucture is consistent throughout the length of the cable. I let a friend borrow them and put up against a £2k, 2 metre pair of Van den Hul, and he found the difference was night and day better with the Lumley solid silver. I love them so much I wouldn't ever part with them and would put them up against any so called exotica.

@MrJohnBos 2 года назад

As I am an electrical engineer, I don't buy your silver over copper argument. I suppose one could argue transmission line effects but at audio frequencies, I don't see it. Electrons don't know the difference and you won't see any difference looking a spectral analysis. IMO, I think it is a psychological difference not an acoustic difference.

@bob3093 6 лет назад

Sound diffent? Maybe or maybe not, it depend on your system, but silver or gold are best conductor, in long run they are going to corrod

@bob3093 6 лет назад

Ah i mean they not going to corrosion

@tubecollector100 5 лет назад

@@bob3093 corroded silver is a conductor ... corroded copper is not!

@BrianNavalinsky 6 лет назад

Love the Star Ferry. I also love silver interconnects. Coincidence?

@Coneman3 4 года назад

XLO: copper vs. silver conductors With the exception of XLO digital/video cables and our least expensive analog cables, XLO cables use laboratory grade copper instead of silver. Why? For the only reason that counts--copper sounds better*. Silver has slightly less DC resistance compared to copper, and, for this reason, some believe that silver conductors ought to sound better. However, that just isn't the case: music signals are always AC, not DC. As silver has greater self-inductance properties compared to copper, silver conductors will have a much sharper AC resistivity gradient between their center and their surface than copper conductors of the same size. As a result, silver conductor of any size and any length will always have more "skin-effect phase shift" than an identical conductor made of copper. Skin-effect phase shift helps explain a distinctive "shiny", "silvery" sound that is associated with silver conductors and preferred by some over copper. XLO cables utilize silver conductors in megahertz-range (digital or video) applications, because at these frequencies, the signal is carried at or very near the extreme outer surface of the cable. As a result, skin-effect phase shift is not an issue. XLO and silver-clad conductors The depth to which a signal penetrates a conductor is directly related to the frequencies with lower frequencies passing through the entire conductor and higher frequency signals confined to ever-shallower passage as their frequency increases. Mega hertz-range signals, like those for digital and video, travel on or near the very surface of the conductor. By using a precisely calculated thickness of silver cladding over a high-purity copper conductor (so that signals are passing only through the silver cladding), XLO silver-clad cables are able to provide the high frequency advantages of pure silver at a very modest price.

@carlosoliveira-rc2xt 6 лет назад

I've had a skeptic tell me I was making it up when I told him copper was drawn and annealed. You can't even convince some people on the basics.

@lawrencel3188 6 лет назад

I sure wish claims of sound difference of audio equipment and components were backed up with level matched double blind testing. There are facts and there are opinions, and if a person can't tell a statistical significant difference using such testing, then the perceived difference is just human emotional opinion, not provable fact. An electrical engineer, at least one not selling audio equipment, would agree that such testing far surpases human opinion.

@FooBar89 5 лет назад

Lawrence L truth is there is nothing to the "audiophiles", beyond a few hundred or thousand dollars, electronics make no difference; there is nothing to speakers, a fancy looking box with drivers inside

@rustyaxelrod 4 года назад

Comparing a portable radio and a PA system for a live music venue quickly proves there are differences. Cabinet design affects frequency response, power input and the power handling ability of the speaker affects the amount of air moved as well as the frequency. The Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook has several chapters on the subject and some of the best detail I have seen. (ISBN #0-88188-900-8 for anyone who is interested in the subject) I suspect it is more important to match the amplifier output to the speakers power handling ability than to have any particular design of speaker and would agree if that’s what you were getting at.

@kencohagen4967 5 лет назад

I just found tips for my Weller soldering gun. I'm getting ready to start working on old tube amps! I don't know if a microscope would even help me see the new surface mount stuff! Lol

@Gary_Hun Год назад

Is pcocc copper harder to break by bending?

@jimmyv8307 Год назад

I think the issue here is that most people chiming in on this subject don't have high resolving systems

@taranagnew436 3 года назад

i listen to radio/computer on my mp3 player, would a gold-plated non-shielded aux cable make a diffrence?

@harrylakhaney4464 3 года назад

The old rule of buying the best that you can afford probably applies ?

@johnreardon1169 6 лет назад

Hong Kong is awesome! I went there last year with my family. We live in Japan so not too far. The light show over Victoria Bay is amazing! They have a great sound system for that too!

@theshark84724 2 года назад

What about when a regular 2-wire speaker cable that has one wire copper and the other one is silver? I have a set of speaker wires like that. And does it matter which pos/neg terminal you use for copper vs silver?

@wswsn7396 Год назад

Are you sure your other cable is silver? Silver is 100 times or more expensive than copper by weight.

@ryanwilson5936 4 года назад

If it sounds good, it is good.

@Ricky-cl5bu 4 года назад

Silver definitely does sound different to copper Paul your right

@Coneman3 4 года назад

@RobertWGreaves 6 лет назад

Which is why in my studio as much as possible all devices communicate digitally.

@tubefreeeasy Год назад

Pure silver treble sounds perfect. Silver plated copper sounds bright and a bit distorted. Copper sounds dead, not transparent and dirty. I use oil filled silver RCA wire and a 16 gauge silver speaker wire wrapped in an eight gauge teflon tubing that sounds very open. I also found affordable pure silver power cables.

@tubefreeeasy Год назад

I think a blind test with only one cable is useless. Try switching all the cables and you’ll know there will be a difference. So much so, a blind test will take a lot of time. Too much time for my liking.

@claudec2588 5 лет назад

So if construction has a more noticable effect than materials, what's the best construction? That was an obvious question. I don't get why you didn't answer that. Sorry for the tone. I'm freaking out here cause I'm about to spend a lot of money on a new system and I can't afford to get it wrong.

@AliBekirKlckaya 6 лет назад

Thank you very much for your honest personal opinions sir.

@SpeakerBuilder 6 лет назад

My extensive testing of both speaker wire and interconnect cables provides me clear evidence that material type really does matter. Such differences are small but definitely sonically apparent.

@stottpie 6 лет назад

Did you ABX test, or did you allow confirmation and expectation bias and placebo effect to make up your mind?

@SJMessinwithBoats 6 лет назад

I am betting on his spending decades with his hobby and his passion to find his opinion, verses a Phd in reverse osmosis psychology.

@Waitaminutesilly 6 лет назад

Not sure if ABX test proves anything. IMO, the only way to test affect of cables is to measure speaker output in an anechoic chamber using reference gears to see if cables change speaker output measurements.

@Synthematix 6 лет назад

Thats why headphone cable is very specialized, yup its all true.

@andrecostin1288 6 лет назад

Interesting. Didn't know PCOCC was cast. Does Wan Lung still do this (sadly Furukawa stopped)?

@GodfreyMann 4 года назад

4:35 pure silver cables (99.9%) do not sound bright/harsh, what you’re describing here are cables with a silver/copper alloy touted as ‘silver cables’. Aside from cost, the bigger issue with silver is the greater oxidation potential compared to copper i.e. faster wiring degradation over time.

@MrDoneboy 3 года назад

BTW...I was taught that Silver is the BEST conductor!

@travis1240 3 года назад

Certain supercooled ceramics are better... All you need is some liquid nitrogen.

@JeanKatana 6 лет назад

Great, keep on goin Paul!

@dandonna3904 6 лет назад

Amount electrons in both materials at in the atoms I gest

@tacticalAV 5 лет назад

I'm assuming bga soldering? Ball grid array?

@KingsPhotographySolutions 4 года назад

Well I trusted you on everything else I've had the pleasure of learning from you so far Paul. 😁 Why would I doubt the same sound advice now when it comes to wire's affecting the system? 😏 (Rhetorical question↑, and keyboard warriors🤗... I'm aware of the controversy, "Do wire's affect sound?”. I think as long as speaker impedance is worth talking about, wire resistance will remain relevant, but that's just my humble take on it. 😉🤗) Finally for those binging Paul those F bombs, just STOP and look at your self: "Here is Paul my favourite expert, I trust him on everything.” Paul says something you disagree with... "Ra Ra Ra Paul doesn't know ****.” 🤨Really.... The expert doesn't know....🙄Right😏.. It's not a good look for anyone. To clarify, it's healthy to have a difference of opinion. What is not appropriate or acceptable, is laying into Paul (who kindly donates his time to do these videos), because you have a differing opinion. To paraphrase Paul, "It's just stereo for crying out loud” it's no reason to argue to that extent. So in future, keep a level head, and everyone will look smarter at the end of it. 😉🤗 P.s. Thanks again Paul for another great video. 😁 Also thanks to anyone that actually reads this far🤗, I have a tendency to ramble. Hope you all have a great day, peace. ✌️

@bneyens 3 года назад

5:34 - He is referring to Ohno Continuous Cast copper, which creates a singular “crystal”. However, from electronics 101 we know that the cable creates an electron “train”. When you push one electron down the cable, it pushes the last electron out the cable. So “all the barriers” don’t matter.

@manamimnm Год назад

The electron train analogy you studied at primary school was just an analogy for you to understand the concept of an electrical current.

@Woofy-tm8si 6 лет назад

Sort of along the same lines, are gold plated copper binding posts preferable to the more common and cheaper gold plated brass? It seems that inserting a brass binding post in the middle of an all copper cable run between the amp and speaker drivers would result in a conductivity bottleneck of sorts.

@hawkfumodee5364 6 лет назад

Using brass is fine as long as its cross sectional area compensates for its extra electrical resistance.

@Woofy-tm8si 6 лет назад

Hawkfum O'Dee Thanks so much for your reply! It sounds an awful lot like wisdom without the gag-inducing marketing voodoo so prevalent in audio circles.

@hawkfumodee5364 6 лет назад

Hi Woofy. Not sure if it's wisdom but as far as transferring current is concerned that defeats the bottleneck you instinctively picked up on :). I had an interesting experience over the last few months that might help how you see the debate :), it has certainly influenced me. My system at the turn of the year. Alphason Sonata/HRS100MCS/AT-OC7 - TT/Arm/Cart Transcriprors Hydraulic Ref/SME3009sII/Ortofon 2M Blue - TT/Arm/Cart (Rather heavily modified) Roksan Xexes/Linn Ekos/AT-OC7 - TT/Arm/Cart Project Phonobox 2 - Phono Stage Audiolab 8000Q - Pre-amplifier Audiolab 8000P - Power Amp (Runs the HF) Audiolab 8000M x 2 - Power Amp's (Driving the LF, one per side) Tannoy DC3000's/ 6 metre runs of Linn LK20 - Speakers in the living room TDL RTL2's/ 6 metre runs of QED Silver something - Speakers in the man cave A modest system by some standards, exorbitant by others it is extremely revealing, good recordings sound fantastic but it tolerates poor recordings pretty well, especially when using the Alphason which is head and shoulders the best sounding turntable of the three. What may surprise you is that the old Transcriptors with a DC motor (Origin Live) is preferred to the rather enigmatic Roksan, possibly the Ekos was not a good match, I was given the deck with the arm fitted so it is what it is. Anyhoo, I was given a surprise bonus at the end of last year that my beloved wife insisted I invest in my hi fi ;), I decided that good value as it was that the Phonobox 2 was the weak link so I looked for a new phono Amp on E Bay. I was tempted by a Musical Fidelity M1-LPS, I figured Musical Fidelity, unlikely to be a mare and so I purchased it for a price that seemed quite reasonable given that it was in absolutely mint condition. Upon arrival I hooked it up to my system, popped some Ozric Tentacles on the Transcriptors and unleashed the loud lever ... I got a wee bit of a surprise, although the bass and lower mid-range were amazing something was missing, the top end. It soon became obvious that it was only the MM cartridge that sounded dull, both the MC's sounded fantastic, so why did the MM sound dull? Capacitance? The Project PB2 had an MM loading of 100pf, the M1-LPS only 50pf. The 2M Blue wants to see 150pf or more to sound balanced, the arm cabling provides about 10pf, the M1 50pf = 60pf, I realised that the low cap cable I was using tween the SME and the M1 was now dulling the treble in a way it had never done before. So I disconnected the 0.5m low cap Ixos cables I was using and inserted some 1m cables I made up myself many years ago using RS components 75 ohm co-axial. Bingo, there was the treble again, the Ortofon 2M had come to life and how. Oddly I would have expected the sound to have been painfully bright with the very low cap cable so I did some research and it all gets awfully complicated, mid range suck out, mid range emphasis, treble all messed up, all caused by small differences in capacitance. The difference between the expensive Ixos and the cheap RS cable was not subtle, it was night and day, this for a difference in value of approx 50pf? So can we hear differences in cables, oh yes, big time, is it down to the quasicryogenicallychemicallycastratedsupercoppercable? the prollypollypropelyne sheathing? I think not, most of the time those small differences are due to cable capacitance. I look forwards to somebody explaining how totally wrong I am :). Best regards

@hawkfumodee5364 6 лет назад

Hi Woofy, not sure about wisdom but dead crafty :). In case you're interested in this sort of thing here's a not so fascinating story. At the end of last year my lovely wife insisted that I spend my annual bonus on my hi fi :). I have three good quality turntables, in order of sonic preference.. Alphason Sonata/HRS100MCS/AT-OC7 Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference (Origin Live DC motor)/SME3009s2i/2M Blue Roksan Xerxes/Linn Ekos/AT-OC7 They were running into an Audiolab 8000Q pre amp via a Project Box II phono amp. Given that my speakers are already Audiolab tri-amped no prizes for guessing what the weak link was :). So onto E Bay where I picked up a mint condition Musical Fidelity M1-LPS, it arrived, I plugged it in and got quite a surprise. With the two MC carts the sound was transformed but with the MM, no treble, the moving Magnet sounded much better using the Project. A quick spec check yielded a possible culprit, MM input capacitance on the Project 100pf On the M1-LPS, 50pf. So it seemed my missing 50pf was having a devastating effect, the 2M Blue wants to see at least 150pf so I had to do a bit of thinking. My solution was to swap the expensive 0.80m long Ixos cables currently fitted to the SME to a pair of 1.0m long home made leads I had knocking around, result, I had all the treble back and then some, the 2m Blue is an amazing cartridge when correctly loaded, in my case I like about 175pf. This got me to wondering if the differences between cables are not due to Threedimensiolalquasitrigometric weaves, nor Hypermonotopubic copper made from the pubic hairs of ginger virgins, nor the Cryptopolymorphic insulation, but simple capacitance & resistance. That is how tone controls work after all. I look forwards to being told I am completely wrong but did you ever have the feeling somebody it peeing up your back and telling you it's raining :). All the best

@martinho2930 6 лет назад

Hi Paul, Thank you for your response. I think the place you're trying to mention is Wan Chai.Anyway, are you coming to the AV Show in Hong Kong this summer? Hope to see you again.

@MrAdmin00 4 года назад

It's Tsim Sha Tsui star ferry pier at Kowloon side to Central ferry pier at Hong Kong island. Please come next year Hong Kong Hi Fi show.

@Evil_Peter 4 года назад

For people that can't afford really expensive cables, buy short ones and just add some cheap cables to create the length you want. That's what expensive cables already do because you don't find that expensive cables from the connectors on the speakers going to the crossovers. In audio it sometimes doesn't matter what's inside the boxes, just what's outside of them.

@matthewguthrie7675 6 лет назад

So was there recommendation? If so I missed it.

@Coneman3 4 года назад

@RennieAsh 6 лет назад

You can all have your cables and interconnects, but at the end of the day, most speakers will have standard solder on the terminals with copper wire or copper clad aluminium, and another solder joint from leads to coil. Crossover components also there to think about. Your amps. Copper traces. While there are some differences between cables, it's probably not so significant to worry about for most people. That said, I would like to see how construction affects the capacitance and inductance as compared to a standard heavy gauge multi thin strand cable.

@BIZ-WIZ 6 лет назад

EVERYTHING MATTERS! DUH!!! Just this morning I took two mullard 12ax7s out my preamp and replaced them with rca’s and the system opened up beautifully!!!

@Youbite 4 года назад

really? i think i'll try RCA tubes, which RCA version/ series?

@sebastienfournier9421 3 года назад

Why not duplicate the signal and then do the phase flip test? One going through silver cable and the other through cooper

@torbenkristiansen7732 3 года назад

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZyWt3kANA3Q.html It is an illustration of the discussion that has lasted for more than +30 years. There are no measurements or theory / formulas for a significant part of what we call sound signature. Copper has one sound , silver another. This applies in principle to all materials used in a construction. We can measure pretty much everything that concerns precision but very little of what we describe as sound signature or experienced sound. We can't measure how wine or food tastes, or how a car drive. Many other things can be measured, but not this . Making Hifi is a bit like being a chef Choosing ingredients, putting them together. It can end up with fast food or gourmet.

@sebastienfournier9421 3 года назад

@@torbenkristiansen7732 well in the video you sent he is saying that you definitely can measure the difference in two cables IF there’s one. Maybe I miss understood what you are saying but he’s calling bullshit on sound signature. The only residual noise in his experiment is the noise generated by the amplifier in his device.

@torbenkristiansen7732 3 года назад

@@sebastienfournier9421 Yes my english is bad, google translation. Ethan Winer does a zero test, the same signal through two different cables, reverses the phase on one, pulls them apart and the result is zero. So there is no difference between the two signals. The conclusion is that there can be no audible difference on cables. His augment is strong and electrically correct, however, if you do the same experiment with digital signals, differences are seen 70-85db down. There are measurable data differences on cables. But data differences that affect the signal at frequencies well above 100KHz. Poul thinks Ethan conclusion is wrong the same do I and many others. But as I said, there is no electronic theory of sound signature or measurements, only listening experience.