Is Synergy in Audio Cables Real or Snake Oil? 

Gene, you make too much sense to be popular with most audiophiles. 🤣

I used to watch videos from PS Audio..... But then my wife complained that she could hear the BS from the kitchen!

I love how hard you crush people's hopes and dreams, no remorse. Some of this fantasy stuff is fun to believe and audio jewelry is beautiful, but it's so important to have someone like you bringing everyone back to reality. Let's make real improvements rather than spending so much time and resources on nonsense. Keep up the great work!

I learned my most important lesson about placebo effect when I adjusted a tone control on a console several times until it sounded perfect only to realize that I had it bypassed.

I remember a review of the Technics Reference Series System where the reviewer thought the system was not sounding great until he switched the Ethernet cables that send a digital signal from the preamp to the amp to some fancy cable ethernet cables. This reviewer "discovered" how these magic cables changed the data stream from the digital signal and made it sound like magic. I stop reading that magazine that day. It was The Absolute Sound BTW

Stumbled on your channel researching cables after reading up the science behind the resistivity of different metals before I made a purchase and in your video you confirmed exactly what the figures I was reading seemed to suggest. Now I'm hooked on your other videos! Can't deny the science that is there👍

I love this channel and Paul's as well - and, I think that Paul might even secretly agree with you to an extent. But he's a manufacture that has to "play nice" with other manufactures in the space. As long as cable manufactures spend huge money advertising in stereo related print and internet ads, I doubt manufacturers and even many reviewers, will call them out for being snake oil. It's one of many issues in the industry on a whole.

I hear you get the best synergy when you put a Spock cutout in a Ferrari , it lifts a veil on the exhaust note!

Sup Godfather of Home Theater, Gene Corleone aka Don Dellasala. I think you were fair in this one. Constructive in your criticism. Tough to argue with science. I could sell a $#!∆ ton of high end cables just by saying they look awesome, they feel awesome, they're expensive and therefore exclusive. No unproven claims there. And throw a hot chick in for good measure. $$$$!

The synergy here is a business contract to align the two companies marketing machines together to promote snake oil products.

I'm really glad you called Paul out on his bs. Lying about your product is a fast way to sink your company. I watched Paul's videos until he made the one about Audioquest cables and how they made his system soooo much better. The problem was that he was talking about power cables going into his own Power Stream power conditioners that cost $10,000 each! Shouldn't a $10k power conditioner already have amazing power cables on it? And if the $7k cables fix everything then why do I need a $10k power conditioner? I was really interested in his products until he lied. I'll be looking elsewhere for my new DAC when I buy it!

Paul must be referring to the synergy with his bank account.

The simple answer is: The Audioquest CEO is the PS Audio CEO’s friend. He has said so.

Gene is one of the few people that review products and various claims made by the sales side of the audio business with an eye towards the consumers best interest so God bless him for that. In this case I'd love to see if Gene could get the owners at Blue Jean Cables to weigh in on this, not to bash their competition, but just to offer their opinions on various types of cables and how they manufacture and sell very reasonably priced interconnects.

As someone who seeks the best from both Home and Car audio, I must agree with you Gene! Car audio has its own unique obstacles to overcome. Years ago when I first started, I learned early on about cable quality in cars. I've been using RG6 as interconnects and ALL the noise is gone. A dear friend of mine loves his AudioQuest junk. I swapped in a pair to test with just for shits and giggles in my last build and all the issues of using cheap Walmart interconnects came back, alternator whine, spark noise, etc. Now I only use RG6 in my house as well. If it's good enough for automotive use, it's good enough for my home!

Totally agree with this one. I have had this discussion at my hifi dealer several times. I tell them that in the circuit the goal should be that the cables do not contribute to the circuit for resistance or capacitance - in other words disappear in a thevenin equivalent circuit so that they do not influence the sound. As soon as the speaker cables begin to be a contributing part of the circuit you are now listening to something other than the way your speakers are designed to sound. I hate being told that there are some things we can hear but can't measure. We have been characterizing and measuring audio for longer than almost anything else. We know how to do it, and our instruments are much more sensitive, accurate, and repeatable than the human ear.

I've done a/b blind testing with expensive and cheap cables and really nobody could consistently tell a difference. Even had spliced together speaker wire at times. Cables and wire are the biggest crock of b/s in the consumer market.

The owner of Audioquest lives in a 5 million dollar condo IN a Newport Beach shopping center. Lots of markup in Chinese-made cables.

Henry Ott's book has been one of my favorite reference books since decades! Thank you for keep sharing rationality and truth.

“Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in.”

No, I don't get tired of these sorts of videos on what works, and what does a bit of difference, and benefit; and what factors don't do anything. Thumbs up easily. You tell it as it is in the real world.

A sane man in an insane world of audiophiles with more money then sense

Gene, have been listening to you for years. Thanks for all you do, but I wanted to make a comment. I LOVED your mention of Hitchens Razor!!! RIP Christopher.

Gene ... you are incorrect. Totally incorrect. The best component to use with max effect are still cable lifters. All of a sudden the system will sound exactly like the performers are in front of you. Don’t waste money on cables. Get cable lifters. 😂🤣

Down votes by PS Audio, Audioquest and snake oil suckers...

Looking good Gene. Looking healthy as well. Keep up the good fight against audiofoolery.

Absolutely true Gene . Paul also claims that we can't measure everything we hear in cables. As you said cables should not act as a tone control.

Paul and his absurd cable nonsense turned me off to his channel. He went from a nice ole guy to a charlatan the first time I heard him go down that road. There's no way he truly believes that drivel. I still peak over there because some topics are interesting in other areas, but I'm calloused and suspicious of his opinions.

It seems every few years Gene has to discuss the snake oil market of the audio industry.

Dear Gene....you made my day. These snake oil guru's must hate you! Thank you for standing up!!! Incidently, I have an E.A.R 518 amp that was designed and built by Tim de Paravicini himself.

before you did this vid i already owned the audioquest " water" cable.ive now removed the batteries from the 2 sets i have in my system. i think the word " synergy " is the wrong word to use in hifi. i agree with you ,i dont look at purchasing cables to have " synergy " personally for me its to make it look good and not to pick up interference etc. it would be great Gene if you would please measure the bhk appliances just to see exactly what ive purchased according to your side of the this past time.. also in cables from a hifi angle,i dont think it really matters how they measure ,its all to do with how they sound. if i had the worst cable in the world according to measurements but sounded the best cable ever ,then id buy it. i wouldnt buy a cable just because it measures well. it comes down to the fact that theres 2 ways of looking at all of this. no side is wrong. you guys are all correct in your arguments.

So glad to have you in this industry, fighting the good fight for common sense and critical thinking. I love making DIY Canare LV-61S or Belden 1694F cables--high quality and no-nonsense. And then for audio jewelry, I'll sometimes get some pretty Techflex, but that's where the exotics end. :) Hope all is well with you. Keep doing what you're doing! :)

I've seen a ton of videos about speaker cables and I think Mr. Gene Dellasala knows what he is saying. I bought recently audio cable KnuKonceptz 10 Gauge with Nakamichi screw lock banana plugs and I am quite happy with the sound. I hope I won't regret it after few years. Thank you Mr. Gene for sharing your knowlege.

I am myself an electrical engineer by profession...and the audiophil for some 40+ Years... Great observation...and the previous one about speaker cables as well. Congretulation!

Don't stop doing these videos please Gene, I keep an open mind and an eye on my wallet Thanks

Measurements also cause placebo effects, due to preconditioned information. Why would you not rely on your ears when it comes to audio? Where do you draw the line? Can you hear your measurements, or is it just the placebo you're hearing?

Every time Gene says Wayne Kerr Analyser, the Brits in the audience hear something else and it will always be funny...

Gene, I watch your channel when I want to learn something. I watch Paul's channel when I am eating food and want to be briefly entertained. And I complete agree, PS Audio makes some products that I too would be interested in playing with. However, I think Paul is 100% batshit crazy when he's talking about synergy in cables. I posted in his channel a long time ago, a sarcastic comment stating that I use my cables as tone controls. And here we are in 2020 and you made this video! Glad to see you are feeling better. Keep doing what you do, we appreciate it!

Are you kidding me? Audiophile cables makes a huge difference! In your wallet that is! I am glad to see you are doing better!

I agree with you about the “filter effect” cables have on gear. I’ve seen audiophiles claim that they liked a $2k cable better than a particular $10k cable. And I can’t explain that. The placebo effect would naturally push the $10k cable to the top of the list. I asked you a question on your “power cable debunking” video about if we know what to test for when it comes to things like cables. It was a really good question I won’t repeat the whole question here (it was eloquently written) . I hope you read that question and give it some thought. But you own that kimber cable and it measures better than your 10g. Can you actually hear any difference between the two? It seems silly that such a small difference would be audible. Just curious if you can hear a difference?

I'm all about measurements. Because with measurements, sure you can argue, was it measured correctly, but other than that, measurements are measurements. At some point the excuses go away. That's the problem with abx tests. Audiophiles tend to not want to abx their setups, because they'll claim there's some special property about their unit, its burn in, its cable synergy, the fact that it must be kept on for hours before its ready to play from off, no matter the time off, etc., etc., etc. It's always some excuse, because I think deep down, there's an element of narcissism there. They tell themselves they believe these things because they're intelligent audiophiles, they've tested this $300 1ft usb cable and it's truly awe-inspiring the difference it makes. It's impossible for some of these people to put their egos, and themselves, aside for a moment and talk about science, i.e. testable hypotheses.

Measuring something in a lab where you look at a 0 and a 1 and experience what a person should do is a big difference. We decide on smells we like. I choose perfume for my nose not what it says on the packaging. I eat organic meat and always have a favorite brand. I don't like McDonald's but I like Burger King. What I see with my eyes I like. For a human, lab measurements are not indicative. Thankfully we use our 7 senses to decide what we like and don't like. I am a regular person who likes music and has invested some money in my sound system. I live in Europe in Sweden and I am not a fan of either you or anyone else you mention in your channel. What I oppose, however, is that you say that we humans cannot hear the difference between speaker cables, and that is exactly what we do. Specification on paper is one thing, but what we hear, feel and see is what determines what we feel. I have a tube amp and I happened to have the opportunity to listen to different speaker cables before I bought them, and I actually happened to choose Audioquest over many other brands BEFORE I heard the difference. On the papers according to specification I could never decide the folded cable I would have but by listening I could decide. When I buy a new TV I do not check the specification but I go to the store watching TV until I find the TV I like. The fact that PS audio has been able to hear and feel good for Audioquest I can understand because I chose my speaker cable in the same way. And what I hear you can never put a spec on or measure up. Two cables can have the same measurement values ​​that they can sound completely different. No one has been able to prove to me through set why I hear more treble, headroom, stage, wide music more in one cable but not in the other. I just wanted to write to you here that we are not robotic and a 101010 is not the least interesting to us humans but we decide things by seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling.

Thanks for the video. They were talking business synergy and how both companies can make more money. Please do a video on conditioners (types), regenerators and if they matter and measurements.

For me, I purchased several cables from AudioQuest and Blue Jeans from a retailer that I could return them without issue. I tested them with my system in my room. Similar to how Zero Fidelity does in his videos. I found that there was a difference in sound quality from cable to cable. Some of the differences were minor, others were more obvious. However that being said, I love PS Audio hardware, but I would not purchase $1000 cables.

Thanks Gene, you certainly tell it how it is, which is always appreciated.

Thank you so much for explaining this crystal clear. I've been watching a few videos and reading forums lately, as I want to buy some audio equipment.... and I felt like this hole industry is full of myths and marketing BS. But it seems like the consumers defend the BS, and are proud buyers, instead of searching for the truth. Thank god I found your videos!! Great job!!

I would like you to talk about network switches for audio, things like jitter, and how buffers are useless

I too use high end cables mainly for aesthetic reasons, but also because they're decent quality cable relative to the free ones that come with the equipment .. my brand of choice is Gutwire from Canada, and for about $500-$1000 you get a VERY top notch cable, but I don't trust when PS Audio says they're seeing a synergy, its just marketing which is something Paul is very good at I've learned.

Whilst I am sure some people don't like to have their "dreams crushed", as one commenter put it, honestly, the science and measurements-based approach actually makes me more happy with my system. If you can't measure it, I can't hear it, therefore it's not necessary to spend a lot of money on fancy cables, amplifiers etc at the hope of hearing a difference, as long as they perform the job they're supposed to, and the measurements back that up, then I sure as hell won't ACTUALLY hear anything (of course I might convince myself I can, but my ears and brain are not trustworthy!)

Finally we got some expert telling the facts. All these audio cable makers basically sell snake oil. Oh yes they even sell a $10 power cord for $1000

28/03/2024.Have enjoyed your information very much.I do use the Kimber 8tc and the cables that came with my Hegel H390/Hegel Viking.

Hitchen’s Razor…. I like that. I’ve been educated.

Glad to see you healthy and back!

What about a shout-out between the belden 5t00up and the super expensive blue jeans cable iconoclast?

The practice of electrical engineering is not used at all by the sucker-bait audiophile industry. Marketing is what consumes all of their time and energy, and is what accounts for the majority of their development budget. It never ceases to amaze me how willfully ignorant their customers are in throwing away money.

Anyone who owns Audioquest or some other high-end cables, please send them to Gene so he can measure.

Gene you're awesome, and I'm stoked to have stumbled on your channel. The answer to the question you proposed is..............Engineering grade cables may sound good to engineers, but since they don't look very cool they lose sound quality when they enter a consumer's home.

I have watched videos with Paul from PS Audio, and the way he interacts with people that disagree in the comments is less than professional. It is the reaction of someone that is not happy that their biases are being challenged. Audioquest is a snake oil purveyor, and PS Audio is happy to ally with them. I wouldn't touch a product from either company. Synergistic Research is in the same class of huckster.

Keep the great information coming Gene

Glad you’re calling them out, you’re the only one to do so.

AudioQuest does make some nice looking cables! I can't say that I would spend the money on them, but they are pretty!

Over at AudioScienceReview Amir debunked a $2,300 set of AudioQuest cables. No special performance and failed when tested for shielding. If they're willing to rip people off with a BS $2,300 cable what won't they do.

I’ve watched a few of your videos now, great info and well presented. I do have a couple of questions though. You heavily rely on the audio precision analyser and your own knowledge to debunk these claims, however, have you ever considered that what people claim they can hear is something that is outside of your own measuring capabilities? I’ve noticed whenever you talk about “cables make a difference” you never actually re create the scenario of which the “audiophile” claims to have heard these differences and actually measure sound coming from the speakers in a stereo playback setting. Is there such a piece of equipment that can measure intricate details of audio playback like soundstage and imaging, tone and texture etc? This is not a cocky attempt to bash your theories, I’m genuinely curious to know if you have considered these things and if not, why? Thanks Gene, another great video 👍🏻

Hi Gene Love your videos! I can`t se the problem in recommending cables. For the audiofiles that "believe" in cables strongly, Paul is making their life easier. When he says that the synergy is good with their produkts, that is what they will think, and relax, not having to chase for a "better" solution :) For people that don`t care about very expensive cables will not run buying those cables. My personal experience and belief is that cables are important. As I started building my hifi system I have had many different cables. It is very hard to say why and what changes in the sound, and I need to "listen to" a cable for a longer time in order to say if I like it or not. Quite early in my quest for a great hifi system I "upgraded" to some Van Den Hule cables. I was proud of my new cables!!! But after a few months I realized that I listened less and less to music. Then one night I changed back to the old 50NOK (5USD) cables and the joy and energy in the music came back:) But it was easy then to hear that those cables lacked control, and had bad phase control. The stereo perspective was "messy" So then I started looking for "good cables" that had It all. Good copper, seems to be the sound I like, and they don`t need to be very expensive. I don`t know why, but I have not had any cables with other metals for very long. Silver, gold and rhodium just not my cup of tea, and I can`t tell why......

Brilliant review. Being an engineer, I would say this is is reasonable review, based on reality.

I find the Hi end audio industry, similar to other luxury fields, full of secrecy and hyperbole claims. A lot of what the consumer pays for is not necessary to put it kindly. There is this implied exclusivity that is conveyed by brands, retailers, stores, reps. Cable Synergy to me is part of that. “You are not really getting the expected result of the component without also including this expensive snake oil in your purchase”. That is what it would take to enter the club. My personal interest is the sound. I don’t care about the exotic wood, the jewelry style cables, luxurious expenses. I have found your channel to be exactly what I want to hear. I would be more interested in reviews of components that measure well but are more geared towards the regular guy with interest in quality audio. Speakers of a more modest size (less than 7ft tall 😅), subwoofers that can be moved by a single person, amps that cost less than a car and systems that can be put together by a family guy with a regular pay check. Still I enjoy your content and reviewing all the equipment I will not ever buy.

having started in this wonderful hobby in the fifies, loved reading about exotica.then with techcnical education came vast amounts of skepticism and later disdain of all things snake oil.my safe place was with julian hirsch and later john atkinson. thank you gene, for calling bs in a calm civilised logical manner.this will never go away because to quote a wannabee politician,its all about the benjamins ,baby.

I think your strongest argument is your logical argument you started with. The measurement argument definitely is there, however I would argue that you should also offer to do a blind listen. And see if when cables are swapped you do or do not hear something. I trust that you would do it fairly honestly. Because I think their claim is even though they can’t measure it they hear it. OK I’m not sold on that, however I’m not dismissing it out of hand either. Just a thought. Love your presentations

Paul thinks he can hear fuses too! :-D

great video Gene!!!! I agree! I use Mogami and Canare cables nothing fancy just great quality cables with good shielding and no fancy crap, reasonable price and studio grade performance! same cables used at the studio I had labs in at college haha go figure haha cant believe what people believe

I hope AudioQuest is watching this too. Definitely keep trying to measure them!

Don't forget about the $1,000 power cord plugged into the $50 receptacle.

I dare you to talk about cable lifters next.

Great vid. I eagerly await the day when you can measure these cables and come back with results(test).

Gene, you're so passionate and knowledgeable about this. That begs the question, have you ever considered creating, marketing and selling Audioholics brand cables? I think many people would be interested in buying something that you'd be willing to put your name on.

havent seen you for so long....always like your video...hits hard on snake man. i believe everyone will appreciate and send you donation if you actually take the cable and do details test on it, then publish it. save ppl tonnes of money.

I would love to see a similar feature video about audiophile capacitors. I can believe more easily that those components will make an improvement. I also wonder how many people have bespoke speaker cables AND electrolytes in the cross over network of their speakers. I think that before you buy expensive cables you should upgrade the cross overs in your speakers. (I want to do that with my speakers, but I am satisfied with the sound I have as is. Is that bad? Sometimes I get the impression that you have to be unhappy with something to be taken seriously)

I bought high quality bulk cable and terminations and made my own speaker cables. They are excellent. At my age, I'd bet they sound the same to me as lamp cord, though. Thanks for cutting through the BS, Gene!

Supra seems to be the only no-nonsense cable maker. Their ad says, “pay for engineering, not magic.” Even Kimber have their own cable voodoo with “interconnects must not have shielding, because shielding is bad, because feelings”.

Tho to a small degree I do use some interconnects for tone. After all is said and done with my gear it gives just a slight tweek to put it a little more to my liking. I don't use hi end cables, just a touch above entry Transparent. I found the networked cable sounded a touch smoother on the top end than the same level of say a Tara cable, but really almost imperceivable.

Great video. 2 different speakers can measure the same in most ways, but sound completely different. Even though we have the measurements to verify it that still doesn't tell what they actually sound like. Many amplifiers can measure the same but sound completely different. I am not excusing the cable industry for not supplying specs. I am just pointing out why measurements can't tell the whole story. I am not sure we know the "whys" of everything yet. I think not long ago Gene didn't like turntables until someone set it up correctly:) Anyway, Thanks for all you do to educate us.

If i send you my cable, that i designed, will you skip measurements and go straight to sound validation? If you hear a decent difference, will you advertice it on your channel and become a dealer? It will be a 50-50 after cost...

Have you gone down that path and done a video on Speaker cable and interconnect impedence characteristics? Great video by the way. Awesome channel!

I say keep it up!! All this Money spent on Snake Oil Cables could be spent on better Speakers or Amps. Keep up the good work!!!

Gene you are talking science to people who believe in magic.

Your take on PS audio re: magical cable synergy with that brand of cables was an interesting one. Many moons ago I decided to compare my "WirePlanet" speakers cables with a 6 foot pair of "Monstrous" 12 gauge zip cable and BINGO, the whole sound stage collapsed, pin point imaging became a muddled mess of instruments and the speaker coherency (Thiels) disappeared. At the same time, my other set of cables - "Bardas" - had a sweeter treble and a wee bit fuller lower mid-range than the "WirePlanet" cable (tone control), but both were very coherent. There is something going on that yet cannot be measured. Similarly measuring power-amps can sound very different in tone, staging, imaging, slam, clean top end or grainy, etc. Things that to this day cannot be empirically measured. On the other hand, mega thousand dollar cables are pure foolishness. Best and cheers!

Great video Gene, much appreciated ! In answer to your question, I don't believe in the synergy claim, it is just more marketing crap. Like most audio marketing, it is based on subjective bullshit, and that's o.k. if you like the products and want to spend your money on it, but I find it to be complete bullshit, and honestly, pretty disengenuous that these companies make claims without providing any objective proof to back up their claims. They're out for the sale, and hey, synergy sounds like good marketing. If they've tested products to be able to make the claims they make, great, show us the measurement results, or show us before and after measurements for the claimed improvements, but they don't and personally I dismiss such subjective claims as the bullshit that it is. Thanks again for the great videos, keep'm coming.

I agree :) but how about copper vs silver ? does it change some measurement ?

So here's my experience take it for what it's worth. I like to think I'm very.. factual, logical etc.. There's plenty of stuff that Paul says that I lawl @ but I try to keep an open mind and I'll try something to see for myself what I think (within reason). I have heard a difference swapping interconnects. It wasn't a huge difference but there was a tonal difference. I was swapping the cables for looks and here's where I think there's some validity to my statement, I preferred the cheaper set. I was kind of like.. this can't be, it doesn't make sense.. on paper I shouldn't have heard a difference but I clearly did. I even measured each conductor's resistance and they all measured similarly. I guess I'm just saying, maybe some aspects can't be measured? Do I think people should be concerned about what speaker cable they buy? No, but I also have to tell my truth. There's been plenty of other things I've tried where I didn't hear anything at all and measurements would suggest I should have.

When I worked at Fry's electronics they'd give you a bonus if you sold and exotic cable with a new TV or piece of audio equipment, the reason why was because they had a $100 market up on Monster Cable, Fry's would buy cables from Monster for $40 then sell them for $140, it must have cost Monster pennies on the dollar to make the cables, it's no wonder that they made so much money back in the 1980s-1990s

Well said! Agree 100%.

The crux of the mater is do you like the sound?

Never get tired of the truth. Excellent job, as always, Gene. Love your channel.

Placebo effect? How about monetary effect? Synergy between components and cables can also mean the synergy of cost sharing with regard to advertising or show fees. Surely, that kind of synergy results in an objective, measurable effect...on their bottom lines.

If customers want fancy cables at high prices then the industry can't be blamed for providing them.

Paul, of PS Audio, in a number of his RU-vid Videos ( which I watch regularly ) has expressed his disdain for a testing process called the “ABX Box”. I personally have been involved in a number of investigations using such a process. Paul has repeatedly labeled the process as being “Too stressful”. And discounts it. I will have to completely agree with him. Knowing that you could be listening to either 10cents per foot zip cord or XYZ $500 speaker cable and being able to identify a difference between them using an ABX testing process is stressful.

Best cable I bought was phase wire from the DIY store. Pure solid copper strain. Less than €2,- per meter. Sounds just as good as my €10,- per meter Audioquest X2.

This is also a way to thank or blame as much in the chain as possible. PS also pushes special power cables that claim to do magic on dirty power from a wall socket. They even sell wall sockets.... And so on.

Awesome video I agree 100% with you: above a certain price point audiophile cable are totally snake oil. I did a blind test once for speaker cables with very good equipment at an audiophile store many years ago: I could tell the difference between a 1€/m cable and a 50€/m cable but not between a 50€/m and a 1000€/m cable. The equipment for testing was not at the very top high end but very good, with Rogers LS3/5a speakers and I think an Acoustic Research pre with 2 high end monoblocks I don't remember which... Nobody in the room except for the store owner could tell the difference between the 50€/m cable and the fancy 1000€/m cable

Very useful information here. Agree cable specs/ measurements should be available for consumers to consider and evaluate.