I straight up asked this question to Bob Carver & Nelson Pass
"Do aftermarket or exspensive IEC cables make a difference in sound?"
Answer: Not at all!..Spend your money on a power conditioner or a single phase isolation transformer if you have an issue with the power quality affecting the sound....End of story!
In Poland, about 30 years ago we had this company called Unitra. It was probably the only electronic company in Poland. They made GREAT hi-fi stuff. Even today you can buy a used Unitra amp for 100$ that sounds much better than some of new Sony, Denon or other shit.
OOOh! How fun it would be to be able to sneak in on such a store at night, and secretly solder a _diode_ in inside the cable and hide it! When the customer buys it (for $10!), they will complain! But maybe they will just try to "wear the cable in" first!
dave, there's a double irony with these audiofools too which you didn't get chance to rant about here :) i'm a musician, and, like ALL musicians, i don't use $1000 cable to transmit the recording my voice/guitar/keys/etc to the [prob' 1024bit in their requirements] DAC for hard disk recording... so the recording in their ears is already shafted anyway :)))
or moreso - the *more* they spend on cable, even if what they are saying is true, they simply hear more of the crap cable i recorded with :)
@ingiethingie As a musician, this is exactly what I was thinking of reading through these comments. Are these idiots going to hear something that we didn't even put into the music? A better experience than the musician who recorded it? lol
If there's a web site that gets my blood boiling it's Russ Andrews one... just Google for Russ Andrews. The best one I've seen is cryogenic treatment for BluRays, and I quote:
"Your collection of discs can also benefit from DCT. On CDs expect more clarity and openess with deeper, more controlled bass and sharper more saturated pictures with DVD and Blu-ray Discs."
I couldn't have said it better myseft, for example $485 dollar wooden volume knob? My favorite the $500-$2500 dollar power cable, just a cable, not a power conditioner, I guess the idiot also didn't take into consideration, the house wiring or transformer outside? And then the overpriced equipment, I seen and repair some poorly design Krell amps the they put the capacitors right next to the hot heatsink and they fail. That why I built my own tube amp and preamp for alot less and better builted.
A $500 stainless steel puck. The Finite Elemente Resonator 1000Hz Resonance Dissipator "The CERA technology is based on direct coupling for effective transfer of sound interfering resonance. Fast resonance transfer is provided by extreme hard high-tech ceramic balls. Combined with precision machined materials like stainless steel or aluminum the optimum balance between damping and deflection is achieved. The resulting vacuum effect draws off unwanted resonance directly where it evolves."
Cables can still have effect on the sound, not necessarily the cables themself, you should read about amplifiers and "global feedback" versus the capacitive load the speaker cables gives the amplifier.
Capacitive loading on the amplifiers output affects the global feedback in a amplifier, depending on the amplifier you will have a audible effect or not, some amplifiers do not use global feedback and hence the effect will be none except for transmission losses.
@EEVblog My absolute favorite is when people get trolled into discussions/fights about whether you get a better digital (bitstream) signal on optic fiber or coax. :D
rather than whining with a weird exaggerated voice, i'd like to see some technical analysis on some of the stupid claims of the monster cables. that'd make more sense. and hey look, you already got the equipment behind.
When I first read reviews of audiophile speaker cables with giant prices, I actually believed it - well, if people say they sound different, it must be true.... But when I saw replacement power cables, I understood that this is a load of crap.....
He has an upward slope in the pitch in his voice that heads towards the end of every sentence. On that note, I realized about halfway through the video that I didn't hear a single word he said because I was too busy listening to the melody he was creating with his sing song voice...
I totally agree with you, these people are selling nonsense to people that dont know any better, some of my freinds buy this shit and when i tell them they are wasing their money they just tell me i know nothing about audio equipment (normally about car systems) they even ACTUALLY think they can hear a differance.
Audiophiles: Instead of spending $100,000 for a titanium speaker cable (or some damned thing) to satisfy your bottomless craving for the ultimate musical experience, try purchasing a CD that isn't the latest remastered/repackaged upgrade of "Hotel California" or "Dark Side Of The Moon" for once. It's the greatest tweak of all.
I agree you can pay around 70 english pounds for a hdmi cable from monster and it will produce the exact same picture as a hdmi cable you pay 5 pounds for
i once read abaout a expensive power conditioner that was inside a big chunk of unopenable granite. Some guys wondered what magics might be inside, so they xrayed the piece and saw that the cable went right through it!
Well, there does seem to be a great variety of opinions posted here. I have always been ot the mindset that whatever sounds best to the individual is what they will settle on as being the best setup for them. After working in the sound and recording industry for over 45 years, and after designing and crafting many audio components, I have learned to listen "into" the music, and not just "to" it. If you have never auditioned a well set up high-end system, then endeavor to do so someday. Good day.
i LOVE my ipod classic and my 40 dollar sony over-the-ear headphones. They sound awesome. If these audiophile idiots would put their passion for listening to music into creating their own music, they could possibly make a real difference. 5000 dollar cables are not making a difference at all.
People paid hundreds of dollars for a power cord because it does reduce hiss in recording. I agree with you that digital signal are all the same but optical SPDIF should be better than copper coaxial in term of transferring speed.
@021311 I agree, digital is digital. But move onto analogue and it's a different matter. Dave is very good and has some very interesting videos, but he is wrong about the volume pot! The pot is used as a voltage divider, so the signal enters at the top and exits on the wiper, surely he must see that a cheap pot will have a crappy contact between the wiper and the resistance. Anyway, keep up the videos Dave, you are a legend.
@portreathbeach Of course poor quality pots can have bad contacts and cause all sorts of issues, I was talking about the after market KNOBS you can buy that are supposed to make a difference to the sound.
It works the same way Homeopathy does, some small sliver of truth buried under a mountain of bullshit. Any actual work is done by the brain, cognitive dissonance is an insanely powerful thing.
@Ephabia - it's called "audiophilious imaginarious" once coined by a friend of mine who actually understood that there is a limit to what can affect sound. The power cord was always my pet peeve. I cannot count the number of aurguents that I have had with people about how this is one thing that WILL NOT affect the sound of anything. There are a lot of other items too - like wooden blocks (like your kids played with) that absorb "micro-vibrations" whatever in hell those are...
i hope it is ok that i can hear differences in cables, but i will not pay top $ to get the better sound, i make my own cables from good mateials like silver,7 nines copper,silver/goldcablewire etc. prices are something like 4$ pr meter silver OPHOCwire, or 3.50$ for 7 nines copper per meter , 7 $ per meter for Mundorf silver/gold cable per meter, so i like you wonder how the cableindustri charge something like say 1000$ to 20000$ for one signalcable with the best wire costing maybee 50$materials
its clear that you do not listen to music, you messure the sound .
i claim it is possible to hear a difference on different cables in an audiosystem,
and the right cable will improve the sound of your system and the music you listen to.thats a fact. But i will agree with you that there is a lot of snakeoil involved in the cableindustri, and they charge fortunes for voodoocabletecnology, for my part i make Diy-cablesmyself with qualitywires ,they beat the hype supercables, handsdown
how on earth, will you be able to verifi, if i hear a difference i the blindtest you want to give me, no way will you pay a million $ in any event of a test.
But you want make a point about expensive cables and those who manufactur them, and the amount of voodooscience and snakeoil involved in that proces, in that point i am with you.
but dont offer a million $, that you will never pay out, no matter what result would come from a test of cables, do you see where i am going ?
@banditcat200 I am not James Randi, I'm Dave Jones. James Randi is offering the million dollars through his foundation that debunks rubbish like this. Google it, I can't post links in comments. The money and offer are genuine and have nothing to with me. True double blind experiments aren't that hard to set up and get results from.
@EEVblog I know man, I said it, because this is not the normal talking voice, it's the chest voice. You want to be original, but this voice irritates me so much. I'm shure dislikes are for that, even if you're talking the truth. Maybe you can try to normalize the pitch of your voice, that's an advise. You are free to do what you want. Cheers.
@mistara1 This is my NORMAL voice I've been using all my life, why would I want to change it? I don't care if people don't like it, that's their problem. I'm not changing to suit what some people want.
I also tested it back and forth and was as open minded as possible (I know, better than most people as a Recording Engineer that psycology is a huge part of what you think you hear) but there was a difference with the IEC cable. I swapped it back and forth and let the caps drain and there was a difference. Maybe Im crazy, but depth was increased. Frequency content sayed the same (not any boosts or cuts absolutely anywhere). Just a thought, maybe its the quality of the connectors and the cable?
ahahha, I so agree. I am an Audiophile, and I cant explain a couple of the audio myths, but they do make a difference. The one thing Im refering to is IEC power cables upgrades. I swaped those out for fun, more for build quality than audio improvement and I did notice that depth was greatly, unmistakebly increased. I cant explain it, but that is true. Also, "better" cables do make a huge difference, but $500 per cable is ridiculous! Im all about purity, and making possitive change, but "KNOBS!?"
I've seen an add for a $2,000,000 record player. They claim pure silver oxygen expelled cables. Haha, wow...
When I was younger and dumber, I bought a monster cable and decided I needed a longer cable when I was in engineering school. It was half the price and it sounded BETTER!
The actual truth is, these cables only very very slightly improve things, sure they might make a better connection with the gold plated connectors, and have better shielding against interference but that's about it. Selling them at the price they do is ridiculous, I could order parts to make one of those cables myself that is just as good and it would only cost a fraction of what they charge.
Your volt meter says one thing, my body says another. I'm going with a live human being every time. Always trust your ears. Don't let the gear heads intimidate you !
Regarding audiophoolery, check out Zensati cables. Produced in Taiwan, probably costing a few dollars each, are being sold internationally for €20,000 Euro.
2) Expensive power cables don't improve the power signal. They keep EMF away from the source components. The mains are not as close to the CD player so its quality is a mute point. - I took several cheap power cables and wrapped them up with aluminium foil to suppress those "nasty" EMF waves. Heard no difference.
3) D/A converters are ultimately analog devices. So the shape and timing of the digital waveform can affect the analog signal output. - Slapped on some ferrite cores - no difference.
Actually Monster-Cable is old-school in the audiophile world. If you really want to see outlandish prices check out: MIT, Shunyata Research, etc.
Much like religion, audiophile companies have come up with plausible (somewhat) sale points:
1) The cable insulator is a dialectric that stores and releases energy. I once took an expensive cable and wrapped it up with teflon tape but heard no difference.
Is there any way you can test or do a blog on guitar instrument cable and how it affects tone. I feel like the capacitance sometimes does actually matter depending on the pickups you have and the guitar rig itself such as true bypass or regular guitar pedals or how it affects all the components in a guitar amp (particularly looking tube amps). I know just the rectifier diode in an amp can cause a huge tone difference because of it affecting the PT/HeaterSupply/Preamp Cathodes/Signal Voltage. Ty!
Just for the record my friend bought 2 power chords from Russ Andrews for his mono block amps . Not cheap but not too stupid price wise £140. Russ Andrews offer YOUR MONEY BACK IF UNHAPPY NO QUIBBLE. I will repeat this again YOUR MONEY IF UNHAPPY NO QUIBBLE. Alternately BORROW a "high end cable". Now if you have the skills to make a power chord for £15 approx and it sounds good HATS OFF TO YOU. If anyone out there knows of a co ythat can knock out heavy duty power chords cheap let me know
lol. true. lot of morons believe in this stuff but if they want to and if it tickles their fancy,let them. it's their money. still tho i don't give into this cable nonsense crap. copper is copper and silver is silver. they just use fancy terms to make it sound better. most people don't realize basic things like gauges and so forth what is the most important when dealing with certain impedance or power loads. it also doesn't take a rocket science to go to their local store and make a DIY cable.
you really misrepresented a bunch of information. converting between digital and analog causes signal loss. Certain op amps and digital audio converter chips suck. Certain horribly designed USB products WILL screw up because the USB device doesnt work fast enough to handle the computer data.
The whole cable thing though, i pretty much agree with you. The only reason i'd upgrade my cable is if it was like complete crap in terms of durability or looks rather than "performance"
The people out there who will pay hundreds of pounds for a HDMI cable and other digital interconnects have more money than sense - let them waste their money.
Sure, with analogue interconnects, there are benefits to not using bell wire but some of the claims of the silly priced ones are just ridiculous.
It's actually very funny how alt-bags people can be. Even if there is no perfect match for all the frequencies as far as phase swift is concerned, the difference with a short cable would be some uS... I've also seen people even using gold cables... Guys, gold generally has higher resistance that copper. And many many other things that I completely agree with David.
Get over it. It's not only audiophiles, there is a whole industry based on people's hobbies and it's ridiculously expensive.
Obviously you fools replaced all the cabling in your house with the ofc,individually screened variety and made sure every connector,plug ,plate,antenna are gold plated ,as it's a better conductor than silver ,states the sales rep. ha haha
That's why the power ,telephone companies etc etc,ALL removed their old cables ,pylons ,connectors and replaced them with gold plated type and ofc cables.
It's just the same as the crap anti rinkle, anti aging guff .Marketing has played its part ,then the silly folk buying this expensive guff convince themselves it must work because it's EXPENSIVE .
all I have to say if unless you, yourself have already bought a full set up and installed it correctly you really have no place to talk. It would be like me going into nasa and telling them they need to stop using rocket fuel and switch to electricity
@EEVblog 99.99% of all the Audiofool stuff is right on. I've been a audio engineer for the past 4 years. Most of the true benefits you get from good cables is not measured by improvement, It's more of a measure of how the cables don't effect the signal. Most folk who buy this stuff don't even have the equipment for even decent fidelity. That 99 cent ADC in your 5000% marked-up stereo really isn't going to cut it, even with the best of inputs.
@EEVblog you realize there are such things as "audio grade electrolytic capacitors", right? different materials have different properties and not all parts are created equal. I get the cable spiel and whatnot but i hope you realize that converting between digital and analog causes signal loss because we havent created perfect components. dont try to tell me, for example, that a 5th gen ipod video sounds the same as a 2nd gen ipod touch, which uses a MUCH higher quality DAC and opamp
@realmofexcursion If you believe that spending thousands on "pro" cables is going to make audio sound better, then you will think that it sounds better regardless of the actual quality. It is all psychological, a matter of opinion. Electrical signals are improved through circuits not cables. The only bearing that cables have on signals is over very long distances or when multiple cables are side by side and you get crosstalk from EMI. Telecommunications 101.
Why dont you tell me before i d paid 100 pounds for my electrons free /uranium depleted / psichoanalized a lot / uranium depleted /cryogenic heated / sugar loaded fancy cables man!
.. Denon CD, Tannoy studio monitor system, saying it sounded like sand being drawn through sheet metal tubes etc, etc , that I wanted revenge. So I arranged to borrow a serious high end system worth £50K plus and feigned he was listening to it, with my actual system appeared silent. So after an evening of him piling adulation on this system I revealed the truth, he had been listening to my system ! The reaction was to die for ! He has never forgiven me and even now tries to escape the truth !
I have an audiphool friend who just happens to be proper wealthy, Ferrari AND Lamborghini AND Porsche Cayenne or whatever it's called, in the garage wealthy !
So, it will be no surprise he spends obscene amounts of money on Hi-Fi ! Nothing would persuade him that all this cable stuff was nonsense, until I tricked him ! Invited him around to my place so he could hear my new system, he was hooked ! He was sooooo fond of piling abuse on my decades old Crown, IC150, DC300A, ... TBC
lol ive known aufiophools who bought $2k stereo sets for the maximum frequency range, and then use it to listen to techno crap that makes use of maybe 5% of the spectrum...
not once have i seen any of these idiots listen to music that was even played at a fidelity, let alone recorded, that makes any sense to spend 2k on.
also the human hearing has its limits, especially after years of techno crap...
Okay, so you are ranting incoherently, truly, about audiophoolery, yet you present no empirical data to back up your claims. Please don't try the old Hydrogen Audio comment either, TOS#7..? who knows...your diatribe does help anyone trying to assemble a really killer Hi-Fi setup on a budget, because you come off sounding like we should all be listening to Bose Wave radios....contribute some data other than "go find Randi" ....
Hold up, Sure $1500 are not worth the money, But the differance between a $1 cable and a $30 cable will make a big differance if you are running very highend headphones such as a HD800, Hell you can even here the impurities of some bad recording companys like MBC.
Audiophille to me means Spending as little as possible but getting the best sound for bang for buck, Anyone else is a pooser.
@j0rzeh I agree with you 100%. I don't spend more than $100 on a set of cables, but I don't use Radio Shack gold cables either.
There are also many other factors that contribute to overall sound quality besides the cables. Speakers, power conditioners, room conditions, components, and quality recordings all combine to sound quality. With such a rig bad recording are easily identified and good recordings sound like you are listening live.
@j0rzeh I agree with you 100%. I don't spend more than $100 on a set of cables, but I don't use Radio Shack gold cables either.
There are also many other factors that contribute to overall sound quality besides the cables. Speakers, power conditioners, room conditions, components, and quality recordings all combine to sound quality. With such a rig bad recording are easily identified and good recordings sound like you are listening live.
The difference of cables is a science, but thats why the snake oil sellers come out to baffle with hype. For example gold is a better conductor than copper but just like more petrol in the tank doesnt get you a faster car people dont understand the science. Even if the cable is full gold (not plated) the effect is minute compared to any coding , decoding noise or the room and speaker dynamics. Sound proofing, conditioning the room, speaker placement and positioning is more important.
The real difference in quality is how well they terminate the ends of the copper.
If they have a tiny little solder joint, or worse not even soldered just crimped, then it's a weak electrical connection.
But, I agree 100% with you. All these cables are over priced, and they feed off people who are ignorant, lining the pockets, and .. selling snake oil.. yes..
I believe you need to pay the price for quality, BUILD quality. If you pay 2 dollars for a cable it's going to fall apart quite soon. So there's a minimum you have to pay for having a cable that will LAST. But even with the 2 dollar cables I've never noticed any sound difference. And my scope did not realize anything either. Is my scope deaf?
I own a pair of Acoustic Zen double barrel speaker cables, $1,350 for 8ft. pair. And I will tell you this... MY SYSTEM SOUNDS 10 TIMES BETTER after I did the upgrade. I don't give a shit what this hack says.
Sometimes I wonder if cable brand "Emperor" is a cheeky reference to Emperor's new clothes; the similarities between that story and the subjective audio scene are so similar it sends chills down the spine.
Sometimes though I wonder how I'd sleep if I made living out of power cables going at $1200 per metre... and the conclusion is always the same: soundly in a huge mansion.
I seem to remember seeing a thread about this a few years ago on the EYO forums website, this would have been about 4 years ago, the things they say sounded really convincing, they even seemed to suggest that low quality cables would damage your equipment, of course I may have misread something. I'm surprise Panasonic are publishing what you say, I've always had a soft spot for their portable CD players and stereo systems.
Lol that was intense. I agree, but I do like Monster cables for my guitar setup. They do the job, they're durable and have the lifetime warranty which is GREAT!
If you compare radio shack cable vs mogami cable, yes, there is a difference.
That said, the "audiophile" cable market is complete BS. Get a decent cable.
I have an old McIntosh integrated amplifier from the 70's, sounds great, great build quality, I got is for maybe 400 bucks. There is poor quality vs. great quality, easy to tell & hear. Most people don't bother to listen, they just buy whatever expensive s#!t is out there.
Also, my friends can't hear the difference like I can because they don't spend hours a day plucking away at a bass guitar like I do. When I familiarize myself with an audio setup, and it changes, I definitely notice the difference right away. Under perfect conditions, an A&B test might show no difference in quality. Do an A&B test under conditions where a cable might effect the quality of the sound (e.g, sitting next to your amp).
As a musician who relies on electronics to even hear the instrument, I say that it's not all crap. I can tell the difference between a cheap cable and a quality cable. Cheap cables buzz, they sound clouded, feel flimsy, and they break easily. I've actually picked up radio stations on my cheap cables. I use monster cables. Why? They're expensive ($50-$60), but I get a solid cable that won't buzz or short out. They sound clean, they're durable, and yes... LIFETIME WARRANTY NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
The more people I hear say it makes no difference what cable you use, the clearer it is to me, that I have to do an audiophile setup guide for dummies. And I might be the wrong person for this.
No time for that at the moment, but I will have to make time in the near future.
And I am not saying you are wrong, but if you hear not much or no difference between standard audio cables and "high quality" ones, is not because there is none. It depends more on room acoustics and the setup you have.
@Landazar321 Sorry to tell you, no it doesn't. If you think it does then you have been deluded, or are not comparing apples with apples. When cables of identical electrical spec are compared under true double blind A-B comparisons, there is no difference. James Randi will give you one million dollars if you can prove otherwise.
@EEVblog I'm not easy to delude ;) If I don't hear a difference to the better in blind test I don't buy it.
I don't give a damn about the specs or what the industry adds says.
And I guess that if I would proof that guy that good shielded cables make a difference, he would say its something else or just say he doesn't hear a difference. So its only me who passes the blindtest and that's just luck. And he would never give anyone that million dollar. He's just showing confidence with his statement
As an audio nut, I've tried some flashy cables. Well I don't think they do much, especially not for the coin. Go buy a new speaker instead. Power cables are even more ridiculous and yes I picked up some second hand. I'll keep them because they look cool :p
I bet most of the people that posted here don't have a clue about the most basic knowledge of electricity, but they still enforce their pointless opinions...you know shit about what makes natural and warm sounding audio equipement...oh and if you feel tempted to buy cables or knobs or whatever, I recommend you put that money to good use and go see an psychologist, no realy you would do us all a favor...
I used to think the samy way you do ... that cables didn't make a difference and it was all about marketing. However, I borrowed some different cables from friends and they certainly sounded different. To tell you the truth, I admire people like you because you CAN'T tell the different and you wouldn't have a spend a penny on music.
What if I tell you that I have invented an air fan that shapes the air into a hypersound form(tm). All you have to do is aim the fan at your speakers and you will hear better sound! You see, the science behind is that sound travels better with the air that my fan produces.
-I just made this is up but sincerely believes that some delusional audiophiles might dig it.
It's just so cute how people are trying to argue with dave, failing to realise that he worked in audio and signal processing for a long time. And what he is saying here is not super special engineering knowledge, it's high school physics, still people fail to understand it and argue for their cables engineered by geordi laforge himself. Just hilarious.
How can running an audio signal thru exotic wires and cables make an audible improvement after the signal has surely been degraded by passing thru hundreds if not thousands of blobs of tin & lead (aka solder, hardly an exotic material) not to mention all the mild steel leads of the components (resistors, caps, etc.) used in the circuitry? Cables & wires as tone controls? Please!
That´s rubbish. You may hear a difference when cable capacity and output impedance of the source are both much too high. In this case the effect is also measurable. If a cable "sounds" , some of it´s specs are very much out of a practical range. If cable values (or combination with the source specs) are not forced to damp higher frequencies, no one will make it in a real ABX Test. That´s wishful thinking.
That´s rubbish. You may hear a difference when cable capacity and output impedance of the source are both much too high. In this case the effect is also measurable. If a cable "sounds" , some of it´s specs are very much out of a practical range. If cable values (or combination with the source specs) are not forced damp higher frequencies, no one will make it in a real ABX Test. That´s wishful thinking.
The only people who are upset by this video are people who realize that they have a huge hole in their bank account and a few fancy ''kettle'' leads that have a very similar electronic spec to the one coming out of the back of their kettle.
I wonder if my cup of coffee will taste better using one of these leads. :)
I was going to post a video showing you kind sir sitting in a demo for some very expensive cables, but it looks like you've disabled URLs in responses so people can't disprove your BS
@mrtheoden I haven't (and can't) disable anything. Youtube does not allow links in comments for any video, not just mine. If you can "prove" same speced cables make a difference then you can genuinely win $1000000 from the James Randi foundation. I suggest you take him up on the offer.
@kugs22 How about try understanding some basic engineering first. There is no difference in similar electrically speced cables. James Randy will give you a million dollars if you can prove I'm wrong.
Sorry again, didn't answer your question. Isn't it more a matter of current and not voltage? Current drives the loudspeakers and the audio amp drives the power supply. Too little current has a bad effect on sound quality. I believe an undersized power cable can effect the current supply to the speakers.
Sorry I have been going thru Oxycontin de-tox for the past 6 weeks and have been unable to do anything. I've got some video together for "suggestive subjectivity" but it make be a while before I can finish it. I want to put my 2 cents in on this subject so I'll try really hard to get it completed.
I can agree with7/8ths of the stuff he's talking about and the other 1/8th is true believe it or not the only difference is the amount of advertising put into these products there's a brand of cable out there called whirlwind and my brother bought a 3 ft xlr cable for like 5 bucks and I went and looked at my audio store some time ago and saw the same cable but monster fer like 11 bucks it was crazy
I've argued this kind of stuff over the years with all kinds of audiophiles and come to the conclusion that it's more like a religion. I don't bother telling anyone any different anymore because they always claim they can hear it. Especially with the new stuff coming out with vaccuum tubes. They say it's a "warmer" sound, well of course it is! it's noisier on the outputs!!!
I think that most of the people who work in the audio industry came through the retail sales end, often with little background in fundamentals. I've found it a little bewildering to try to learn principles from those kind of people. If you are looking for a possible topic for future videos, you might consider delving into audio principles. I still have trouble with the concept of output/input impedence matching....
Sorry, wanted to add - stay away from Monster cable crap. I've bought 3 different cable and none were any good. Chord cables, on the other hand are great. AZ HiFi helped me with some great gear and the chord interconnects turned a crap NAD cd player into something I now enjoy. For power cables - the bigger the amp the more the need for a better cable. Try plugging your refrigerator with 50 ft of the cheapest extension cord you can find and see how long it lives.
I sort of agree with most of what you say, but, I've replaced all my power cables with the same wire that's inside my walls. In school they taught us that electricity is like water, the bigger the hose the greater the flow. Most cheap audio components have really small hoses. I'm working on an experiment that might show how this works. Look for it later under "Suggestive Subjectivity."
@megakodeman Any results of your experiment? You are right, if the diameter of the cable is bigger, then the resistance is lower and you'll get more voltage at your equipment. But even if you are using some kW heater blower, the cable voltage drop is small. And it doesn't matter for your HiFi equipment, because it has a transformer and voltage regulator with big buffering capacitors, and it works the same for a wide mains input voltage range, sometimes for different countries (120 V to 240 V).
I straight up asked this question to Bob Carver & Nelson Pass
"Do aftermarket or exspensive IEC cables make a difference in sound?"
Answer: Not at all!..Spend your money on a power conditioner or a single phase isolation transformer if you have an issue with the power quality affecting the sound....End of story!
JCAUPS1 2 days ago
interesting video
myhannahdotcom 6 days ago
Power cables makes difference.I would not spend more than 100 but they do work.
weskoki 1 week ago
In Poland, about 30 years ago we had this company called Unitra. It was probably the only electronic company in Poland. They made GREAT hi-fi stuff. Even today you can buy a used Unitra amp for 100$ that sounds much better than some of new Sony, Denon or other shit.
fenclu 2 weeks ago
MOST audiophile valve amplifiers use valves which are heavily overloaded...
Result: The tortured valves have to be replaced regularly... Maybe a good sound, but AWFUL design !!!!!
At least, transistors/MOSFETS have to be treated with respect if you don't want them to blow instantly !!!!
Transistor - 1
tube - 0
ve2zzz 3 weeks ago
OOOh! How fun it would be to be able to sneak in on such a store at night, and secretly solder a _diode_ in inside the cable and hide it! When the customer buys it (for $10!), they will complain! But maybe they will just try to "wear the cable in" first!
Riskteven 3 weeks ago
dave, there's a double irony with these audiofools too which you didn't get chance to rant about here :) i'm a musician, and, like ALL musicians, i don't use $1000 cable to transmit the recording my voice/guitar/keys/etc to the [prob' 1024bit in their requirements] DAC for hard disk recording... so the recording in their ears is already shafted anyway :)))
or moreso - the *more* they spend on cable, even if what they are saying is true, they simply hear more of the crap cable i recorded with :)
ingiethingie 1 month ago in playlist Off-Topic Rants
@ingiethingie As a musician, this is exactly what I was thinking of reading through these comments. Are these idiots going to hear something that we didn't even put into the music? A better experience than the musician who recorded it? lol
zaraak323i 1 week ago 2
most idiots i have met ask me -- did you break your cables in dude?! LOL
teflondon91 1 month ago
SO MANY AUDIO DOUCHEBAGS OUT THERE... FUCK YOU TO ALL IPOD USERS.
teflondon91 1 month ago
If there's a web site that gets my blood boiling it's Russ Andrews one... just Google for Russ Andrews. The best one I've seen is cryogenic treatment for BluRays, and I quote:
"Your collection of discs can also benefit from DCT. On CDs expect more clarity and openess with deeper, more controlled bass and sharper more saturated pictures with DVD and Blu-ray Discs."
Unbe-effing-lievable...
disgruntledgoat 1 month ago
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someguy6481 1 month ago
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someguy6481 1 month ago
I couldn't have said it better myseft, for example $485 dollar wooden volume knob? My favorite the $500-$2500 dollar power cable, just a cable, not a power conditioner, I guess the idiot also didn't take into consideration, the house wiring or transformer outside? And then the overpriced equipment, I seen and repair some poorly design Krell amps the they put the capacitors right next to the hot heatsink and they fail. That why I built my own tube amp and preamp for alot less and better builted.
RetroPCDOS 1 month ago
So, where's the link to the letter?
ImperviousMason 1 month ago
A $500 stainless steel puck. The Finite Elemente Resonator 1000Hz Resonance Dissipator "The CERA technology is based on direct coupling for effective transfer of sound interfering resonance. Fast resonance transfer is provided by extreme hard high-tech ceramic balls. Combined with precision machined materials like stainless steel or aluminum the optimum balance between damping and deflection is achieved. The resulting vacuum effect draws off unwanted resonance directly where it evolves."
UnivegaSuperSport 1 month ago in playlist Off-Topic Rants
Cables can still have effect on the sound, not necessarily the cables themself, you should read about amplifiers and "global feedback" versus the capacitive load the speaker cables gives the amplifier.
Capacitive loading on the amplifiers output affects the global feedback in a amplifier, depending on the amplifier you will have a audible effect or not, some amplifiers do not use global feedback and hence the effect will be none except for transmission losses.
Do some measuring, i challenge U ;)
lury2009 1 month ago
5:57 no link :(
Clatapist 1 month ago
I like "gold-plated" optical cables. Think about that one for a second.
Danvanm 1 month ago
@Danvanm
Yep, pure rubbish.
lury2009 1 month ago
Hahaha! Adding one special power cable eliminates all the junk from the power plant to your device? Probably not!
fingerboy18 1 month ago
@EEVblog My absolute favorite is when people get trolled into discussions/fights about whether you get a better digital (bitstream) signal on optic fiber or coax. :D
Warrakkk 1 month ago
Where can I get the cables with snake oil rubbed into them? I'm sure that would improve the richness and smoothness of the sound
LithiumJack 2 months ago
rather than whining with a weird exaggerated voice, i'd like to see some technical analysis on some of the stupid claims of the monster cables. that'd make more sense. and hey look, you already got the equipment behind.
hankendican 2 months ago
Remindes me of that Golden Usb cable that you mocked on AmpHour :D
Intosia 2 months ago
When I first read reviews of audiophile speaker cables with giant prices, I actually believed it - well, if people say they sound different, it must be true.... But when I saw replacement power cables, I understood that this is a load of crap.....
Parkinson9999 2 months ago
ultimate one....explains must not buy those expensive crappy cables and connectors claiming high quality
MegaSaurabhagarwal 2 months ago
Most people with expensive power cables, have expensive power supplies and generators!
BoJezy 3 months ago
Cocrodile hunter in electronics cool!!!
NoIsrahell 3 months ago
Engineers: 1
Audiophools: 0
colonelerotic 4 months ago 21
He has an upward slope in the pitch in his voice that heads towards the end of every sentence. On that note, I realized about halfway through the video that I didn't hear a single word he said because I was too busy listening to the melody he was creating with his sing song voice...
QuarlMusic 4 months ago 3
@QuarlMusic It's called a High Rising Terminal. Google it.
EEVblog 4 months ago 10
@EEVblog You mean: It's called a High Rising Terminal? Google it?
EEVblog? 2 months ago?
MandolinMan0001 2 months ago
I love poor people getting mad at rich people buying crap with their money. I could care less what anyone else buys if they have the money to spend.
MrDecessus 4 months ago
I totally agree with you, these people are selling nonsense to people that dont know any better, some of my freinds buy this shit and when i tell them they are wasing their money they just tell me i know nothing about audio equipment (normally about car systems) they even ACTUALLY think they can hear a differance.
tasilbhurn 4 months ago
nice rant....but really as much BS as a monster cable...
thepogue 4 months ago
Audiophiles: Instead of spending $100,000 for a titanium speaker cable (or some damned thing) to satisfy your bottomless craving for the ultimate musical experience, try purchasing a CD that isn't the latest remastered/repackaged upgrade of "Hotel California" or "Dark Side Of The Moon" for once. It's the greatest tweak of all.
alexmortland 4 months ago 3
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alexmortland 4 months ago
I agree you can pay around 70 english pounds for a hdmi cable from monster and it will produce the exact same picture as a hdmi cable you pay 5 pounds for
hikinguphigh 5 months ago
i once read abaout a expensive power conditioner that was inside a big chunk of unopenable granite. Some guys wondered what magics might be inside, so they xrayed the piece and saw that the cable went right through it!
86Ivar 5 months ago
Well, there does seem to be a great variety of opinions posted here. I have always been ot the mindset that whatever sounds best to the individual is what they will settle on as being the best setup for them. After working in the sound and recording industry for over 45 years, and after designing and crafting many audio components, I have learned to listen "into" the music, and not just "to" it. If you have never auditioned a well set up high-end system, then endeavor to do so someday. Good day.
holywells 5 months ago
I agree, I can get a great sound spending less that a lot fools that I know that spend 30k or more in just an turntable!
anderzom 5 months ago
I absolutely agree, you arguments are full of openness, sharpness and chrispness ;-))
PetrFM 5 months ago
LMAO crisp
ImperviousMason 5 months ago
BRILLIANT !!!! thank you
sideshowseb 5 months ago
Do you have any thoughts about bi-wiring speakers?
armymanhaha 5 months ago
i LOVE my ipod classic and my 40 dollar sony over-the-ear headphones. They sound awesome. If these audiophile idiots would put their passion for listening to music into creating their own music, they could possibly make a real difference. 5000 dollar cables are not making a difference at all.
lamentconfig100 5 months ago
People paid hundreds of dollars for a power cord because it does reduce hiss in recording. I agree with you that digital signal are all the same but optical SPDIF should be better than copper coaxial in term of transferring speed.
021311 6 months ago
@021311 Why?
wheezechisel 6 months ago
@021311 I agree, digital is digital. But move onto analogue and it's a different matter. Dave is very good and has some very interesting videos, but he is wrong about the volume pot! The pot is used as a voltage divider, so the signal enters at the top and exits on the wiper, surely he must see that a cheap pot will have a crappy contact between the wiper and the resistance. Anyway, keep up the videos Dave, you are a legend.
portreathbeach 4 months ago
@portreathbeach Of course poor quality pots can have bad contacts and cause all sorts of issues, I was talking about the after market KNOBS you can buy that are supposed to make a difference to the sound.
EEVblog 4 months ago
It works the same way Homeopathy does, some small sliver of truth buried under a mountain of bullshit. Any actual work is done by the brain, cognitive dissonance is an insanely powerful thing.
Ephabia 6 months ago 11
@Ephabia Indeed.
EEVblog 6 months ago 3
@Ephabia - it's called "audiophilious imaginarious" once coined by a friend of mine who actually understood that there is a limit to what can affect sound. The power cord was always my pet peeve. I cannot count the number of aurguents that I have had with people about how this is one thing that WILL NOT affect the sound of anything. There are a lot of other items too - like wooden blocks (like your kids played with) that absorb "micro-vibrations" whatever in hell those are...
hipofalcon 5 months ago
Technology, what's that?
bloodyninjaassassin 6 months ago
i hope it is ok that i can hear differences in cables, but i will not pay top $ to get the better sound, i make my own cables from good mateials like silver,7 nines copper,silver/goldcablewire etc. prices are something like 4$ pr meter silver OPHOCwire, or 3.50$ for 7 nines copper per meter , 7 $ per meter for Mundorf silver/gold cable per meter, so i like you wonder how the cableindustri charge something like say 1000$ to 20000$ for one signalcable with the best wire costing maybee 50$materials
banditcat200 6 months ago
@EEVblog
its clear that you do not listen to music, you messure the sound .
i claim it is possible to hear a difference on different cables in an audiosystem,
and the right cable will improve the sound of your system and the music you listen to.thats a fact. But i will agree with you that there is a lot of snakeoil involved in the cableindustri, and they charge fortunes for voodoocabletecnology, for my part i make Diy-cablesmyself with qualitywires ,they beat the hype supercables, handsdown
banditcat200 6 months ago
@banditcat200 If you can hear the difference, James Randi will give you a MILLION DOLLARS. Seriously.
EEVblog 6 months ago
@EEVblog
how on earth, will you be able to verifi, if i hear a difference i the blindtest you want to give me, no way will you pay a million $ in any event of a test.
But you want make a point about expensive cables and those who manufactur them, and the amount of voodooscience and snakeoil involved in that proces, in that point i am with you.
but dont offer a million $, that you will never pay out, no matter what result would come from a test of cables, do you see where i am going ?
banditcat200 6 months ago
@banditcat200 I am not James Randi, I'm Dave Jones. James Randi is offering the million dollars through his foundation that debunks rubbish like this. Google it, I can't post links in comments. The money and offer are genuine and have nothing to with me. True double blind experiments aren't that hard to set up and get results from.
EEVblog 6 months ago
Man stop talking with this crazy unnatural voice. You are talking the truth, but I have a headache of your crazy voice.
mistara1 6 months ago
@mistara1 It is my crazy NATURAL voice. Not everyone on this planet talks the same. It's called a High Rising Terminal.
EEVblog 6 months ago
@EEVblog I know man, I said it, because this is not the normal talking voice, it's the chest voice. You want to be original, but this voice irritates me so much. I'm shure dislikes are for that, even if you're talking the truth. Maybe you can try to normalize the pitch of your voice, that's an advise. You are free to do what you want. Cheers.
mistara1 6 months ago
@mistara1 This is my NORMAL voice I've been using all my life, why would I want to change it? I don't care if people don't like it, that's their problem. I'm not changing to suit what some people want.
EEVblog 6 months ago 4
@mistara1 I love his voice, it makes me think of a children show presenter.
poepflater 6 months ago
I also tested it back and forth and was as open minded as possible (I know, better than most people as a Recording Engineer that psycology is a huge part of what you think you hear) but there was a difference with the IEC cable. I swapped it back and forth and let the caps drain and there was a difference. Maybe Im crazy, but depth was increased. Frequency content sayed the same (not any boosts or cuts absolutely anywhere). Just a thought, maybe its the quality of the connectors and the cable?
dannycurtean 6 months ago
ahahha, I so agree. I am an Audiophile, and I cant explain a couple of the audio myths, but they do make a difference. The one thing Im refering to is IEC power cables upgrades. I swaped those out for fun, more for build quality than audio improvement and I did notice that depth was greatly, unmistakebly increased. I cant explain it, but that is true. Also, "better" cables do make a huge difference, but $500 per cable is ridiculous! Im all about purity, and making possitive change, but "KNOBS!?"
dannycurtean 6 months ago
I actually purchased a power conditioner, opened it up... and found a half-dozen ceramic capacitors and...... that's it.
fingerboy18 7 months ago
I've seen an add for a $2,000,000 record player. They claim pure silver oxygen expelled cables. Haha, wow...
When I was younger and dumber, I bought a monster cable and decided I needed a longer cable when I was in engineering school. It was half the price and it sounded BETTER!
fingerboy18 7 months ago
A $5 IEC cable is fine with me.
fingerboy18 7 months ago
There are some myth and truth in audiophile. One thing for sure, any different in sound will make people ponder. That what the money come in.
kongwee1978 7 months ago
YOU ARE GREAT
elioolivero123 7 months ago
The actual truth is, these cables only very very slightly improve things, sure they might make a better connection with the gold plated connectors, and have better shielding against interference but that's about it. Selling them at the price they do is ridiculous, I could order parts to make one of those cables myself that is just as good and it would only cost a fraction of what they charge.
CoolDudeClem 7 months ago
Your volt meter says one thing, my body says another. I'm going with a live human being every time. Always trust your ears. Don't let the gear heads intimidate you !
mrdarcyme 7 months ago
Regarding audiophoolery, check out Zensati cables. Produced in Taiwan, probably costing a few dollars each, are being sold internationally for €20,000 Euro.
Zingo33 7 months ago
@Zingo33 Wow, masturbation worthy cables indeed!
EEVblog 7 months ago
Comment removed
Zingo33 7 months ago
I went to monster cable dot com :) LOL; found this: "Digital Life™ High Performance USB Cables - Advanced High Speed "
DoubleM55 7 months ago
2) Expensive power cables don't improve the power signal. They keep EMF away from the source components. The mains are not as close to the CD player so its quality is a mute point. - I took several cheap power cables and wrapped them up with aluminium foil to suppress those "nasty" EMF waves. Heard no difference.
3) D/A converters are ultimately analog devices. So the shape and timing of the digital waveform can affect the analog signal output. - Slapped on some ferrite cores - no difference.
srivsanjay 7 months ago
Actually Monster-Cable is old-school in the audiophile world. If you really want to see outlandish prices check out: MIT, Shunyata Research, etc.
Much like religion, audiophile companies have come up with plausible (somewhat) sale points:
1) The cable insulator is a dialectric that stores and releases energy. I once took an expensive cable and wrapped it up with teflon tape but heard no difference.
...
srivsanjay 7 months ago
If I spent $10,000 on a mains lead I'd hate this video too
EEguy85 8 months ago
@EEguy85 LOL! That pretty much sums it up!
EEVblog 8 months ago
Is there any way you can test or do a blog on guitar instrument cable and how it affects tone. I feel like the capacitance sometimes does actually matter depending on the pickups you have and the guitar rig itself such as true bypass or regular guitar pedals or how it affects all the components in a guitar amp (particularly looking tube amps). I know just the rectifier diode in an amp can cause a huge tone difference because of it affecting the PT/HeaterSupply/Preamp Cathodes/Signal Voltage. Ty!
cowcrusher 8 months ago
I'm not stupid, I'm a moron
I2SUSA 8 months ago
moron
I2SUSA 8 months ago
I can't believe people are still bothering to comment here with what this freak is saying.
For most people lamp cord 16 or 18 gauge wire is fine but leave audiophiles with ears alone to judge whats best for their system.
Saying all cables sound the same is like saying all hamburgers taste the same.
Anderskh 8 months ago
EEVblog, what's your headphone or speaker set up?
tonytigerjin13 8 months ago
Just for the record my friend bought 2 power chords from Russ Andrews for his mono block amps . Not cheap but not too stupid price wise £140. Russ Andrews offer YOUR MONEY BACK IF UNHAPPY NO QUIBBLE. I will repeat this again YOUR MONEY IF UNHAPPY NO QUIBBLE. Alternately BORROW a "high end cable". Now if you have the skills to make a power chord for £15 approx and it sounds good HATS OFF TO YOU. If anyone out there knows of a co ythat can knock out heavy duty power chords cheap let me know
kingofpunk1977 8 months ago
Check out my high end German console stereo from the 1950's.
I have a video of it on my channel. It was made of glider aircraft composite
material. All tube !! Watch the entire video because at the end of
playing a Bob Cort number I show the incredible moving parts.
No audiophoolery here!
clerven 8 months ago
if you wanna laugh about some more audiophoolery..
capacitor modding... literally.
like.. capacitors sounding better if you remove the plastic sleeve.. or replacing the aluminium can with a wooden can.. what the fuck.. lol
badcaps . net /forum/showthread . php?t=14738
(remove the spaces)
Knaeckebrotsaege 8 months ago
lol. true. lot of morons believe in this stuff but if they want to and if it tickles their fancy,let them. it's their money. still tho i don't give into this cable nonsense crap. copper is copper and silver is silver. they just use fancy terms to make it sound better. most people don't realize basic things like gauges and so forth what is the most important when dealing with certain impedance or power loads. it also doesn't take a rocket science to go to their local store and make a DIY cable.
DIRENGREY097 8 months ago
We agree with you 100 percent. it's fun though! LOL!
nublackmusic 8 months ago
you really misrepresented a bunch of information. converting between digital and analog causes signal loss. Certain op amps and digital audio converter chips suck. Certain horribly designed USB products WILL screw up because the USB device doesnt work fast enough to handle the computer data.
The whole cable thing though, i pretty much agree with you. The only reason i'd upgrade my cable is if it was like complete crap in terms of durability or looks rather than "performance"
shrimants 8 months ago
I'm sceptical, but, some upgrades really do make a difference.
jeroeniskoning 8 months ago
I am poor. I am about to make some fancy looking thick cables just to rip off the idiots. Idiots don't want to learn, they want to spend money.
timramich 8 months ago
The people out there who will pay hundreds of pounds for a HDMI cable and other digital interconnects have more money than sense - let them waste their money.
Sure, with analogue interconnects, there are benefits to not using bell wire but some of the claims of the silly priced ones are just ridiculous.
fuzzface100 8 months ago
your accent is totally australian . BEATS BY DRE STUDIO
What do you think of the beats by dr dre pro edition coming from an expert
review4u88 8 months ago
It's actually very funny how alt-bags people can be. Even if there is no perfect match for all the frequencies as far as phase swift is concerned, the difference with a short cable would be some uS... I've also seen people even using gold cables... Guys, gold generally has higher resistance that copper. And many many other things that I completely agree with David.
Get over it. It's not only audiophiles, there is a whole industry based on people's hobbies and it's ridiculously expensive.
TrickyNekro 9 months ago
Obviously you fools replaced all the cabling in your house with the ofc,individually screened variety and made sure every connector,plug ,plate,antenna are gold plated ,as it's a better conductor than silver ,states the sales rep. ha haha
1dosucol1 9 months ago
That's why the power ,telephone companies etc etc,ALL removed their old cables ,pylons ,connectors and replaced them with gold plated type and ofc cables.
Didn't they ?
1dosucol1 9 months ago
It's just the same as the crap anti rinkle, anti aging guff .Marketing has played its part ,then the silly folk buying this expensive guff convince themselves it must work because it's EXPENSIVE .
1dosucol1 9 months ago
all I have to say if unless you, yourself have already bought a full set up and installed it correctly you really have no place to talk. It would be like me going into nasa and telling them they need to stop using rocket fuel and switch to electricity
realmofexcursion 9 months ago
@realmofexcursion Sorry dude, it's just basic electrical and acoustic engineering knowledge. Anything else is pseudo-acoustics and snake oil.
EEVblog 9 months ago 14
@EEVblog 99.99% of all the Audiofool stuff is right on. I've been a audio engineer for the past 4 years. Most of the true benefits you get from good cables is not measured by improvement, It's more of a measure of how the cables don't effect the signal. Most folk who buy this stuff don't even have the equipment for even decent fidelity. That 99 cent ADC in your 5000% marked-up stereo really isn't going to cut it, even with the best of inputs.
Rockridge 9 months ago
@EEVblog you realize there are such things as "audio grade electrolytic capacitors", right? different materials have different properties and not all parts are created equal. I get the cable spiel and whatnot but i hope you realize that converting between digital and analog causes signal loss because we havent created perfect components. dont try to tell me, for example, that a 5th gen ipod video sounds the same as a 2nd gen ipod touch, which uses a MUCH higher quality DAC and opamp
shrimants 8 months ago
@realmofexcursion If you believe that spending thousands on "pro" cables is going to make audio sound better, then you will think that it sounds better regardless of the actual quality. It is all psychological, a matter of opinion. Electrical signals are improved through circuits not cables. The only bearing that cables have on signals is over very long distances or when multiple cables are side by side and you get crosstalk from EMI. Telecommunications 101.
iliveforanime 9 months ago
@iliveforanime so in other words, no you have not. Your talking blind
realmofexcursion 9 months ago
My favorite eevblog !
xng14 9 months ago
Forgot to mention that electrons has a heart too....
danielsoyArg 9 months ago
Why dont you tell me before i d paid 100 pounds for my electrons free /uranium depleted / psichoanalized a lot / uranium depleted /cryogenic heated / sugar loaded fancy cables man!
danielsoyArg 9 months ago
.. Denon CD, Tannoy studio monitor system, saying it sounded like sand being drawn through sheet metal tubes etc, etc , that I wanted revenge. So I arranged to borrow a serious high end system worth £50K plus and feigned he was listening to it, with my actual system appeared silent. So after an evening of him piling adulation on this system I revealed the truth, he had been listening to my system ! The reaction was to die for ! He has never forgiven me and even now tries to escape the truth !
turboslag 9 months ago
Excellent !!
I have an audiphool friend who just happens to be proper wealthy, Ferrari AND Lamborghini AND Porsche Cayenne or whatever it's called, in the garage wealthy !
So, it will be no surprise he spends obscene amounts of money on Hi-Fi ! Nothing would persuade him that all this cable stuff was nonsense, until I tricked him ! Invited him around to my place so he could hear my new system, he was hooked ! He was sooooo fond of piling abuse on my decades old Crown, IC150, DC300A, ... TBC
turboslag 9 months ago
This guy is over exited...hard to listen.
thenoti1 9 months ago 2
hey dude, are you familiar with the phrase: "never let a sucker keep his money"?
:P
imo screw these idiots who are to lazy to do homework.
and lets hope that some of the millions they spend get used in R&D
so we educated shoppers can get some more good stuff.
Whisper6911 9 months ago
lol ive known aufiophools who bought $2k stereo sets for the maximum frequency range, and then use it to listen to techno crap that makes use of maybe 5% of the spectrum...
not once have i seen any of these idiots listen to music that was even played at a fidelity, let alone recorded, that makes any sense to spend 2k on.
also the human hearing has its limits, especially after years of techno crap...
Whisper6911 9 months ago
Okay, so you are ranting incoherently, truly, about audiophoolery, yet you present no empirical data to back up your claims. Please don't try the old Hydrogen Audio comment either, TOS#7..? who knows...your diatribe does help anyone trying to assemble a really killer Hi-Fi setup on a budget, because you come off sounding like we should all be listening to Bose Wave radios....contribute some data other than "go find Randi" ....
Stereolist 10 months ago 2
@Stereolist lol i bet he has a bose stereo!!!!!!!
joerezstudios 9 months ago
excellent video - voice of common sense!
leachben1 10 months ago
Hold up, Sure $1500 are not worth the money, But the differance between a $1 cable and a $30 cable will make a big differance if you are running very highend headphones such as a HD800, Hell you can even here the impurities of some bad recording companys like MBC.
Audiophille to me means Spending as little as possible but getting the best sound for bang for buck, Anyone else is a pooser.
j0rzeh 10 months ago
@j0rzeh I agree with you 100%. I don't spend more than $100 on a set of cables, but I don't use Radio Shack gold cables either.
There are also many other factors that contribute to overall sound quality besides the cables. Speakers, power conditioners, room conditions, components, and quality recordings all combine to sound quality. With such a rig bad recording are easily identified and good recordings sound like you are listening live.
max81122 10 months ago
@j0rzeh I agree with you 100%. I don't spend more than $100 on a set of cables, but I don't use Radio Shack gold cables either.
There are also many other factors that contribute to overall sound quality besides the cables. Speakers, power conditioners, room conditions, components, and quality recordings all combine to sound quality. With such a rig bad recording are easily identified and good recordings sound like you are listening live.
max81122 10 months ago
The difference of cables is a science, but thats why the snake oil sellers come out to baffle with hype. For example gold is a better conductor than copper but just like more petrol in the tank doesnt get you a faster car people dont understand the science. Even if the cable is full gold (not plated) the effect is minute compared to any coding , decoding noise or the room and speaker dynamics. Sound proofing, conditioning the room, speaker placement and positioning is more important.
LensViews 10 months ago
The real difference in quality is how well they terminate the ends of the copper.
If they have a tiny little solder joint, or worse not even soldered just crimped, then it's a weak electrical connection.
But, I agree 100% with you. All these cables are over priced, and they feed off people who are ignorant, lining the pockets, and .. selling snake oil.. yes..
kiyotewolf 10 months ago
this is my fav .amazon.com/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Link-Cable/dp/B000I1X6PM
appleip 10 months ago
We need more people like you to act as a block for techno bubbles :)
Bracerjack 10 months ago
I believe you need to pay the price for quality, BUILD quality. If you pay 2 dollars for a cable it's going to fall apart quite soon. So there's a minimum you have to pay for having a cable that will LAST. But even with the 2 dollar cables I've never noticed any sound difference. And my scope did not realize anything either. Is my scope deaf?
yanava 10 months ago
I own a pair of Acoustic Zen double barrel speaker cables, $1,350 for 8ft. pair. And I will tell you this... MY SYSTEM SOUNDS 10 TIMES BETTER after I did the upgrade. I don't give a shit what this hack says.
n2motocross 10 months ago
beats. overpriced audio stuff.
ScissorsToTheThroat 10 months ago
Sometimes I wonder if cable brand "Emperor" is a cheeky reference to Emperor's new clothes; the similarities between that story and the subjective audio scene are so similar it sends chills down the spine.
Sometimes though I wonder how I'd sleep if I made living out of power cables going at $1200 per metre... and the conclusion is always the same: soundly in a huge mansion.
KarriKoivusalo 10 months ago
Totally makes me imagine some Dilbert sitting in his cubicle, having to invent random, smart sounding blabber to make stuff sexy. lol
criscros7 10 months ago
I seem to remember seeing a thread about this a few years ago on the EYO forums website, this would have been about 4 years ago, the things they say sounded really convincing, they even seemed to suggest that low quality cables would damage your equipment, of course I may have misread something. I'm surprise Panasonic are publishing what you say, I've always had a soft spot for their portable CD players and stereo systems.
Lachlant1984 10 months ago
Lol that was intense. I agree, but I do like Monster cables for my guitar setup. They do the job, they're durable and have the lifetime warranty which is GREAT!
Gawernator 10 months ago
You are so worked up about this, you're going to have a heart attack if your not careful.
joey1127 10 months ago
If you compare radio shack cable vs mogami cable, yes, there is a difference.
That said, the "audiophile" cable market is complete BS. Get a decent cable.
I have an old McIntosh integrated amplifier from the 70's, sounds great, great build quality, I got is for maybe 400 bucks. There is poor quality vs. great quality, easy to tell & hear. Most people don't bother to listen, they just buy whatever expensive s#!t is out there.
MrMegaEli 10 months ago
Also, my friends can't hear the difference like I can because they don't spend hours a day plucking away at a bass guitar like I do. When I familiarize myself with an audio setup, and it changes, I definitely notice the difference right away. Under perfect conditions, an A&B test might show no difference in quality. Do an A&B test under conditions where a cable might effect the quality of the sound (e.g, sitting next to your amp).
TreyFriend 10 months ago
As a musician who relies on electronics to even hear the instrument, I say that it's not all crap. I can tell the difference between a cheap cable and a quality cable. Cheap cables buzz, they sound clouded, feel flimsy, and they break easily. I've actually picked up radio stations on my cheap cables. I use monster cables. Why? They're expensive ($50-$60), but I get a solid cable that won't buzz or short out. They sound clean, they're durable, and yes... LIFETIME WARRANTY NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
TreyFriend 10 months ago
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This guy is great!
shroomduke 10 months ago
all that expensive shit are placebos
mikebingham34 10 months ago
The more people I hear say it makes no difference what cable you use, the clearer it is to me, that I have to do an audiophile setup guide for dummies. And I might be the wrong person for this.
No time for that at the moment, but I will have to make time in the near future.
And I am not saying you are wrong, but if you hear not much or no difference between standard audio cables and "high quality" ones, is not because there is none. It depends more on room acoustics and the setup you have.
Landazar321 10 months ago
@Landazar321 Sorry to tell you, no it doesn't. If you think it does then you have been deluded, or are not comparing apples with apples. When cables of identical electrical spec are compared under true double blind A-B comparisons, there is no difference. James Randi will give you one million dollars if you can prove otherwise.
EEVblog 10 months ago 5
@EEVblog I'm not easy to delude ;) If I don't hear a difference to the better in blind test I don't buy it.
I don't give a damn about the specs or what the industry adds says.
And I guess that if I would proof that guy that good shielded cables make a difference, he would say its something else or just say he doesn't hear a difference. So its only me who passes the blindtest and that's just luck. And he would never give anyone that million dollar. He's just showing confidence with his statement
Landazar321 10 months ago
@EEVblog "RANDI WITHDRAWS FROM CABLE CHALLENGE" in 2007, I think he chickened out.
021311 6 months ago
As an audio nut, I've tried some flashy cables. Well I don't think they do much, especially not for the coin. Go buy a new speaker instead. Power cables are even more ridiculous and yes I picked up some second hand. I'll keep them because they look cool :p
MomijiTMO 10 months ago
I recently saw an audio-spec USB cable... I think we can all agree that that is the ultimate in audiophoolery
MisterMANada 10 months ago
I bet most of the people that posted here don't have a clue about the most basic knowledge of electricity, but they still enforce their pointless opinions...you know shit about what makes natural and warm sounding audio equipement...oh and if you feel tempted to buy cables or knobs or whatever, I recommend you put that money to good use and go see an psychologist, no realy you would do us all a favor...
XTYNoLuck 10 months ago
I used to think the samy way you do ... that cables didn't make a difference and it was all about marketing. However, I borrowed some different cables from friends and they certainly sounded different. To tell you the truth, I admire people like you because you CAN'T tell the different and you wouldn't have a spend a penny on music.
chongtom 11 months ago
What if I tell you that I have invented an air fan that shapes the air into a hypersound form(tm). All you have to do is aim the fan at your speakers and you will hear better sound! You see, the science behind is that sound travels better with the air that my fan produces.
-I just made this is up but sincerely believes that some delusional audiophiles might dig it.
armymanhaha 11 months ago
It's just so cute how people are trying to argue with dave, failing to realise that he worked in audio and signal processing for a long time. And what he is saying here is not super special engineering knowledge, it's high school physics, still people fail to understand it and argue for their cables engineered by geordi laforge himself. Just hilarious.
Bastimon 11 months ago
How can running an audio signal thru exotic wires and cables make an audible improvement after the signal has surely been degraded by passing thru hundreds if not thousands of blobs of tin & lead (aka solder, hardly an exotic material) not to mention all the mild steel leads of the components (resistors, caps, etc.) used in the circuitry? Cables & wires as tone controls? Please!
Stephen2112 11 months ago
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@kugs22
That´s rubbish. You may hear a difference when cable capacity and output impedance of the source are both much too high. In this case the effect is also measurable. If a cable "sounds" , some of it´s specs are very much out of a practical range. If cable values (or combination with the source specs) are not forced to damp higher frequencies, no one will make it in a real ABX Test. That´s wishful thinking.
jellybelly2234 11 months ago
@kugs22
That´s rubbish. You may hear a difference when cable capacity and output impedance of the source are both much too high. In this case the effect is also measurable. If a cable "sounds" , some of it´s specs are very much out of a practical range. If cable values (or combination with the source specs) are not forced damp higher frequencies, no one will make it in a real ABX Test. That´s wishful thinking.
jellybelly2234 11 months ago
The only people who are upset by this video are people who realize that they have a huge hole in their bank account and a few fancy ''kettle'' leads that have a very similar electronic spec to the one coming out of the back of their kettle.
I wonder if my cup of coffee will taste better using one of these leads. :)
Zed1967 11 months ago 8
@Zed1967 Of course it will taste better, if that's what you believe it's supposed to do! :->
EEVblog 11 months ago
I was going to post a video showing you kind sir sitting in a demo for some very expensive cables, but it looks like you've disabled URLs in responses so people can't disprove your BS
mrtheoden 11 months ago
@mrtheoden I haven't (and can't) disable anything. Youtube does not allow links in comments for any video, not just mine. If you can "prove" same speced cables make a difference then you can genuinely win $1000000 from the James Randi foundation. I suggest you take him up on the offer.
EEVblog 11 months ago 4
blah blah blah
mrtheoden 11 months ago
@kugs22 How about try understanding some basic engineering first. There is no difference in similar electrically speced cables. James Randy will give you a million dollars if you can prove I'm wrong.
EEVblog 11 months ago
Sorry again, didn't answer your question. Isn't it more a matter of current and not voltage? Current drives the loudspeakers and the audio amp drives the power supply. Too little current has a bad effect on sound quality. I believe an undersized power cable can effect the current supply to the speakers.
megakodeman 11 months ago
Sorry I have been going thru Oxycontin de-tox for the past 6 weeks and have been unable to do anything. I've got some video together for "suggestive subjectivity" but it make be a while before I can finish it. I want to put my 2 cents in on this subject so I'll try really hard to get it completed.
megakodeman 11 months ago
I can agree with7/8ths of the stuff he's talking about and the other 1/8th is true believe it or not the only difference is the amount of advertising put into these products there's a brand of cable out there called whirlwind and my brother bought a 3 ft xlr cable for like 5 bucks and I went and looked at my audio store some time ago and saw the same cable but monster fer like 11 bucks it was crazy
aircannonmaster 1 year ago
I've argued this kind of stuff over the years with all kinds of audiophiles and come to the conclusion that it's more like a religion. I don't bother telling anyone any different anymore because they always claim they can hear it. Especially with the new stuff coming out with vaccuum tubes. They say it's a "warmer" sound, well of course it is! it's noisier on the outputs!!!
Tarkusine 1 year ago
monstercable is the perfect example of this........
1ben1245 1 year ago
I think that most of the people who work in the audio industry came through the retail sales end, often with little background in fundamentals. I've found it a little bewildering to try to learn principles from those kind of people. If you are looking for a possible topic for future videos, you might consider delving into audio principles. I still have trouble with the concept of output/input impedence matching....
spelunkerd 1 year ago
Sorry, wanted to add - stay away from Monster cable crap. I've bought 3 different cable and none were any good. Chord cables, on the other hand are great. AZ HiFi helped me with some great gear and the chord interconnects turned a crap NAD cd player into something I now enjoy. For power cables - the bigger the amp the more the need for a better cable. Try plugging your refrigerator with 50 ft of the cheapest extension cord you can find and see how long it lives.
megakodeman 1 year ago
I sort of agree with most of what you say, but, I've replaced all my power cables with the same wire that's inside my walls. In school they taught us that electricity is like water, the bigger the hose the greater the flow. Most cheap audio components have really small hoses. I'm working on an experiment that might show how this works. Look for it later under "Suggestive Subjectivity."
megakodeman 1 year ago
@megakodeman Any results of your experiment? You are right, if the diameter of the cable is bigger, then the resistance is lower and you'll get more voltage at your equipment. But even if you are using some kW heater blower, the cable voltage drop is small. And it doesn't matter for your HiFi equipment, because it has a transformer and voltage regulator with big buffering capacitors, and it works the same for a wide mains input voltage range, sometimes for different countries (120 V to 240 V).
frankbuss 11 months ago