So on that basis “does speaker cable make a difference?” has not been answered either way.
If its a simple yes or no answer, the answer has to be yes.
How’s that if the test hasn’t been done? Surely the simple answer is “we don’t know”?
The simple answer is "yes" because everyone agrees there are some basic electrical parameters that need to be met by the cable to achieve adequate performance.
The non simple answer is the one being debated here. As some people claim once the electrical parameters have been met full performance is achieved and increasing the specification of the cable has no effect on performance or colouration of the sound.
Where as some people claim that the basic electrical parameters only offer good performance but not full performance and "better" cables do offer more performance. Also different parameters (above the minimum requirement) can colour the sound and you can tune and adjust to your liking.
But as far as we know the claims have never been tested properly.
Ooooh design of experiments! - part of my day job. First decide the likely magnitude of effect you would like to detect. A difference of proportion (50-50) is a noisy endpoint at the best of times. Then guess the likely variability in the response for an individual (test-retest). Then calculate sample size needed to detect the difference you think is important (say 10% of people prefer nice cables to cheap ones). The randomise those subjects to AB or BA and run the experiment. In fact, for test-retest sensitivity, one will re-run AB and BA randomised multiple times in the same subject. This has the effect of reducing the overall sample size needed.
repeat it enough times and you still get a statistically significant answer even if half the folk doing it are deaf
Studies are powered on false positive and negative rates. The power is typically to detect an effect if it exists in 8/10 to 9/10 experiments, and declare an effect when it doesn't exist in about 1/20. At a rough estimate, for a 10% difference, you will need a 100 subjects.
The fact that one can measure spectral differences in responses within the aural range isn't really in doubt (as that linked article states). They are not large, but they are present and measureable. This is based on the length, impedance and skin depth of the cables tested. Whether they make any impact on perceived audilble quality is another matter entirely. Speaker responses can be read off these curves because the effects are much more pronounced.
Did anyone watch Ethan Winers experiments? Would love to know your thoughts on his experiment strategy and his conclusions...!
Did anyone watch Ethan Winers experiments? Would love to know your thoughts on his experiment strategy and his conclusions…!
Skip back a few pages and you'll get your wish.
16 pages and the answer is a simple no. Snake oil for the audiophiles. I’ve got some magic beans to sell if anyone wants them?
(Runs and hides)
* Wake up
* Have a wee
* Make some coffee
* Check STW whilst driving coffee
Yep, they're still wanging on about speaker cables.
All is well with the world.
Around the mid 90s I was working with a couple of companies selling high end gear to recording studios and on the side I fitted out a couple of home studios for extremely rich people with more money than sense (hence my getting the job) and the general attitude of the engineering advisers I used was that anything more expensive than electric cooker cable was OTT as long as you had decent connections fot it. I doubt that electricity has changed much since.
It was good enough for George Martin back then and he was supposed to have decent ears.
I take it you're in the 'yes it makes a difference' camp as cooker cable is quite a bit meatier than bell wire? (or at least it is in my house)
Skip back a few pages and you’ll get your wish.
Blimey I had a look but couldnt find it - assumed it died - didn't realise it was back on page 8!
To those asking whether that video is now gospel... ironically Ethan Winer is seen as a bit of a god within audio engineering circles 😀 (He's done a lot of work on audio myths and bringing science into audio)
