Hello Arthur,

I think Christopher is referring to a Troll who posted under several aliases including Fred Scuttle and Oldphrt who has a similar style and opinion to your good self  and I agree the resemblance is striking , but I apologize in advance if this is not the case .

On the other hand if you are the above said person this may be of use to you      THIS  .

Rik H has responded to your comment in a way that is usual for a person whom has been told that they are being fooled and lacks any real knowledge , in other words you were implying that he is "thick" , so I think his response was in fact quite measured under the circumstances.

All the best Electro.

Hi All,

I agree, Rik was well in his rights to reply as he did.

If that is the milkman/troll, he has learned to say more than one sentance ??? Mmm ??

Hi everyone,

It reminds me of previous discussions about cables, hope it dosent get to personal and go down that track.

Hope everyone is well.

Cheers

Steve.

electrohead wrote (see)

  .

Rik H has responded to your comment in a way that is usual for a person whom has been told that they are being fooled and lacks any real knowledge , in other words you were implying that he is "thick" , so I think his response was in fact quite measured under the circumstances.

Rik doesn't appear to understand electronics, fair enough, many people don't. There are a large number of things I don't understand too but I don't rant and rave at those that do have understandiing. I prefer to listen and learn.

Hi Arthur,

Rik may know more about electronics than you think - may i say you may have an assumption there.

Any way I use to think that mains cables and conditioners etc would not make a difference and Im sorry to say when i tested some they did make a difference. I say let your ears be the governing factor than measurements (call me a subjectivist if you like)- but I think you can accept both measurements and your ear.

Cheers,

Steve.  

Hi Arther,

If you look back over previous threads we have covered most of the cable conundrum and this has always come to one outcome, "stalemate and members falling out " no one can truly put an end to this debate, measurement and human hearing on this topic just dont agree, we also took a poll that ended in war, so unless some one has evidence to finally convince us, of what differences most people hear, then this so called "placebo effect" is non starter, and a statement that carries no scientific grounds where hearing / sound is concerned, i know that the moderator has had his work cut out trying to keep order on this subject, and a few have overstepped the mark and bid us a found farewell, we welcome new members  posts but this is one area that has been over done !

Carl Kirby wrote (see)

Hi Arther,

If you look back over previous threads we have covered most of the cable conundrum and this has always come to one outcome, "stalemate and members falling out " no one can truly put an end to this debate, measurement and human hearing on this topic just dont agree, we also took a poll that ended in war, so unless some one has evidence to finally convince us, of what differences most people hear, then this so called "placebo effect" is non starter, and a statement that carries no scientific grounds where hearing / sound is concerned, i know that the moderator has had his work cut out trying to keep order on this subject, and a few have overstepped the mark and bid us a found farewell, we welcome new members  posts but this is one area that has been over done !

Perhaps everyone could learn to remain calm and collected so the subject can be discussed rationally. I'm quite happy to agree to do that.

The placebo effect is a perfectly valid scientific explanation for the perceived differences. Do you have an alternative scientific explanation?

stephen nicholas 2 wrote (see)

Hi Arthur,

Rik may know more about electronics than you think - may i say you may have an assumption there.

Hi, Arther,

I for for one believe the effect of one cable over another comes from the attenuation properties of said cables, different construction and design can help sound wise, plugs/connectors is another area that can cause the attenuation of the signal, glad you can take a calm and collected stance on this subject ? if you look at all the other threads on mains, interconects, etc: you will see all  your questions and answers have all been covered - over and over again and again etc. ....Cheers ....Carl.

Carl Kirby wrote (see)

Hi, Arther,

I for for one believe the effect of one cable over another comes from the attenuation properties of said cables, different construction and design can help sound wise, plugs/connectors is another area that can cause the attenuation of the signal,

Hi Carl

Attenuation of the signal doesn't apply to mains leads because they don't actually carry the signal. If a mains lead attenuated the mains it wouldn't be considered fit for purpose because it would probably run warm and the voltage drop would certainly be measurable, IMO long before it would be audible. If that was the case then the best lead to use would be one from a high current appliance such as a kettle. Is a kettle lead the ultimate hi-fi mains lead in your opinion?

Arthur.

Hi Arthur,

Have you tried various mains leads and is your conclusion based on that experience or from measurements alone ?

Cheers,

Steve.

stephen nicholas 2 wrote (see)

Hi Arthur,

Have you tried various mains leads and is your conclusion based on that experience or from measurements alone ?

Cheers,

Steve.

Hi Steve

Mains wires only need to connect the mains voltage from one end to the other. The signal doesn't go through them, only the mains. How can they possibly affect the quality of sound on a hifi?

 I did experiment with a variety of different speaker wires, including twin and earth, coax and telephone wire. I found the sound always improved when I used a lot of runs connected together ( in parallel) and this seemed to be true regardless of the construction of the wire. I also tried bi wiring but could hear no difference. Currently I'm using 4 runs of old QED multistrand that I had lying about wired  in parallel per channel.

Never tried silver though.

Hi Arthur,

Just try different mains cable and I think you be surprised. Generally I found the thicker the mains cable the more bottom end I had on my system - bass extension and it was more dynamic, I also found it opened up the soundstage etc. You dont have to believe me - but try it on a good quality system and then let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Steve.

stephen nicholas 2 wrote (see)

Hi Arthur,

Just try different mains cable and I think you be surprised. Generally I found the thicker the mains cable the more bottom end I had on my system - bass extension and it was more dynamic, I also found it opened up the soundstage etc. You dont have to believe me - but try it on a good quality system and then let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Steve.

Hi Steve

So we can agree that the best lead to use is one suitable for a high current appliance.

Arthur

Hello Arthur,

I think you may be onto something with you speaker cables, it seems that multiple lengths or strands of cable run in parallel seem to sound better than single runs regardless of thickness .

 I have found this to be the case as well, in fact the speaker cable that I use goes one step further and separates and insulates  each individual strand and they run parallel in a flat ribbon , I have also found that the distance between each strand in the ribbon makes a difference too. Perhaps with your technical background you could expand on your theory as to why this may be.

All the best Electro.

Hi Arthur,

I havent found the biggest always the best. I tried one mains cable and it was so bass heavy its was imbalanced tonally on my system. Certaintly high current ones let more current through which can affect dynamic peaks etc. I say try various ones to match your system - system synergy is important.

Cheers,

Steve.

Hi Electro

Well, separately insulated strands would minimise inductance but I still think that the total thickness of the wire is the most important factor so that voltage drop in the cable is as low as possible. Disproving that requires the purchase of different wire and as I'm very happy with things as they are now I think I'll leave the experiments to others.

Hi Steve

My system sounds different to me at times but I put that down to my ears and how hard I listen. Have you tried putting the original leads back?

Regards Arthur

Hi Arthur,

I have put the original leads back and instantly i felt yuck - the soundstage closed in, lost detail and bass, and lost some of the smoothness and became harsher sounding.

Cheers

Steve.

Hello Arthur,

If you are happy with things as they are I agree It would be foolish to change anything, after all if you are enjoying your music that is all that really matters.

Just to pick up on a point you made to Steve in your last post about your system sounding different to you at times , it seems this is quite common and has been blamed on a lot of things, but I have found it has been totally eliminated by the addition of extensive mains filtering to my system as you may have spotted in the small picture in the corner of my posts !

If this is the so called "placebo effect" at work I quite like it and I am in the market for more of the same , but it puzzles me to think how effective and long lasting it is, and if you calculate the "sound per pound" of the "placebo effect" it is actually quite good value !

But I have my doubts, I suspect it has more to do with physics than any imagined magical solution I often sit listening to music and find myself in awe of the musicians talent and the skill of the people who designed the equipment  that makes it possible for me to have almost real live music in my home, magical though it seems.

All the best Electro.