I don't have a super audio system, I don't have a lot of money. But I can say that the day I upgraded my cables from standard ones to serious cables it was like I've bought a new system. I know a lot of people will comment saying I'm selling snake oil. I don't care about mesurements,. I care about music because music is what I listen to. Better cables, better sound. Just try to put a serious cable on a pair of Hifiman Sundara: it's like taking away fog from the window you're looking through and see the world outside clear and property defined. My two cents based on my experience. Thank you for bringing out the cables argument, it's always worth talking expecially when it comes to analog music

I thought this was a perfectly reasonable discussion of a typically unreasonable subject.

I use to think the cables were a lot of snake oil. However, I think the smaller the signal the more important that you have a good quality shielded cable. I recently had my 43 year old turntable serviced and my turntable tech suggested that we replace the factory cables with some nice shielded ones to run to my phono stage; we also re wired the tone arm with new litz wire too. One thing that I noticed almost immediately was just a slightly lower noise floor & a little more definition on the highs; on my vinyl. Keep in mind still running the same cartridge and stylus; but things were just a bit clearer for certain dynamics when the record would get really busy. Other things that I do to try and reduce EMI and noise; try to route all my power cables down and away from all my unbalanced signal wires where they are shielded or unshielded. I don't believe in power conditioners; but all my gear is attached to a full sin wave UPSes. Having that UPS protects some of my gear that I deem priceless to me; but also cleans up the power going into the linear power supplies in both my amp, pre-amp ect.... Depending on the room and what else is around; I have found I can sometimes get away with unshielded speaker cable; but if the wires have to run near a lot of electrical devices its best to get a decent shielded speaker cable.

Back in the Nineties we did blind tests as students where we had a handfull of different RCA-cables made up from about everything that was available in the house including different coaxial- and networking cables, one audiophile cable and the stuff that had been thrown in the boxes with our devices. We found differences for sure and reproducibly so but only in the most exaggerated cases where you could hear a loss of high frequencies. The rest where just a matter of taste or even illusion that may vanish the next day when you are in a different mood. In the end we concluded that any decent cable will do and it is more important to care about elsewhere in the chain. We just stopped worrying too much about this matter. RCA-cabling can make a difference but only a small one. If you find it's just the right icing on your cake: More power to you!

I've tried a few things that made a big impact: (1) replaced standard power socket with Oyaide R1, (2) Using Naim power extension with high quality copper, (3) built my own power cables with hifi plugs and Romex wire, (4) built my own interconnects with Van Damme LC-OFC. I must say the largest impact was (1) and (2). I had a Panamax power filter / surge protector in it and after that was replaced the sound became a lot cleaner, crisper, unleashed and natural sounding. Not sure how much the Romex power cables and interconnects did, but then again I was probably changing too many things at the same time to properly notice (I know a mistake), but I am very happy with my sound.

Whatever you change in your system (equipment, cables or acoustics), the sound change, and that's physics.

Yes I believe in having speaker cables. Without them, no sound will come out of the speakers

Hi, I've seen a lot of videos of you and you brought some things closer to me in an understandable way. Thanks a lot for this. I didn't believe it before, but high-quality power cables or a line filter strip produce an incredible amount of sound. Even balanced cables from the Dac to the amplifier bring real benefits. You also brought me to Oyaide cabel. Keep it up. Greetings from Germany.

As an analogue photographer.....I shoot film and have done since 1985....i draw a comparison to the search for perfection in lenses.....it's all human psyche......in lenses we have the mtf curves which are scientific charts which show to put it simply how good a lens is on paper......but then you may use it and not like the flavour of the lens......it may be the sharpest and be able to give the best contrast but when you use it and say take a portrait it may not be the look you want..........in lenses the science and the human eye do not go hand in hand......for example.....my favourite lens is a 1973 Hasselblad C lens that is soft and low on contrast but it has something special about it when you shoot people with it........numbers and the nature of humanity do not always go well......importantly though as humans what happens to us when we have perfection? The Holy grail must never be achieved or else we have no journey to go on and as we all know in here the journey of curiosity and trial and error and the fact there is always something out there that can be what we are looking for is what drives the passion.......with perfection where does the passion go? What becomes of us when we know we can't do or become better? Long live the search.......

The brain is very fascinating in how it can trick yourself into believing in things that aren’t actually real.

I remember when I was young, with a NAD 3020 amp, turntable and tuner, and I don't now recall which speakers, the biggest upgrade I did was to replace the speaker cables. Then seeing, or rather hearing how much an improvement those cables made I also upgraded the analogue interconnects (In the 1970's we didn't know that DACs existed) and found another noticeable improvement. I am now totally convinced, and I do spend money on cables. And I notice a difference with digital interconnects too, on changing from the free ones in the box, to those I buy. As a former Metallurgy student, and an amateur musician I wonder if the crystalline structure of the metal has an impact (as it does with musical instruments)?

Cables can absolutely make a difference just like caps & resisters, however you don't have to spend a arm & a leg to get some significant benefits.

I simply don’t understand why a few people don’t believe in cables. Take the simple kimber pbj interconnect for example - they are thin, teflon sleeved and weaved. Just compare it to a regular freebie interconnects. Then switch to say a kimber select - now that changes the sound again. Lets then take the phono leads. Litz wires make a huge difference. If less than 2-inches of wires make a difference then what more of a 1-metre interconnect

I know exactly what you're talking about in the listening versus statistics and measurements. They believe they don't have to listen if it measures right. I think (myself) that EVERYTHING in the system, matters and is audible. Period!. I think a lot like you do. Were very honest when it comes to audio. And everything else also, but were talking audio. It's very, very refreshing! Listening matters more than stat's. Measurements do matter as a ground basis. But not all cable's are created equal.

My experience: changing cables from cheap 2 usd to 20 usd REALLY makes a difference

Great video!. I used to be a cable naysayer years ago until an audio friend of mine asked me if I’ve ever tried an aftermarket power cable on my setup? I said nope he said he’d loan me one to try and see what I thought. So I put the cable in not expecting to hear any difference but the first 10sec on the song I was listening to my jaw hit the floor .

IME, being a degreed electrical and RF engineer, high-end audio cables are a waste of money. At best they can add better shielding to protect from external noise sources. But if that is your problem, you should address the noise source, not the shielding to protect from it. And, most home HiFi systems will not be exposed to unusually high noise levels. Keep you cable runs reasonably short. The speaker cables should carry the maximum current with low resistance. 14 ga. wire will be sufficient for 99% of systems. As for audio cable reactance (inductance and capacitance), even with the cheapest cables you can find, the magnitude of the reactances will be insignificant as compared to the source and load reactances of the connected equipment (especially true from loudspeakers).

I think you made some valid points here. I personally definitely need to experience more and different gear. But as you said it takes some time and money. I'm super curious about the differences, and I'm always searching for them. One point you missed is the receiving end of things: the human listening. I think we all are different and so are our hearing capabilities. For myself I think there is a diminishing return from what I can hear and to be honest my personal limiting factor in this equation is my own hearing. My gear is in the lower mid level, 300-500€ headphones and 200-400€ dacs etc. I did notice a great differents coming from cheaper stuff, but if I try more expensive gear I cannot tell a real difference and would probably fail my own a-b testing to be honest. But I'm still curious to experience this quest for myself to ultimately find what I really like and what fits my music best.

The problem with trying things is that expectation bias alters our perceptions. The consequences would be trivial and amusing if we were talking about preference over an assortment of $20 cables. But some of these cables are many $1000s of dollars.

First thanks for covering this topic with an objective perspective