Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83 v7 ucbtopaz-1.8; site ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!ucbvax!ucbtopaz!newton2 From: newton2@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA Newsgroups: net.audio Subject: Re: Why do cables make a difference? Message-ID: <529@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA> Date: Sat, 18-Aug-84 03:16:42 EDT Article-I.D.: ucbtopaz.529 Posted: Sat Aug 18 03:16:42 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 19-Aug-84 13:48:47 EDT References: <5317@mordor.UUCP> Organization: Univ. of Calif., Berkeley CA USA Lines: 36 Boy, I really liked the substance *and* the tone of Steve Correll's posting- a rare combo of sensible analysis and to-the-heart-of-the-matter psychology. I share Steve's interest in double-blind testing of the sometimes passionate assertions of some audiophiles. But I have to admit to a slightly more irasciblebias-- I believe in my bones all this pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo is just highfalutin rationalization for onanistic consumer-frenzy. The trend in "high-end" audio is to advance the state-of-the-scam by proposing a new high-tech (preferably MIL-spec) overkill approach to a problem well- characterized by Shannon decades ago, then come up with a post-hoc "discovery" of a problem the gold-plated ether-pipe transmission line supposedly needs to solve. Most of the allegations of shortcomings in conventional approaches to audio seem to share an *intuitive* plausibility and equally to lack an *engineering*, i.e., a quantitative perspective. A good illustration was offered when a net subscriber }inon-confrontationally accepted the assertion that welding cables made an audible difference, but w~rondered what he was losing due to the sub-optimum *internal* wiring of his equipment Sensible people involved with audio on a practical (what hobbyists seem to call "professional") level ought toknow that the signals which golden-eared pundits claim are being raped, pillaged and plundered by connectors that won't pass S-band have seen some shabby indig- nities on their way to the audiophile that one would at least *expect* to rend the shimmering veil from their virginal form (is this sentence over yet?). Anyway. it's sure a good idea to buffer the phono cartridge close to the stylus, but you don't need to pay a mass penalty with an extra wire for power-- easy to share power and signal lines. Interestingly, in the (I just claimed) sane and sober pro world, this obviously optimum approach seems not to catch on withmicrophones, which should be line level from the capsule- would simplify all recording consoles and allow a better approach to digital audio's potential. Nevertheless, people seem to think that Real Mikes Don't Put Out Volts. So any well- designed console today is still limited by the noise figure of its mike preamp *plus* the vagaries of getting the signal to it intact.