Do RCA Cables matter?

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Cables do sound different. I had pair of cheaper interconnects from my TT to Phono amp and they really killed the sound, muffled and dull, improved immensely by a slightly dearer set of Nordost connects. I only trust my ears when it comes to HiFi upgrades.

How long did it take you to swap the cables? If it was more than a minute or two, you can't remember what you heard (exactly) with the old interconnect. Human's "hearing memory" has been documented to be very poor if there is more than a few seconds between like sounds. If you can't A/B in seconds, you will have trouble distinguishing the differences.

[Clunky]

Cables do sound different. I had pair of cheaper interconnects from my TT to Phono amp and they really killed the sound, muffled and dull, improved immensely by a slightly dearer set of Nordost connects. I only trust my ears when it comes to HiFi upgrades.

How long did it take you to swap the cables? If it was more than a minute or two, you can't remember what you heard (exactly) with the old interconnect. Human's "hearing memory" has been documented to be very poor if there is more than a few seconds between like sounds. If you can't A/B in seconds, you will have trouble distinguishing the differences.

I took my time probably 3 minutes, the difference was so massive, it was also on an LP I knew very well indeed.

[Bigshot]

It's more likely to be dust on the stylus being dislodged. There are dozens of variables that could affect sound in mechanical sound reproduction.

[Dan Gould]

There are others over on the Steve Hoffman forums who defend ludicrous statements with remarks about how my hearing must be faulty, all backed by Hoffman himself, who does hawk some serious "snake oil" audio products - like the famous "audio coat rack" at $1000 a pair.

Wait just a minute. You mean to tell me this is just a pile of horseshit? But it sounds so logical and reasonable.

SHAKTI's design is based on scientific principles that follow understood laws relating to the mutual coupling effects of electromagnetic fields. Commonly termed inductive coupling, an example of this is seen in all transformer circuitry where there is a primary and secondary coil interaction. The secondary coil, like SHAKTI, has no direct connection to the signal path and yet when properly tuned and loaded it can sink or absorb energy directly from the active primary coil even though they are not physically in contact. If you have ever come near, though not touching, an AM antenna and heard the signal gain or reduce in strength, the same process is occurring, you are either coupling with the field in an additive or subtractive manner. Three groups of "antennas", each covering a separate frequency range, are incorporated in SHAKTI. One circuit section is specifically for Microwave fields, another for RFI and a third for lower wavelength external fields around power supplies. Each of these sections has a resistive element to complete the absorption and dissipation process that reduces EMI.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I took my time probably 3 minutes, the difference was so massive, it was also on an LP I knew very well indeed.

From the studies I have read, three minutes is too long. These studies show that people cannot remember exactly what they heard 30 seconds ago, never mind three minutes ago.

Also, do not discount the psychological aspect of the swap. You bought the interconnect and installed it because you wanted to improve your audio playback. It is entirely possible that you heard an improvement because you wanted to hear one. I know I have had this happen to me many times. I find that I almost always prefer my latest purchase over what was there before. I can't remember the last time I bought something, installed it and brought it back because I didn't like how it sounded.

And once again, please don't get me wrong - I use higher quality interconnects in most places in my system. I am not advocating using cheap RCA phono interconnects. What I don't think is necessary is buying uber-expensive interconnects.

Hey, at least this thread isn't about A/C wall sockets.

[A Lark Ascending]

Hey, at least this thread isn't about A/C wall sockets.

Or reversed polarity!

[JSngry]

The carry-away from this for me is that I shouldn't use RCA cable on my weed-eater, but they're ok, if unnecessary, for my stereo.

Time well spent, then. Than you all!