Do Cables Make A Difference? Let’s Test!

As you know, in the hifi arena there are those who swear by cables. Cable A will sound better than Cable B. Cable C will give you such a such sound.

Be it speaker cables, interconnects or power cables, it’s out there.

Then you have Team X that vehemently say ‘no way!’. It’s all psycho-acoustics (placebo effect). Physics and science behind audio does not prove it. Never been measured. No proper AB test. So they claim.

So best is to really try it out ourself and see la.

My system, the preamp, amp and CD player are using stock power cables. It’s a pretty decent system but I was just too lazy to get those branded power cables that are super thick gauge with absolute purity and even silver plated etc.

So, finally decided to get some branded power cables. The stock ones seem so messy.

I purchased the Isotek power cables. Used the Evo3 Premier for preamp and CD player. Then the Evo3 PSequel for the amp.

Hey ... it looks great. Stiffer cables means I can keep them away from speaker cables and interconnects. They look so professional too.

So ... how much improvement in sound quality? Z-E-R-O. Yup ... nada ... 

Well ... this is the truth from my own test. 

How often have we as consumer been told that if you change this and that cable you will definitely hear a difference.

I had one dealer who told me the speaker cable he suggested will give me a 30% improvement in sound quality! Well ... the cables only costs about rm800. But 30% improvement? I doubt it gave 0.3% even. I bought it because I just needed an extra pair of cables, so why not just get them. Try and see ... like buying 4D.

The world of hifi ... it’s most interesting.

Hi, an interesting subject for discussion.

There was a time when I did not believe cables make a difference. I have however changed my stance over the last couple of years or so, having heard the results of swapping cables.

It is easier for me to discern when I lose something from the music rather than when I gain something from it, when I swap cables. Most of the time I would have to actually swap multiple times just to detect the difference, if any. My group of kakis tend to hear more (and faster) than me, so I guess that comes with experience and ear sensitivity.

Drum decay that does not last as long, reverberations inside the violin that does not sound as pronounced, texture and body loss are some of the areas I tend to be able to hear.

The change in cables certainly did not bring about a 30% difference in the sound. If anything the changes are subtle but discernible. 

Have not tried any cables that are esoterically priced so I will not go there. As for mid-range priced cables, I have tried a few and in most cases the changes that it brings to my system does not justify the price tag. Sometimes it went in the opposite direction too. 

I used to own some pretty fancy brand of cables, but have since swapped them out for what we normally term as DIY cables (I did not DIY, bought it off from another). These cables just match better in my setup.

IMHO if we want to hear a significant change in the sound signature just change the speakers. Just beware that the change may not be in the direction that you want....

I did swap speaker cables, got the Nordost Blue Heaven. There was some slight improvement. Very slight as you pointed out.

I gotta agree with you, swapping speakers makes a whole lot more difference

Cables have been defined by some as ‘tone controls’, the measured differences are small but well defined. 
Simply put, passive resistance, inductance and capacitance measured from end to end. The differences are small between cables and thus different makes (and different pricing) can only to achieve small differences in sound. However, there can be large differences if the cables are dirty (contacts) or the cables is installed incorrectly ie. parallel to high power cables. Power cables also don’t make much  difference if the power has to go via ‘normal’ house wires before reaching your system. Removing the fuse to a power cord might help but no protection from surges but at the end of the day it goes through your circuit breakers, house wiring, etc. Upgrading your circuit breakers might help though.

Remove fuse and use a nail?

I am glad cables did not make any difference to my system. Instead of subjective preference, just use a pink noise and record the playback with different cables. Compare the spectrum/FR .  As long as the playback level and microphone on a tripod is fixed, any difference will be shown. 

And how about sound difference that measurements incapable of showing? Well....if such difference exists then sadly this will be something that only you can perceive without being able to show to others. Be happy you could and enjoy the music   

Just for fun I still have one pair of Black and Decker Lawn mower’s power cord as speakers cable for one pair of speaker out of the 22 speakers I use.  There are far more definitive improvement can be made to your system than the difference that a cable ever be capable of making. Without a reference it just a life time walk around a big circle for audiophiles.