Cable Asylum Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

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The distinction is between RF noise and audio band noise.

Posted by Al Sekela (A) on June 1, 2008 at 14:44:03

In Reply to: Hmmm, since you implicitly called my system a lower resolution system :) posted by Ted Smith on May 31, 2008 at 13:19:09:

RF noise is not directly audible, even by a teenager :). It affects the audio signal through intermodulation, so it is silent when the signal is zero. A small amount of it adds apparent sparkle and a sense of air, as well as enhanced punch on plucked strings and struck cymbals. However, it obscures the microdynamics that give Ella Fitzgerald, for example, her characteristic vocal texture, or allow the differences between cymbal tones to be savored. Someone (such as me) familiar with a well-tweaked setup incorporates these system behaviors into a notion of the baseline performance. The only way to know they are there is to hear the system with them removed. What I'm trying to get across is that your system may be better than you can possibly imagine.

One component of the RF noise environment is the spectrum of tones produced by resonant objects in the audio system. These objects may be cables and power cords as well as parts of the speaker crossover networks or wiring. One particular type of resonant object comprises the shields on shielded cables and cords. While they may function to reduce audio band noise, they act to increase the RF noise environment by resonating unless measures have been taken to damp them.

This is why many folks with refined systems do not find shielded cables useful. They do not have strong sources of audio band noise, so the only action of the shields is to degrade the signal. I'm not going to go into the details of what it takes to properly damp shields because a lot of the information is proprietary to others.

Unshielded and undamped cables act as transmitting and receiving antennas for RF noise. An audio system using them could achieve complete Redbook resolution if the connected equipment were sufficiently insensitive to the RF noise, including the resonant tones, present on the cables. I don't think any such equipment exists, but the trend in behavior reported in published reviews of ultra-expensive equipment suggests to me that designers are working in that direction.

I appreciate your invitation to hear your system. I don't travel much, but would let you know if circumstances lead me to the Seattle area.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Kimber Kable

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