Audio enthusiasts the world over love to find ways to enhance their listening enjoyment. At times this includes investing in rather expensive equipment with the aim being to produce the highest quality sound possible. Some go to extremes in this regard spending surprisingly large sums of money on items such as audiophile speaker cable to make their system sound as good as possible. There is much debate whether this actually makes much, if any difference in the actual listening experience.
There is general agreement that the single most important aspect of any type of speaker wire is resistance. The lower the resistance, the better the sound quality will be. When the signal can move more freely, the ultimate output will be improved.
There are three methods of reducing the resistance in order to enhance sound quality. One is to decrease the length of the wire while another is to increase the thickness. The third method then is a combination of using a shorter and thicker cable. The type of material that the wire is composed of will also have an effect but this is less agreed upon. The most common material to be used is copper but other, more expensive ones such as silver have lower resistance.
Even more expensive than silver are what are known as audiophile speaker cables. These high-end wires can run upwards of hundreds of dollars and even into the thousands. It's certainly going to be a bit too much for casual listeners, except perhaps those with money to burn and a desire to impress people with their purchases.
This is where the true debate begins. With little agreement on how much of a difference can be heard in the sound quality and a significant difference in price, these cables are claimed by many to be a waste of money. These people believe that the difference isn't even audible and that one can produce practically the same quality of audio from much less expensive wire. It's not unheard of for this side to say that coat hanger wire can be used nearly as effectively at a small fraction of the cost of the high-end equipment that some prefer.
The other side states that the opposite is actually true. They say that there is a distinct improvement when using such cables and that they are a vital part of assembling a superior sound system. Those who think this way swear that they can hear a definite difference in the quality of sound that goes through different types of cables.
As with most debates this one can get quite contentious at times. Both sides feel strongly about their positions and have some sort of evidence to back it up. Although there are ways of measuring sound quality scientifically, it's virtually impossible to quantify the actual user experience since it's more or less completely subjective.
There is no clearcut answer on whether audiophile speaker cable is worth the extra money that they are bound to cost. In large part the lack of a simple answer is due to the fact that it is ultimately up to each individual to decide what they deem to be worth it or not.
There is general agreement that the single most important aspect of any type of speaker wire is resistance. The lower the resistance, the better the sound quality will be. When the signal can move more freely, the ultimate output will be improved.
There are three methods of reducing the resistance in order to enhance sound quality. One is to decrease the length of the wire while another is to increase the thickness. The third method then is a combination of using a shorter and thicker cable. The type of material that the wire is composed of will also have an effect but this is less agreed upon. The most common material to be used is copper but other, more expensive ones such as silver have lower resistance.
Even more expensive than silver are what are known as audiophile speaker cables. These high-end wires can run upwards of hundreds of dollars and even into the thousands. It's certainly going to be a bit too much for casual listeners, except perhaps those with money to burn and a desire to impress people with their purchases.
This is where the true debate begins. With little agreement on how much of a difference can be heard in the sound quality and a significant difference in price, these cables are claimed by many to be a waste of money. These people believe that the difference isn't even audible and that one can produce practically the same quality of audio from much less expensive wire. It's not unheard of for this side to say that coat hanger wire can be used nearly as effectively at a small fraction of the cost of the high-end equipment that some prefer.
The other side states that the opposite is actually true. They say that there is a distinct improvement when using such cables and that they are a vital part of assembling a superior sound system. Those who think this way swear that they can hear a definite difference in the quality of sound that goes through different types of cables.
As with most debates this one can get quite contentious at times. Both sides feel strongly about their positions and have some sort of evidence to back it up. Although there are ways of measuring sound quality scientifically, it's virtually impossible to quantify the actual user experience since it's more or less completely subjective.
There is no clearcut answer on whether audiophile speaker cable is worth the extra money that they are bound to cost. In large part the lack of a simple answer is due to the fact that it is ultimately up to each individual to decide what they deem to be worth it or not.
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