In light of the controversy over the quality of the Rainbow. The event of this Saturday remained in the shadow). Blind test of interconnects
Here is such a construction with a "screen" behind which all manipulations are not visible to the participants of the audition.

The system is simple. The source is a computer, via optics to a Helix DSP PRO processor (full bandwidth processor from 49Hz), Brax Matrix 1.1 and Brax Matrix 6.1PP acoustics through passive crossovers from 2 Brax Matrix X4 channels.

All interconnect cables were marked from 1 to 15 (already behind the screen, so that no one would know), then the listening participants compared only cables with different numbers, and rated them according to their perception.

In the first picture, the acoustics did not stand up like that by chance. This test was aimed at comparing only the tonal differences of the cables. A mono signal was fed from the source to the processor.
One rack (and one channel of the processor and amplifier) ​​was used to listen to the "like a reference cable" (reference point) - Canare L-2T2S


But on the second channel of the amplifier and processor - the tested samples of interconnect cables were connected.
Test compositions:
- Kirma(flac)
- Bebe-Tu Silencio(wav)
- Eagles - Hotel California(wav)
- Bogushevskaya Irina - Reed(wav)


I will list, in order of sticking number tags:
1) Mundorf, stranded monocore (RCA - EOS)
2) MrCable VULCAN Q24
3) Hul Den Wan, silver multiplier
4) Cordial CMK 250
5) Daxx R77
6) Mystery MPRO-5.2(something similar, only in 2000!)
7) Klotz MC2000
8) Mundorf, shorty about 5cm. (RCA - EOS)
9) Klotz MC5000
10) Cordial CMK 222
11) Proel HPC210BK
12) Mogami 2549-00
13) Mogami 2549-00(re-tag)
14) Daxx R77(re-tag)
15) TV-RCAor whatever it is right
16) Canare L-2T2S(he was also taken as the most popular self-made option)

The test "channel" and the Tested "channel" were turned on in turn from the Helix DSP PRO software - by using the "Mute" function

As an example this video:

And here are the winners inconspicuous


Here are the first results


I hope the comparison participants will look into this topic and write their impressions!


 The objects of our current test were analog interconnect cables of a very serious price category. Of course, we were able to cover only a very small part of what is currently being produced, but there were many interesting items in this collection.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

Comparing cables is difficult and often thankless because of the high probability of scatter in results depending on conditions. In this test, we tried to minimize possible errors - all cables went through the same long running-in procedure, and then they were tested in turn in two equivalent systems of a very high level. In both cases, cables were installed between a digital signal source - a CD player or digital-to-analog converter - and a preamplifier or integrated amplifier. The result obtained in the process of attentive listening, first of all, was to search for and describe the heard distinctive features and character of the sound.

results

XLO UNLIMITED EDITION
50 500 R

***** Detail
***** Dynamics
***** Tonal balance
**** Convenience

With an overall high level of cables in the test, all of them, even models from the same manufacturer, change the character of the sound significantly in different ways. One can argue about who is the best cable - the most neutral and minimally interfering with the sound, but in practice there are different systems and components, not all of them are neutral in sound. And there are almost as many tastes and preferences as there are listeners. Somewhere the most neutral cable will turn out to be optimal, somewhere it may turn out that the shortcomings of the system will be leveled due to the advantages or even due to the shortcomings of the cable, and somewhere the specific style of the path will be enhanced by an unusual cable feed. The only question is who wants to hear the sound in his musical path. Therefore, each of the tested cables will find its own system, where exactly it will be most suitable. In addition, not so many cables fit in the test, but only a small part of everything that is produced in the world.

Summing up the results, it remains to emphasize those points that seemed the most interesting, as well as try to correlate what was heard with the measurement results.

Furutech Evolution and Nordost Frey turned out to be actually the most dynamic cables in the test, such handwriting can successfully correct the slow and lazy sound in the system, or, if the system has a dynamic sound, bring this indicator to an even higher level - the main thing is not to overdo it. At the same time, these cables have the lowest capacitance values, while cables with a high capacitance, for the most part, but not without exceptions, cannot boast of special dynamics. The resistance and inductance values ​​were not so unambiguous in the case of our test. Cardas Golden Reference and Audioquest Niagara - both cables can hardly be called linear, rather, they have a pronounced individual character. But this character is in many ways so unusual and interesting that there will undoubtedly be a point of application for him, and more than one. Cardas can add life and emotion to almost any cold and unemotional system, Audioquest has a balanced handwriting and at the same time is able to correct a sound that is uncertain or soft, adding scale and pressure to it. Silent Wire NF32 can be partly attributed to the same group - with all its versatility and "purebred" sound, there is a tendency towards a power, albeit high-quality presentation, which can be well realized in a high-level system built mainly for rock music.

Ortofon Premium AIC-X7 is an unusual cable that stands out from the overall picture. If it were not for the tendency to small and medium compositions and the lack of dynamics, this model could well have been among the best in the test. A presentation with such an attentive attitude to every nuance of sound, to every overtone, combined with the naturalness of timbres, is rare.

In terms of the combination of qualities, XLO Unlimited stands out almost unequivocally from all the tested samples - it is almost impossible to find fault with the presentation as such, everything is as it should be. At the same time, there is a very careful attitude to the authenticity of the sound of music and the exceptionally natural sound of musical instruments, whether it be an acoustic guitar, cello, double bass or a human voice. True, it is possible to reveal all the potential in a system that initially has a reliable, detailed and at the same time musical sound - in other cases, it is possible that the shortcomings of the original path, if any, will become more noticeable.

The article discusses the impact that interconnect and speaker cables have on the sound quality, and also provides options for the design of such cables.

Until recently, interconnect cables were not given much importance in consumer audio equipment, since consumer audio frequency amplifiers and speaker systems did not have a sufficiently wide dynamic range (high resolution). In addition, there was a tone control in the path of each amplifier, which lengthened the playback path and thereby reduced the resolution of the system, and also made it possible to correct path flaws (blockages in the frequency response at the edges of the audio range) to the taste of the listener.

Today it is considered a sign of good taste to use amplifiers without tone controls in an audio system. This implies that the entire acoustic path, starting from the signal source, audio frequency amplifier (UHF), speaker systems (AS) and ending with the connecting cables between them, is flawless, does not introduce any frequency and phase distortions, not to mention non-linear distortions. The contribution to the sound quality of each of the 16 listed components can be distributed approximately as follows: signal source - 23%, ultrasonic frequency converter - 50%, speakers - 25% and cables - 2%. Maybe someone will get different numbers. Of course, it is assumed that you are sending a signal to the speakers through copper wires of sufficient cross section (2.5 ... 4 mm 2 is usually enough for domestic systems), and not trying to get high-quality sound by sending a signal through thin steel copper-plated wires.

And if the quality of your UHF, AC and signal source in total pulls only 40%, then do not expect that you will be able to pull out the remaining 60% due to cables, in this case even “gold” cables, in a figurative sense, will not help, they you simply will not feel the effect on the path. At the same time, if your path as a whole is well balanced, then replacing one of the cables with a cable with a “gag” will certainly change the character of the sound, not for the better.

Features of human hearing

The works of Martin Lenhard proved that a person has two auditory canals: the ear canal and the skin-musculoskeletal-fluid canal. If on the first channel the audible frequencies lie within 16 Hz ... 20 kHz, then on the second channel it is much higher - up to 40 ... 100 kHz. The frequencies perceived through the second channel are not perceived as sound in the normal sense, but they noticeably affect the perception of the picture of the surrounding space. A person hears harmonics up to 100 kHz through the skin, bones and body fluids. The method of prosthetics for hearing loss in the deaf has been working on this principle for many years. The sound is transferred by a special device from the audible region to the ultrasonic region and is transmitted through the skin and bones. After some training, the deaf begin to hear. Obviously, those with a less developed second channel are less sensitive to subtle changes in sound due to changing cables. Therefore, each listener has his own feelings, which he cannot always correctly assess and convey in words.

So it turns out that in systems with high resolution, the slightest influences of cables become audible, which almost do not appear in the audio frequency. In systems with low RF cutoff, composite conductor cables (silver-plated, van den Hoel cables with hydrocarbon inclusions, etc.) can be useful, although in a balanced audio system such cables most often lead to a negative result. Conversely, in an audio system that has a rise in the high-frequency region, cables with a higher linear capacity can be useful, which can make a slight correction in the frequency response and phase response, pleasant to the ear.

Thus, today many audiophiles try to deal with the problems of their audio systems by selecting cables, as was previously done with a tone block or an equalizer.

All this fuss with cables is somewhat reminiscent of a joke about villagers who covered the barn with poor-quality threshed straw, and the summer turned out to be rainy, and rye sprouted. Instead of taking a scythe and mowing it, the peasants began to drag a cow up to the roof to eat the grass.

Microphone cables

In addition to electrical parameters, such as resistance, linear capacitance and inductance, the cable parameters are actually influenced by its design features, both purely geometric and the properties of the materials used: the material of conductors, dielectrics. This largely determines the degree of manifestation of the skin effect, susceptibility to the microphone effect, protection from external electromagnetic fields, etc.

Instrument and microphone cables were developed for use in professional equipment, which are still used today in recording studios and by all professionals. The most famous manufacturers of professional cables are P r oe l, Ca n a r e, S o mm e r, Ex tr o n, K lotz, etc.

The length of microphone cables is usually from 15 to 30 m or more. The length of the multicore (multi-pair microphone cables) from the stage to the sound engineer's console is usually from 50 to 150 m or more. In total, the length of only microphone cables with weak signals, which are most susceptible to interference and cable properties, reaches almost 200 m. As you know, the longer the cable length, the greater its parameters such as capacitance, inductance and DC resistance, which are given usually as linear per meter of length for a particular cable. In addition, with an increase in the length of the cables, the negative effect of the dielectric also increases, introducing electrical turbulence into the signal associated with the absorption of the energy of the transmitted signal, its partial conversion into heat and partial return with some delay back to the conductor. Dielectric charge and damping asymmetries cause waveform distortion, DC offsets, crosstalk, and loss of low-level information.

Nevertheless, even on such long cables, when transmitting weak signals, professionals do not notice their noticeable negative effect on the sound and do not think about replacing them with trendy modern audiophile ones costing from several hundred to several thousand dollars per meter.

Audiophile Cable Tests

Cable tests are usually done by comparing the sound of the system with the cable and with the jumper. Here are some excerpts from the test of 1500-3000 audiophile interconnect cables USD (the price of a used car in good condition).

“This cable sounds very difficult to distinguish from a jumper. It does not contribute anything from itself to the musical picture”, as a result, such a cable is given a low rating, well, since it does not change anything in the system for the better.

“Against the bridge, it makes the sound sharper. The trail of reverberations is not perceived as detailed and deep - the sound seems superficial, ”and this is a cable of the indicated high price category.

"Slightly closer shots, the scene is less deep," however, this cable is highly praised by the expert.

“In the upper register, the color of the treble is worked out even better than in the jumper. The only “but” is a slight clouding of the finest microdynamic pattern.” As a result, the cable gets a high rating.

“Reproduction is much more material and clear in the bass region. The stability and separation of the stage is a little lame ... ". The cable also gets good reviews.

What is an audio interconnect cable?

If the sound was suddenly

Audio interconnect cables are designed to carry audio between different components in a stereo or multi-channel audio system. The quality of the audio interconnect cables affects the overall sound quality.

For example

"Hi-ways" for music

The main elements of the "interconnector" are a conductor, an insulator, and plugs. Every serious manufacturer has its own "know-how" (materials, technologies, design) for the best sound.

How to choose an interconnect cable?

snake spell

Consider the features of the components, as well as taste preferences. Interconnectors are best taken last, when all the main components of the audio system have already been bought and their location on the equipment rack is known.

Cable type: digital

Digital cables used for digital audio signal transmission (eg between CD transport and DAC module). Are divided into coaxial And optical . There is no fundamental difference in sound between optics and coax, but, other things being equal, coax will come out cheaper.

Cable Type: Analog

Analog "interconnectors" transmit a low-current analog audio signal (for example, from a source to an amplifier) ​​and are able to give the sound one or another specificity. Prefer the shortest cable - it will introduce less distortion.

Signal transmission method: balanced / unbalanced

Unbalanced cable - two-line" ("signal", "ground").

balanced cable - three-line ("signal", "signal in antiphase", "ground"). They introduce less distortion.

Connector types: XLR, RCA and others

XLR - connectors for balanced connection.

RCA - the most common in the field of consumer audio, Hi-Fi and Hi-End unbalanced audio connectors, also referred to as "tulips". miniJack - This type of connector is often used in the field of portable and computer audio.

TRS - This type of connector is also called a "big jack", it is very often used in the field of professional audio (both balanced and unbalanced) and extremely rarely in the field of consumer audio.

Configuration: mono / stereo

Often, analog "interconnects" are a "tandem" of two audio cables for transmitting both the "right" and "left" channels. But there are also separate "monophonic" variants of interconnects - they are more convenient when you need to connect two separate monoblock power amplifiers to the preamplifier.

Features of construction, design and sound.

Oxygen-free, single-crystal copper of the highest purity is often used as conductors. But other metals are also used, as well as their combinations. The location/interlacing of cores in the cable, as well as the material of the braid and dielectric, can also affect the quality and cost of the product. The plugs must not only provide perfect contact, but also be sufficiently reliable. For a serious audio system (in which "everything should be perfect") the appearance of the cable is also important.