Jimbos Audio ramblings

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Macca

I suppose resistance or capacitence or both could be increased by contact with the wall, but enough?

Have to say it is something I have noticed too and I do keep my cables off the wall but I suspect it is just superstition. Still, it costs nothing to do.

---

I have electrics running in the wall to the power socket so maybe there is some interaction going on?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gazjam

Enjoyable video as always James, enjoyed that one with a nice cuppa. :)

100% agree with moving cables away from the wall if you can, have heard it in my own system.
Biggest change I experienced was then I repositioned my Dac's external power supply and the small DC power cable was no longer brushing against the wall.

Like yourself, I would recommend sorting your cables out, making sure they dont overlap, dont touch the wall or have the connectors under any pressure.
It all makes a matters and makes a difference.

---

I had forgotten all about this as I had a big issue sometime back when my phono cables were not earthed and they emitted a loud hum when they were in contact with the wall. It was only by chance last night I noticed moving all my cables away from the wall even further that I got a noticeable difference to the sound.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barry

So cables are not supposed to touch the walls or floor, or one another.

What if the cables run under the floor, or in your case, a stereo pair has a 'figure of eight' construction so are as close together as can be? :scratch:

---

Apparently there are electrons and ions moving not just within your cables (Power and Signal ) but also around the outside. So it stands to reason that if there is some interaction with these small delicate electrical properties something will be affected?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I have electrics running in the wall to the power socket so maybe there is some interaction going on?

---

It's not impossible if the cable in the wall is very close to the surface.

Though in most houses (not counting diy bodges) wiring to sockets come up vertically from the floor or sometimes from above. But I would say very rarely horizontally and never diagonally. It's an electrical safety thing, having a good idea where your hidden cables are.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony

Though in most houses (not counting diy bodges) wiring to sockets come up vertically from the floor or sometimes from above. But I would say very rarely horizontally and never diagonally. It's an electrical safety thing, having a good idea where your hidden cables are.

---

If it's coming down the wall from above - cables run through the roof space or space between the floors?

I don't know how common that is, maybe in an old house that pre-dates electricity? Like mine for example.

Yes it could be doing those things, so I suppose they could in some places run close to hifi cables. It's one of those things where if you can hear a difference then it matters.

Enjoying a day off Mart? One of the few good things about being a grown up is you don't need a note from your mum :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Apparently there are electrons and ions moving not just within your cables (Power and Signal ) but also around the outside. So it stands to reason that if there is some interaction with these small delicate electrical properties something will be affected?

---

There are no electrons or ions moving around outside. If there were they would be moving in the air outside the cable.

What might exist outside are alternating electric and magnetic fields, and with a cable with poor screening these external fields will interact with the internal fields (due to the audio signal) and affect the signal. But to do so the cable has to have poor screening efficiency (as expressed by the surface transfer impedance Z_t) and the interfering fields have to be very high.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barry

There are no electrons or ions moving around outside. If there were they would be moving in the air outside the cable.

What might exist outside are alternating electric and magnetic fields, and with a cable with poor screening these external fields will interact with the internal fields (due to the audio signal) and affect the signal. But to do so the cable has to have poor screening efficiency (as expressed by the surface transfer impedance Z_t) and the interfering fields have to be very high.

---

At the risk of triggering a cable discussion :eek: is there a case then for spending good money on better interconnects?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony

At the risk of triggering a cable discussion :eek: is there a case then for spending good money on better interconnects?

---

I have been down and back out of this proverbial 'Rabbit Hole" many times, and IMHO there is a case for buying decent interconnects but up to a point in terms of costs. As mentioned above shielding from external influences is important and can make a significant difference. But the difficult question is whether different materials make a difference to the SQ, i.e copper, silver, platinum and how it is made and treated. I am not going to get into those arguments but will say that I have found Belden 8402 cable (used in studios for microphone cable) to be extremely good, I believe it has a low resistance and good shielding and can carry low voltage signals. I use it on a 5m run to my power amp that has to be sited away from the main system due to space issues. These are easily a good if not better than some previously used1m interconnects that cost 10 times as much.

If you interested then see https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122439809...r=422904152920 swtichcraft RCAs are good but there are others as well.