Christmas Snake Oil anyone ?. (V expensive mains extension block).

[Tim Streater]

The resistance is not what's being discussed. What's the impedance at say 5kHz?

[Roger Hayter]

But a good quality audio amplifier may have an output impedance of around 50milliohm at low frequencies, so the damping effect on an 8ohm speaker may be significantly affected by an extra series 110 milliohms. This may not be an important effect, depending on the speaker design, but for about 20p worth of wire I am inclined not to risk it.

[Chris Bartram]

Good point. Religious, almost.

[tabbypurr]

I already explained why it isn't.

there is no risk

NT

[Roger Hayter]

You have explained why it wouldn't be if speaker cabinets contained only an 8ohm non-inductive resistance. But they wouldn't be much use if they did..

[Woody]

I remember the start of this crap over 40 years ago.

A that thime Litz wire was very popular for various 'sound' improvements. It was reported in ISTR HFN that a Frenchman had gone on record that by using Litz wire between the front doorbell push and the bell itself significantly improved the "tintinabular sonority" or the bell when it rang.

Seems there still not all locked up yet........

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Impedance of the cable when being driven by a 0.1 ohm or so source? Irrelevant.

[Roger Hayter]

Are you sure that the effect on the source impedance that the speaker sees cannot be significantly affected by a comparable series resistance? What about the story of speaker damping?

[Bill Wright]

It's like the global warming nutters

Bill

[Bill Wright]

It was explained to me when I was a child, by one of my dad's customers, that the inner core of coaxial cable carried the sound, and the outer screen carried the picture. His certainty must have been challenged when ITV started, I suppose.

Bill

[Tjoepstil]

no story. one of the reasons a Vox AC30, beloved of Brian may, sounds the way it does is that it has an output impedance of around 80 ohms...

Marshall top is around 8...

[Tjoepstil]

asserting a falsehood is not proof.

[Tim Streater]

Tintin probably sums it up.

[tabbypurr]

that isn't what I said. But I can see discussing is a waste of time. This ever happens when discussing electronics in a diy group.

[tabbypurr]

it might have actually done so by introducing a pile of resistance in the wiring.

NT

[RJH]

There *is* logic, and while it doesn't appeal to you because you can pull it apart on technical and (to a point) common sense grounds, it does to others.

I'd list the following variables, roughly in order that inform choice: ability to pay, lack of technical knowledge, effective marketing, gullibility, expectation of improved sound, vanity, and bragging rights.

It doesn't wind me up especially - people waste their money on far more unpleasant things. In fact, bit like buying a posh car :-)

[Roger Hayter]

I know you didn't say that. But your argument only applies rigorously to a resistor. A speaker contains not only complex reactive elements but is also non-linear. That doesn't by any means prove you're wrong, but does make the simple comparison of resistors (which easily 'proves' the external resistance negligible) an inadequate proof that you are right.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Are you talking about cable resistance or its impedance at a specific frequency?

Obviously you use cable with a suitably low resistance to maintain that damping factor.

The question would be can any cable likely to be used have a suitably low resistance, but a high impedance at any frequencies within the audio range?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The ear actually has a rather poor memory, in absolute terms. Add to that if you've gone to the bother of paying good money for new leads, you do so expecting an improvement. Then things like listening after a decent meal and perhaps drink effect how you hear things too.

Which is why the only way to really assess things like cables is by blind testing.

[tabbypurr]

Speaker resistance is effectively in series with cable resistance and everything else. It makes ultralow source impedance or huge damping factors pointless.

NT