Which Cable is Most Critical

Siva,

In my opinion - the same order that you specified except that I would place Otical Cable the last.

Regards

Sanjay

I've had many a conversation and fights on this very topic

My choice would have to be interconnects first and then speaker cables.....low voltage signals need to be nurtured and cared for...

Manek.

Dont u think Digital - Coax/optical and Interconnect option are in the same category? i mean it should have been Digital interconnect - Coax/Optical.

I think in any setup stereo or HT there are only two possibilities.

1) interconnect between the CDP/DVDP and Stereo amp / AVR.
2) the cables going thru the amp to the speakers.

that leaves u with only two options - 1+2 and 3.

Although there is no option in the poll, I would feel choice of mains cable is more critical.

Behram.

Speaker cables.

So much so that I will rather have a long IC and keep the amp next to the Speaker in order to have the shortest lenght of speaker cable.

Monoblocks rulz

I guess in the end it also matters as to which component is sensitive to cables.
if the DAC is cable sensitive then that cable is very important
If the Amp/Pre amp is so then the ICs are very important
If the speakers are cable sensitive that that is very important ..

But given a choice I would say the the Power Cable is most important

followed by the Digital cable since any "error" causes Jitter issues wihch are more obvious

ICs being low signal carrying are more suceptible to RFI etc hence need to be well designed

Speaker cables perhaps the least..

Very suprising to note that ....many believe that Speaker Cables are least important (of course, it is important on its own) in comparision to other cables.

Sorry...i was in a hurry to post and i forgot to add the power cord.

From a technical perspective, the questions are

1) Which signal is more prone to EMI distortion : is the low voltage signals (digital & analogue interconnect) more prone to distortion or is the loudspeaker cables that is more prone to distortion ??

3) What are various factors of the cable, that affect the sound ??...apart from distortion due to EMI (I'm assuming that each type of cable will have it's own list of "factors")

2) Assuming we have answer for the above questions...the next question would be : Taking into consideration the ideal technical requirement for each type of cable ....which cable will be most difficult to design/manufacture ??

Regards
Siva.

Hello Siva,

Sorry to note that you have Not Mentioned Power Cords...

My Order Of Pref in reducing order of pref:

1. Interconnects

2. Power Cables

3. Digital COAX ( Not Optical ) Interconnect

4. Speaker Cables.

sivat schrieb:

Very suprising to note that ....many believe that Speaker Cables are least important (of course, it is important on its own) in comparision to other cables. Sorry...i was in a hurry to post and i forgot to add the power cord. From a technical perspective, the questions are 1) Which signal is more prone to EMI distortion : is the low voltage signals (digital & analogue interconnect) more prone to distortion or is the loudspeaker cables that is more prone to distortion ?? 3) What are various factors of the cable, that affect the sound ??...apart from distortion due to EMI (I'm assuming that each type of cable will have it's own list of "factors") 2) Assuming we have answer for the above questions...the next question would be : Taking into consideration the ideal technical requirement for each type of cable ....which cable will be most difficult to design/manufacture ?? Regards Siva.

Hi Siva,

you also forgot phonocables (internal & external), which are in my opinion the most critical, followed by speakercables (internal & external), then IC and power cords.
Let's extend this thread a bit: What are the most critical components for HiFi system? In my opinion:

1. Loudspeaker
2. Listening Room
3. Source (CDP, TT etc.)
4. Amp (in this order: phono, pre, power)
5. Cables (in the above order)
6. Base (absorber platforms, decoupeling devices, rack etc.)

Regards,
Jochen

Wondering why no one has given equal importance to any two components.

my view is

1. Source + Speakers
2. Amps + Room + Room placement and minor tweaks for reflection control (bass traps and such comes later)
3. Interconnects and rest of accs.


The reason why I place amp and room at same level is because without a decent amp (surprisingly most of recent amps are more than decent) you cannot get much out from the speakers and the room.

Regards

Anil

ani schrieb:

Wondering why no one has given equal importance to any two components. my view is 1. Source + Speakers 2. Amps + Room + Room placement and minor tweaks for reflection control (bass traps and such comes later) 3. Interconnects and rest of accs. The reason why I place amp and room at same level is because without a decent amp (surprisingly most of recent amps are more than decent) you cannot get much out from the speakers and the room. Regards Anil

Hi Anil,

you are right when you say that recent amps are more than decent. Not much development has taken place for amps in recent years in comparison to speakers and digital components, and therefore different amps in the same price segment do play somehow on the same level. All manufacturers have somehow met a certain standard. Ok there are always amps which are state of the art for some time and then they are ousted by another one which is slightly better in some aspects but again lagging behind in other aspects. Unfortunately there are only very few who come out with radical new electronic designs (e.g. Lundhal, Einstein, Soulution)or have another approach (like Nelson Pass) than the rest of the crowd. It's a pity but it's fact.

Regards,
Jochen

Gooli, Anil, while I agree with both of you, I think Siva's question here deals only with cables!!

Shahrukh schrieb:

Gooli, Anil, while I agree with both of you, I think Siva's question here deals only with cables!!

Hi Shahrukh,

Your are right. The initial thread was only about cables, but I had taken the liberty to include all HiFi components.
Ok I could have also started a new thread for that. Sorry!

Jochen

goolimangala schrieb:

Hi Siva, you also forgot phonocables (internal & external), which are in my opinion the most critical, followed by speakercables (internal & external), then IC and power cords. Let's extend this thread a bit: What are the most critical components for HiFi system? In my opinion: 1. Loudspeaker 2. Listening Room 3. Source (CDP, TT etc.) 4. Amp (in this order: phono, pre, power) 5. Cables (in the above order) 6. Base (absorber platforms, decoupeling devices, rack etc.) Regards, Jochen

Sorry Jochen...one more critical cable that i missed out.


Regards
Siva.

ani schrieb:

Wondering why no one has given equal importance to any two components. my view is 1. Source + Speakers 2. Amps + Room + Room placement and minor tweaks for reflection control (bass traps and such comes later) 3. Interconnects and rest of accs. The reason why I place amp and room at same level is because without a decent amp (surprisingly most of recent amps are more than decent) you cannot get much out from the speakers and the room. Regards Anil

good idea on pair and sysnergy..

I would put it as (The % is my gut feel on the impact on sound and i am not betting my life on their accuracy )
1 Speaker and Room at around 50 %
2. Amp and Speaker at 25 %
3. Source at 20 %
4. Cables at 5 %

Of course before all source first thorists beat me to death please do take into account that I have taken an assumption that all components are of "Good sound quality" and not compromised components..ie I am taking a dedicated CDP and not an entry level DVDp here

Any compromised component whould be on the hitlist of removal as not amount of improving other componetns is going to improve the sound then..

Sorry Sharukh,

Hijackinh the thread was not at all in my mind Just got carried away reading it and aired my thoughts loud.

Regarding importance of cables, it depends on equipment, if a source of hi output impedance is connected to a low input impedance the interconnects (so called audiophile ones with varying electrical properties) will have a big impact on reproduced sound. Interconnects are glorified tone controls that work very well because of the poor standards (for input/output impedance and levels) being followed by the consumer audio industry.

When you have everything else set the speaker cable do contribute to the sound, not to shift the tonal balance of the system but to get more resolution and refinement.

Regarding power cables I dont have much experiance with them but power filtering equips and dedicated power from your mains switch board with a dedicated earth (the pit must be atleast 3m away from the other earth pit) do make your system perform better.

Warm regards

Anil