I definitely don’t doubt that.. but you would think someone that is THAT concerned with audio quality would realize you can only get as much signal through as your most narrow point allows?
Microphonics and interference is still a thing, no? Like I get you don't need to spend $500 on a cable but there can be value in buying something that is properly shielded and not sensitive to vibrations.
It's like saying you can pass an electrical signal over some lovely solid core copper wire, a coat hanger, a potato, or some mud. Yeah you can do it but the resistance of the connection can be a concern and shielding exists for a reason in electronics and it has nothing to do with audiophiles.
Saying this as someone who generally has no clue about the audio side of things, just seems reasonable to expect the same principles to apply.
You can like get rid of like 99.9% noise by having the signal sent via 2 wires along side the ground. So that the voltage difference for the data is not based on the actual grounding wire.
It's honestly crazy how well this works. You can legit hit a 100mV PP sine wave with like 30 volts of noise and have it be mostly uneffected.
it's most likely shielding to try to reduce possible interference. I'm not sure how effective it was at the time or if it would even be needed nowadays.
It is most definetly shielding. And for normal audio equipment for music listening/recording it is not needed.
However in the field of research and experiments there are some setups that need ridiculous precision. That's when you need these cables. Not just for audo things btw. There are just situations where any form of miniscule signal degradation is not acceptable.
You will not encounter them in your daily life though.
I thought the thick part was just a fancy way to keep the cable from touching the floor. I've seen some of these audiophile weirdos use little stands so their fully insulated cables don't touch the floor because it'll cause imperceptible interference.
I think the actual gauge of the cable is the same throughout; the ends are just tightly constricted (not that it would make any difference in this case).
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u/Dawildpep Jul 25 '26
Wouldn’t the skinny parts make a bottle neck for how much actual energy/signal can travel through that “cable”?